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2008 Democratic National Convention

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See also: Schedule for the 2008 Democratic National Convention; Democratic Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008; and Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
2008 Democratic National Convention
2008 presidential election
Official Logo of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
Convention
Date(s)August 25 – August 28
CityDenver, Colorado
VenuePepsi Center (August 25 - 27)
INVESCO Field at Mile High (August 28)
Candidates
Presidential nomineeBarack Obama of Illinois
Vice presidential nomineeJoe Biden of Delaware

The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver, Colorado, from August 25 to August 28, 2008, at the Pepsi Center. U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the nominee for President, gave his acceptance speech on August 28 at INVESCO Field in what the party called an "Open Convention".[1][2] Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908.

Obama officially received the nomination for President on August 27, when his former opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton interrupted the official roll call to move that Obama be selected by acclamation.[3] U.S. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware accepted the nomination for Vice President on the same night. Obama accepted his nomination the following night in a speech at INVESCO Field before a record-setting crowd of 84,000 people in attendance.[4]

Leadership

Howard Dean presided over the political party in his capacity as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. From the national committee, Leah D. Daughtry served as chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee.[5] Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi served as permanent Chairwoman of the Convention. Sharing in her responsibilities in the convention were three co-chairwomen: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.[6]

Schedule

Main article: Schedule for 2008 Democratic National Convention

Choosing to hold the convention the day after the Beijing Olympic Games concluded, the Democratic Party convened in Denver on the last week of August, a week before the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The decision was made, according to the party, to "maximize momentum for our Democratic ticket in the final months of the Presidential election".[7] Customarily, the party of the incumbent President holds its convention after the opposing party has held their meeting.

The Democratic National Committee presented themes for each day of the convention. The August 25 theme was "One Nation." The August 26 theme was "Renewing America's Promise" while its August 27 theme was "Securing America's Future." The August 28 theme highlights Obama's campaign motto, "Change You Can Believe In." Featured speakers crafted their messages to the theme of the day.

Early party division

With close delegate counts for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, there was early speculation of the first brokered convention in decades. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean sought to avoid such a circumstance.[8]

In addition to the possibility of a brokered convention, a dispute over seating delegates from Florida and Michigan led some to compare the year's convention with the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It ended in a divided party and unhappiness over the outcome.[9] This speculation ended when Obama was named the Democratic candidate for president on June 3, 2008[10] and Clinton officially announced that she was suspending her campaign and was fully endorsing Obama.[11]

Rules

On February 2, 2007, the Democratic Party published "Call for the 2008 Democratic National Convention",[12] the rules governing the convention. There will be 3,409.5 pledged delegates, those committed to vote for a particular candidate, selected by primary voters and caucus participants. There will be about 823.5 unpledged delegates, those free to vote for any candidate, colloquially known as superdelegates, for a total of about 4,233 delegates, requiring 2,117 votes to constitute a majority of the convention.[12] The superdelegates consist of DNC members, Democratic Congress members and Governors, and other prominent Democrats.[13] The final number of superdelegates will not be known until the convention.[14]

The pledged delegates are allocated among the states according to two main criteria: 1) proportion of votes each state gave the candidate in the last three Presidential elections; and 2) percentage of votes each state has in the Electoral College. Fixed numbers of delegates are allocated for Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Democrats Abroad. Under the party's Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention,[15] delegates are awarded via proportional representation with a minimum threshold of 15% of votes in a state or congressional district to receive delegates. The delegate population must reflect the state's ethnic distribution; and at least 50% of the delegates must be women.

Results of delegate voting

Along with presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama, former opponent Hillary Clinton's name was also placed in nomination for president. [16] The Los Angeles Times noted that this has occurred before: Jerry Brown's name was entered into the roll call after losing to Bill Clinton in 1992; Jesse Jackson and Gary Hart also had their names added after losing to Walter F. Mondale in 1984. [17] In 1980, Senator Ted Kennedy's name was entered into the roll call after losing to Jimmy Carter.[18] In addition, Clinton became only the fourth woman to have her name placed in nomination for president at a major party convention. (U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was placed in nomination at the 1964 Republican National Convention, and U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm of New York was placed in nomination at the 1972 Democratic National Convention.[16] In 1976, anti-abortionist Ellen McCormack had her name placed in nomination along with Mo Udall, Jimmy Carter and Jerry Brown.[19])

President

Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 2008
Candidate Votes Percentage
Barack Obama 1549 35.07%
Hillary Rodham Clinton 341.5 7.73%
Abstain 1 0%
Totals 2,527.0 57.20%

Part way through the roll call, former rival Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York motioned to suspend the rules of the roll call and nominate Obama by acclamation. This was done and the voting was never officially completed.[20] Earlier the same day, Clinton had released her delegates, allowing them to vote for Obama.[21]

Vice President

Joe Biden was nominated by acclamation.

