Delegates at the Democratic National Convention are counting down the
hours Thursday until President Barack Obama takes the stage to official
accept his party's nomination and make his case for re-election.
Excitement among the delegates lingered on Thursday, long after their
chants from the night before died away following former president Bill
Clinton's rousing endorsement of President Barack Obama. Clinton offered
a strong defense of the current president's economic record against
Republican attacks.
Diane McMillan, a teacher from the northern state of Michigan, is in
Charlotte for the convention. She says Clinton brought so much
excitement to the event and defended Obama's record so well, that to her
surprise, even her son who’s not interested in politics called her from
back home.
“And he was listening to it and sharing, so I know [Clinton] had to be
saying something important if my son called and watched,” she said.
McMillan was one of the lucky ones. Even though she is not part of an
official delegation, she still found a coveted spot inside to watch
Clinton's speech live. Many convention delegates and reporters were
stranded outside the arena when authorities closed off access hours
ahead of time because of the packed house.
Now, McMillan says she is scrambling to find a spot to watch the
president'sacceptance speech.
Convention organizers had planned to stage the event at the Bank of
America Stadium - an outdoor location with 74,000 seats. But they have
moved the speech to a much smaller indoor arena, citing the threat of
thunderstorms. As a result, Obama held a conference call Thursday for
the tens of thousands of ticket holders who will not be able to witness
the event.
“As
I travel around the country over the next couple of months, I hope we're
going to be able to get together in your own towns, in your own cities,”
he said.
Some delegates, like George El-Khouri from North Carolina, say the
change in venue is a letdown.
“It's just so much different having 70,000 people versus 20,000,” he
said.
But others, like Doris Crouse-Mays from Virginia, say it does not
matter.
“President Obama can have the same amount of energy if he's talking to
one person or if he's talking to 100,000."
Regardless of the venue, political analysts expect viewers from around
the country to tune in to what is likely to be an important opportunity
for the president to gain much needed momentum in the final two months
of this close presidential race.
