Notes from the Los Angeles Democratic Convention:
Downtown LA never looked safer. Dozens of police roamed every block. But it was eerie. Helicopters constantly hovered above, like in a scene out of “Apocalypse Now.” It seemed like an explosion was about to happen.
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The streets were filled with delegates and other people walking here and there. But downtown LA still lacked joie de vivre. I remember covering the 1984 convention in San Francisco: Those Democrats didn’t have much chance of winning, but they had a lot more fun in the streets.
A group of Venezuelan politicians asked me to translate what some protesters were protesting. One group was against abortion and showed graphic photos. That was clear enough. It was much harder to explain the protesters carrying signs against breast-feeding. The Venezuelans were just as perplexed as I was about why anyone would oppose breast-feeding.
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Lydia Camarillo, CEO of the Democratic Convention, talked about growing up the child of immigrants who had big dreams for their children. But what seemed more remarkable was that she gave birth just six months ago and then put together the convention.
Even the media knows the importance of marketing itself nowadays. Almost every media had a banner over its temporary offices in the Convention Center: MSNBC, NBC, ABC, Yahoo, Reuters, Bloomberg, the San Francisco Chronicle and others.
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From his opening walk down a long corridor before coming out on stage ( & #225; la Jay Leno), to the end of his energetic speech, Bill Clinton demonstrated once more that he’s a great showman. I watched him from 20 yards away and it’s true what they say: When Clinton looks your way, it’s like he’s looking directly at you.
When Hillary and Bill were on stage, the delegates paid attention.
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Watching Clinton speak, it’s hard to think of a Democratic president this century who has had a better run of prosperity,not Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson or Carter. No Republican either, for so long a stretch.
After the Republican Convention ended, Latin music blared in the hall. After Clinton finished speaking on the first night of the Democratic Convention, the cast of the Broadway show “The Music Man” performed “76 Trombones.” It was as if the two parties had swapped musical directors.
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The cast was very good. But “The Music Man” is about a shifty traveling salesman who cons a whole town. A curious choice to follow Clinton’s speech.
On the Metro ride home, a young man whimsically asked, “Who’s going to be president?” “I am,” replied another teenager with long dark hair. The other passengers didn’t laugh or deride the young man. They remained silent. You never know. This is America.