Venue

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The 2008 Democratic National Convention was held in Denver's Pepsi Center.

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File:2008 Democratic National Convention Floor.jpg
The floor of the Pepsi Center was the main hall for the convention.

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File:DNCInvesco.jpg
The final night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention was held at Denver's Invesco Field.

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Site selection

In late November 2005, 35 cities were invited by the DNC to bid for the right to host the 2008 convention: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, St Louis, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.[22]

Eleven cities originally accepted the invitation to bid for the convention in January 2006: Anaheim, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis–St. Paul, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Antonio.[23] A formal Request for Proposal was mailed to participating cities on February 27 and the deadline for cities to respond was May 19, 2006.

Only three cities submitted final proposals to host the convention: Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York. New Orleans had submitted an initial bid, but on July 12, the city dropped out. The cities were visited by a 10-member Technical Advisory Committee in June 2006. On September 27, the Republicans announced they would have their 2008 convention in St. Paul, removing St. Paul from consideration; leaving Denver and New York as potential hosts. Despite hard lobbying by New York party boosters, then-Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg dealt the campaign a major blow when he announced the city lacked the financial means to support a convention.[24] Denver was chosen as the host on January 11, 2007, as Democrats looked to make gains in the "Purple West" states of Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

Preparations

The work to prepare Pepsi Center for the Democratic National Convention is expected to cost $15 million. In addition, a 220,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) temporary building to be used by the media will be built adjacent to Pepsi Center. [25]

Convention organizers expect 50,000 attendees, out of which 5,000 will be delegates, and 15,000 media personnel.[26] However, they expect 75,000 people coming to watch Obama accept the nomination on Thursday.[1]

Labor issues

The head of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local No. 7, Jim Taylor, refused to sign a no-strike agreement for the convention. Pepsi Center normally uses non-union labor, but will use Taylor's union during the convention, and Taylor wants Pepsi Center to use his union for all events.[27]

Security measures

As with past political conventions since 2000, the Democratic National Convention was designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Principal speakers

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Michelle Obama

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Mark Warner

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File:Obamas-Bidens.jpg
Obama and Biden Families

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Monday, August 25

The theme for the day was "One Nation", with Michelle Obama as the "headline prime-time speaker." [28] She was introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson.[29] Also, Maya Soetoro-Ng spoke briefly on growing up with her older brother Barack Obama, and brought an AAPI presence to the stage for the first time. [30] The Work to Come: A Tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy, directed and produced by Mark Herzog and Chris Cowen in association with Ken Burns, was introduced by Kennedy's niece, Caroline Kennedy. [31] Senator Kennedy was not expected to attend the convention due to his illness, but nevertheless made a surprise appearance and speech in the evening. A video about former President Jimmy Carter's humanitarian work was also shown, followed by a brief appearance by the president himself.[32]

Tuesday, August 26

The theme for the day was "Renewing America's Promise." [28]Senator Hillary Clinton was the headline prime-time speaker and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner delivered the keynote address.[28]

Wednesday, August 27

The theme for the day was "Securing America's Future" and featured a speech by Joe Biden, the Vice Presidential candidate. [28] Speakers included former president Bill Clinton, 2004 presidental candidate Sen. John Kerry (MA), and Sen. Evan Bayh (IN).[28]

After Joe Biden spoke, his first address as Vice Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama made a surprise appearance praising the convention.[33]

Thursday, August 28

The convention moved to the INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium, with a DNCC record crowd of more than 84,000 people in attendance. Speakers included former Vice President Al Gore, and the evening culminated in Barack Obama's acceptance speech.[34] Over 38 million people across 10 U.S. cable and broadcast TV networks tuned in to watch the historic moment.[35] Barack Obama's speech was well received, one news source calling it "The wrap-up to the party convention blended old-fashioned speechmaking, Hollywood-quality stagecraft and innovative, Internet age politics."[36]

