DNC Snapshot: TMM Represents

Lee Hill, here ...

Here's a nice screen grab of Michel Martin doing her thing while representing TMM last week at the DNC in Denver.

Watch the video, including more of BET's coverage from last week, here.

Stay logged on. More from TMM at the RNC to come ...

Lee Hill

12:05 AM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: Final Thoughts

A very long night last night, lasting into the wee hours. There were so many colors and impressions that it's hard to take it all in. And like covering an earthquake, it's hard to describe the whole landscape. How to describe sitting in a seat at the stadium as the sun set, watching row after row after row fill up ... for a political event?

How to describe the people who, when you ask them what the moment meant, can't finish the sentence without tears?

How to describe the people who traveled from all across the country to volunteer, and were happy to sell T-shirts and sit by recycling bins, just to be part of it?

How to describe the career political veterans -- the self described hacks -- who stop you in the hall and just shake their heads and say, can you believe it?

The next few weeks will about policy and contrast. That starts today.

This is an election, not a coronation and the public deserves a chance to evaluate these two men and their running mates and their policies and, yes, their lives. But I think it is worth taking a moment to pause and ask, when is the last time any politician made people want to get on a greyhound bus and travel the country just to be part of a political event?

Some random thoughts:

The Technology Piece

The technology piece was intriguing. Before the big speeches there were "quizzes" on the jumbotron asking questions about Obama policy positions. You were invited to text message the right answer.

In the media booking room, a program to allow them to look up any radio or TV show or host and find out what the program was all about, what markets it was in and what audience it served. (I hope I was in it.)

The Cultural Piece

The design of the buttons, the T-shirts. There's a graphic image of Obama in the Warhol style that has become inconic already. I wonder if John MCCain will have a similar signature image.

The Music

It's something we never had a chance to talk about. There were some intriguing choices -- John Legend and will.i.am, of course. Both big supporters, along with Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheride. But there was also country music.

When's the last time you heard country music at a Democratic convention? (And, I hate to admit it, but Michael McDonald is still kinda hot.)

The Fashion Tip

Amazingly enough, you do need a sweater in a stadium with 84,000 people. And, yes, I did have to come out of my cute shoes. One problem technology has yet to solve: how to wear your fly shoes and walk a country mile through an intense security perimeter and a football stadium.

Sigh.

See you from St. Paul. ...

Addendum: OK, so on my flight to LA I saw actress Regina King, Crosby of Crosby Stills and Nash (both of whom have been on my show, by the way). One of the stars of "The West Wing" (I'll google him later). A guy who looks just like Chuck D, but isn't.
Anyway, the point is take that Teshima on star sightings. I win, I win! Hah! ... Also on my flight, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis ... celebrity chef G. Garvin. Teshima, I win!

Michel Martin

7:55 PM ET | 08-29-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: Here At Invesco Field

Right now, I'm sitting in a lovely breeze at Invesco mile high stadium. The reporters are all trying to grab people while people try to take their pictures of the scene. Mile high could be called "mile long lines" just for the wait to get in the place. We got here early because, well, we're doobies, but now I'm glad we did because the lines to get in are scary long. They're moving fast but, whoa, that's commitment.

I'm filled with bitterness and rage because Teshima, inexplicably, has spotted more celebrities than I have: I saw restaurateur B. Smith and LeVar Burton, and Dan Rather. But she saw Steven Spielberg, Malik Yoba, Gloria Ruben, and Big Bun.

I keep telling her it's because I am focused on REAL people, not celebrities, but then she gets tells me to tell it to the hand.

Whatever.

There's a celebratory air here, like in the hours before a big sports game or a big concert -- the same crackle, the same happy anticipation, with too many burgers and hotdogs being washed down to count. On the other hand, there's the weight of history -- people like Jesse Jackson and Marion Wright Edelman, who were there at the March on Washington 45 years ago today.

A woman I met, New Hampshire delegate Joanne Dowdell, is black and believes she is the first African-American female delegate from NH. Dowdell couldn't talk about how she felt about being there for the festivities without tearing up.

"My father is 89 and he's seen everything, everything ... and he just never, never thought ... ," she reflected.

I knew what she meant.

On the other hand, I talked to one of Obama's first supporters in the state, Annie McLane Kuster, who was doing her happy dance about having primo seats on the floor. McLane Kuster is from what they call an "old New Hampshire family," which is code for a "mover and shaker" who's related to many other present and former New Hampshire movers and shakers. She is white, so there was no identity politics involved for her. McLane Kuster told me she just came to the conclusion that Obama was what the country needed, that he had the skills and temperament necessary to get the job done. Typical, practical New Hampshirite.

And listening to Martin Luther King III on the podium, I can't help but wonder what it's like for him.