Controversies

Seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan

The Florida and Michigan legislatures moved forward their primaries to January 2008,[37] in contravention of party rules and were stripped of their delegates.[38] The Clinton campaign with others initially opposed their seating, stating they acknowledged that the delegates from neither Michigan nor Florida would count. However, after winning the Florida and Michigan primaries, Senator Clinton spoke in favor of seating the states' delegates (despite Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and John Edwards having removed their names from the Michigan primary ballot).[39] DNC Chairman Howard Dean asked Florida and Michigan to submit a new plan for a process to choose the delegates, such as holding primaries again, or let the matter be referred to the Credentials Committee.[40] In May 2008, the rules committee agreed to let their delegates have half a vote each. In August 2008, Senator Barack Obama, the party’s presumptive nominee, asked the credentials committee to let the two states have full voting rights at the convention.[41] The credentials committee met on Aug. 24, the day before the convention began, and voted to restore full voting rights to Florida and Michigan. [42]

Use of municipal fuel by convention planners

From March through July, convention planners were provided subsidized and untaxed fuel from municipal government gas pumps at a price less than retail fuel available to ordinary citizens, reportedly without a signed contract. After the practice became public at a meeting with city council members, only convention planners' buses were allowed to refuel at city facilities.[43][44][45][46][47]

Lawsuit by protesters

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of 12 organizations who plan on protesting at the Democratic Convention, requesting that the Secret Service and Denver officials release information about procedures in regards to protesting times and the Demonstration Zone.[48][49] In a June 12 release, a parade route and Demonstration Zone were announced. The Demonstration Zone will be in Parking Lot A of the Pepsi Center. Some groups, including two groups opposing abortion chose to delay filing suit after it was announced that their applications for permits are being processed.[50] In an amended complaint, the ACLU and interested advocacy groups have filed suit against the Secret Service and the city and county of Denver, questioning the constitutionality of the restrictions. The lawsuit failed and the ACLU did not appeal.[51]

Demonstration zone

The official demonstration zone was unused on Monday afternoon, as the convention opened. The 47,000 square foot fenced area was 700 feet from the Pepsi center and delegates could pass from 8 to 200 feet from it.[52]

A panorama of the demonstration zone at the Pepsi Center, which is visible behind the white media tent, on August 25.[52]

Suspected Obama assassination scare

Main article: 2008 Barack Obama assassination scare

On August 24, three men were arrested in the Denver, Colorado area on drugs and weapons charges.[53] Following the arrests of Shawn Robert Adolf, Tharin Robert Gartrell and Nathan Johnson, a possible plot to assassinate Senator Obama surfaced, which is still being investigated.[54]

Arrest of an ABC News reporter

A reporter from ABC News was arrested as he was photographing a meeting of Democratic senators and VIP donors. The reporter, Asa Eslocker, was arrested by the Denver police and charged with trespassing, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. The reporter was later released, after posting bail.[55]

Abortion protest sign

Abortion protest sign on Table Mountain

On August 26, 2008, a group of pro-life activists from American Right to Life Action constructed a sign on Table Mountain outside Denver, overlooking the convention.[56] The sign, made of 2500 sheets, read "Destroys / uNborn / Children" in three rows; it was lined up so that "DNC" appeared vertically in a different color. The sign captured a Guinness World Record for largest protest sign, being 530-foot tall and 666-foot wide.[57] Later that day, the protesters were asked by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department to remove the sign. No citations were issued, though the group did violate two open space regulations.[56]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Open Convention". Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  2. ^ "Obama accepts Democrat nomination". BBC News. BBC. 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  3. ^ Nagourney, Adam (2008-08-28). "Obama Wins Hard-Fought Nomination as Biden and Bill Clinton Rally the Party". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  4. ^ "Obama accepts Democrat nomination". BBC News. BBC. 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  5. ^ "Welcome to the New DemConvention.com". Demconvention.com. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  6. ^ Democrats Announce 2008 Convention Chairs
  7. ^ "Week In Review: National Organizing Kickoff a Great Success". democrats.org. November 11. Retrieved 2007-12-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Democratic dead-heat 'not good news' says Dean". AFP. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  9. ^ Lochhead, Carolyn (2008-02-07). "Brokered Dem convention looking more likely". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  10. ^ "CNN projects Obama clinches nomination". CNN. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  11. ^ "Clinton ends historic bid, endorses Obama". Associated Press for MSNBC. 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  12. ^ a b Democratic National Committee (2007-02-02). "Call for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" (PDF). Democratic National Committee. Retrieved 2008-01-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "The Primary Season: 2008 Democratic Calendar", The New York Times
  14. ^ A list of superdelegates can be found here at this site.
  15. ^ Democratic National Committee (2006-08-19). "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" (PDF). Democratic National Committee. Retrieved 2008-01-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b "Clinton's name to be put in nomination at convention". CNN. August 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Nicholas, Peter. "Hillary Clinton's name to be placed in nomination at convention". August 15, 2008. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-12. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Clinton may seek roll-call vote at Dems' convention". August 8, 2008. Newsday. Retrieved 2008-08-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Shall We Gather at the Hudson River?
  20. ^ http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/D.phtml
  21. ^ Bill Clinton hails Barack Obama, BBC News, August 28, 2008.
  22. ^ Georgia Politics Unfiltered: Atlanta invited to submit a bid for the '08 Democratic Convention
  23. ^ News: Anaheim asked to make bid for Republican convention - OCRegister.com
  24. ^ http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/01/cqpolitics_news_alert_denver_g.html
  25. ^ Dems will redo Pepsi center for national convention
  26. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Demconvention.com. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  27. ^ Union head rankled by losing bid
  28. ^ a b c d e "DNC adds speakers, announces gavel times for Denver". KXRM-TV. August 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  29. ^ Pelosi, Michelle Obama to kick off Dem Convention
  30. ^ "Asian Dispatchers from the 2008 DNC". AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
  31. ^ [Kennedy Tribute directed and produced by Mark Herzog and Chris Cowen will air first night of Democratic National Convention
  32. ^ Carter chooses filming Katrina video instead of live DNC speech
  33. ^ Obama makes surprise appearance
  34. ^ "Obama accepts Democrat nomination". BBC News. BBC. 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  35. ^ Record 38 Million Watched Obama Speech on 10 Networks
  36. ^ David, Espo and Robert, Furlow (2008-08-29). "Obama tells huge Dem crowd he'll fix Washington". Associated Press. Yahoo News. Retrieved 2008-08-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Bell, Dawson (2007-08-30). "Michigan's presidential primary set for Jan. 15". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-03-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  38. ^ Goodnough, Abby (2007-09-09). "Forewarned but Angry, Florida Democrats Weigh Primary Penalty". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  39. ^ "Presidential Candidate Primary Listing" (PDF). University of Michigan Library, Government Documents. 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  40. ^ Pickler, Nedra (2008-03-06). "Do-Over in Michigan and Florida?". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  41. ^ http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/obama-wants-full-voting-rights-to-florida-michigan-delegates/
  42. ^ DNC Gives Florida, Michigan Delegates Full Voting Rights
  43. ^ "Report: Democratic Convention's Hosts Getting Tax-Free Gas". FOX News Network. 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  44. ^ Chacon, Daniel J. (2008-07-22). "DNC host's tax-free gas evaporates". Rocky Mountain News. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved 2008-08-09. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ Chacon, Daniel J. (2008-07-29). "City gas pumps dry up for DNC vehicles". Rocky Mountain News. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved 2008-08-09. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ "Convention staff quits using city's tax-free gas pumps". The Denver Post. 2008-07-29. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  47. ^ http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/12804/
  48. ^ Judge Puts Democratic Convention Lawsuit on 'Fast-Track'
  49. ^ "Protest Groups File Suit for Right to Protest at Democratic National Convention". National Constitution Center (Mailing list). 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-30. {{cite mailing list}}: Unknown parameter |mailinglist= ignored (|mailing-list= suggested) (help)
  50. ^ Ivan, Moreno (2008-02-28). "Religious Groups Halt Lawsuit For Protest Permits". Associated Press. CBS4Denver. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  51. ^ http://www.politicswest.com/27819/no_appeal_planned_aclus_dnc_lawsuit
  52. ^ a b Sabar, Ariel (2008-08-27). "Protesters at Democratic convention fly the 'cage'". The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  53. ^ Maass, Brian (August 25, 2008). "Plot to Kill Obama: Shoot From High Vantage Point". KCNC-TV. CBS. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  54. ^ Paulson, Steven K. (August 25, 2008). "FBI looks into Denver reports of threat on Obama". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  55. ^ Ross, Brian (August 27, 2008). "ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  56. ^ a b Gandy, Sara (August 27, 2008). "Protest sign gets a lot of attention". 9News.com (NBC). Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  57. ^ Schilling, Chelsea (August 26, 2008). "World's largest sign protests abortion outside DNC". WorldNet Daily. Retrieved 2008-08-28.

External links

Preceded by
2004
Boston, Massachusetts
 		Democratic National Conventions Succeeded by
2012
Location TBD
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