Here still waiting for the Big Speech, still enjoing the breeze. Now they're getting the wave started in the upper deck.

More later.

Michel Martin

7:23 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: More Convention Notes

Something else that stood out this week ...

Watching Joe Biden's acceptance speech the other day capped off quite a day. Supervising producer Teshima Walker and I were on the floor talking to people during the roll call. We were in the Ohio section because I wanted to talk to the governor (I covered him when he was a congressman) and also because Ohio had been a big victory for Sen. Hillary Clinton. This was one of the places where voters have been willing to admit that race is an issue.

All of a sudden there was this ... energy shift. I can't describe it any other way. We started wandering over to the New York delegation, security kept pushing us back. Something was up. What was going on? Then we saw her. This roar went up.

It was Sen. Clinton making her way to the microphone at each delegation. She asked the convention to suspend the roll call. She asked the body to nominate Sen. Barack Obama by acclamation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi quickly grabbed the gavel. Was there a second, did the body agree?

Another roar went up. I looked around. There were so many tears in so many eyes for so many different reasons.

And then, just a few hours later, Bill Clinton took to the podium with an ovation so long he had to order people to sit down. And then ... Joe Biden.

It was so interesting to watch the emotions shift throughout the hall. It was almost like a wake and a wedding on the same day -- the intense sadness of some of the Clinton supporters, the euphoria of the Obama supporters as he claimed the nomination ... the relief and pride in President Clinton's embrace, and then the happy warrior spirit with which Joe Biden closed the night. It was almost too much to take in on one day

More sightings:
The Rev. Kirbyjon and Suzette Caldwell (he officiated at the wedding of Jenna Bush ... and supports Obama), actors Jeffrey Wright, Kerri Washington and Sheryl Lee Ralph, the Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes, Gail King (ok, Teshima saw her, I missed out), The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Karl Rove (again) and my college classmate Cindy Robbins (I couldn't talk to her, though, because I was on the air ... sorry, Cindy!).

Smootches!

Michel Martin

6:02 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: A Chat With Ted Strickland

So, Teshima and I were on the convention floor the other day at the Pepsi Center when, low and behold, who do we see but Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat. As you know, Ohio is a hot spot political battleground (lest we forget 2004).

Anyway, I was able to pull the governor aside for a short chat. We talked about the division of delegate votes between Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. Hillary Clinton and the reconciliation of those votes here in Denver, and what outcome we might expect Strickland's (also a former congressman) state to deliver come November.

Take a listen, and let us know what you think:

Michel Martin

4:09 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: Everyone's Here

Some of the people I saw up close or hollered at in just one day:

- Spike Lee

- Craig Robinson (Michelle Obama's brother)

- Karl Rove (he didn't look happy)

- Rudy Giuliani (he DID look happy)

- Mitt Romney (he looked ... tall)

- Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter

- John Trasvina, president of Maldef

- Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College

- Wellington Webb, former Mayor of Denver, and his wife Wilma, a former state legislator

- Several former college classmates who happened to be delegates (go Crimson! Hah!)

- James Yee, the former chaplain at Guantanamo Bay who was accused of being a spy and later exonerated. He's a delegate.

- 100 or so high school students for a forum that will air on C-Span

- Too many members of Congress to name (sorry!)

- Every old boss I ever had ...

One of the most interesting conversations I had on the floor today was with a delegate whose name I won't mention (only because he got way deeper with me than he intended to, and I had not made it clear at the time I was going to quote him by name).

He said this is his fourth convention, his first being in 1988 when he was a delegate for the Rev. Jesse Jackson. This time he is in Denver, having supported Hillary Clinton in his state's primary. It seemed an easy decision at first -- he knew both Clintons and liked them, and knew very little about Barack Obama -- but over time it got hard. His son was mad for Obama and annoyed at him for supporting Hillary, but he decided to turn it into a life lesson.

"In this family we keep our word," he said.

But now it was his turn to be mad. There were, in fact, members of his delegation who were insisting they would not necessarily support Obama even after the first ballot. This delegate was surprised at how angry this made him. I asked him hadn't it been the same way with Jackson's folks, hadn't THEY wanted the elusive "respect" for their candidate, hadn't some members of the Michigan delegation threatened to walk out?

The difference, he told me, was that Jackson told his people to tamp it down, to support the party and that they should be proud of everything they had done and everything they had learned and their time would come. This time, the delegate told me, he could not believe that these delegates, few though they may be, might not support Obama.

And although he felt he had spent his entire adult life working to keep race out of the equation, he could not help but believe that race was very much a part of it. And yet his pride in his party and in his country was overwhelming.

His reaction to Michelle Obama's speech the other night:

"I'm 6'5 and 230 lbs and I'm embarrassed to tell you the tears were just flowing. Just flowing," he said

This is me talking now: I can't remember when I saw so many tears at a political convention -- during Michele Obama's speech, during Hillary Clinton's address ...

The pundits are all saying Clinton "did what she had to do." And, in fact, the people I talked to before the speech, both die hard Hillary supporters and Obama folks laying down markers for the speech, indicated that they understood she would make a very strong case for Obama and directly address the dissidents, and she did.

What did you think?

Fashion note: I gave up the heels today. I had to do it. A better woman would have hung in there, but my hem had to pay the price for my feet. I did NOT see any fly outfits tonight; too hot and crowded on the floor, I think.

But the "protect yourself from McCain" condoms being handed out by Code Pink ... well, that kind of made up for it.

Michel Martin

11:03 PM ET | 08-27-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: The Madness

Teshima Walker, here ...

Political conventions are a monster.

There are so many people walking, talking, hugging and passing business cards. By the time I left the Pepsi Convention Center I was "broke down" (say this and let your head drop low). My legs and back were tired. Although, I worked with a rigorous personal trainer for one week to get this body ready for the DNC.

You: One week? She wasn't serious.

Me: Whatever, I'm holding my own ... thanks to Tomica (she's the woman that worked with this overweight sister.)

It's a good thing I worked out, too. I've quickly learned that you don't sit down at a political convention -- whether you're producing or running around for NPR's special coverage, or attending the event as a delegate. Even if there's music playing, you're dancing.

Also, every five steps, folks want Michel Martin's attention. They call out to her and Michel always, always stops to say thank you and ask them a question or two (even when she's on deadline). Why do I have to be the bad cop and rush her along?

There are so many interesting things to see out here. I'm sure the televisions have shown you countless pictures of people with lively outfits. As Michel mentioned in her recent entry, the outfits are colorful.

But what I'm interested in are the vendors outside of the convention center perimeter. They are selling everything. ...

You can buy a t-shirt or button with the Obama family on it.

There are red, white and blue umbrellas with Sen. Barack Obama's name on it. Oh, wait, I'm not done. ... There are plush and stiff plastic Obama dolls. There's a dancing Barack Obama doll.

I don't like it. Don't hassle me.
(I'm sorry, but you just shouldn't sell/buy a doll that has a potential President's hips gyrating. I don't want a current President's hips swiveling.)

Anyway, this sister's got to roll out. Walking to the Pepsi Center is a hike. Flat shoes are a must. I have a few minutes to gather some sound on these Denver streets. ... And Did I mention Denver is a cute place?

I actually want to talk with some of these vendors about their wares. I'm curious who has come the longest distance to sale t-shirts, who has created original designs, how much money they are really making on these products and what it means to them create someone's image on a t-shirt. I mean, think about it, how many living folks get a t-shirt?

I also want to talk to people wearing these t-shirts. Black, white, Latino, Arab ... folks are wearing these interesting t-shirts.

... Like this guy:

Stay logged on to the blog, I'll let you know what the vendors are saying.

And keep listening to our show. I appreciate it.

--Teshima Walker

Michel Martin

2:55 PM ET | 08-27-2008 | permalink

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DNC Backstage Pass: On The Ground In Denver

My head is spinning. I haven't seen so many old friends since ... the last convention. I haven't seen so many people who want to talk politics ... since the last convention.

Traffic: awful.
Volunteers: awesome.
Opportunities to waste money on paraphernalia: endless.

Still, I'm starting to remember what Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean was talking about when he was on the show a couple weeks ago. I asked him why conventions -- so expensive, so time consuming, so boring in some ways, so fraught with possibilities for mess -- still matter?

Dean said it's a time when all the people who care about the same things get together. I'm starting to see what he meant.

(I'm still going to ask the same question next week when the Republicans get together in St. Paul. We'll see what they have to say.)

But for now, is this still a place where people who really do all care about the same things get together?

We ask because we started our day yesterday pre-taping today's roundtable Beauty Shop discussion about the state of the Clinton-Obama divide. And tonight, we hear from Sen. Hillary Clinton and a number of women senators. Today also happens to be the anniversary of the day in 1920 when the 19th Amendment passed giving women the right to vote.

... But I don't care what anybody says, the underlying tension within the party still exists.

Are people here trying to trip each other as they take their seats? No.

Is everybody grooving to the same house band each night? Sure, they are.

But you don't need to probe very hard to find people who are ready to air their complaints about the side of the other candidate.

Here's what I'm hearing:

Continue reading "DNC Backstage Pass: On The Ground In Denver" »

Michel Martin

2:52 PM ET | 08-26-2008 | permalink

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