DNC succeeds in uniting party

Before the Democratic National Convention began last week in Denver, I found myself both excited and nervous. With Senators Barack Obama and John McCain running even at 45% in some national polls, Democrats could not afford a missed opportunity.After the heated primary battle between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton, Denver needed to be a "magic band-aid" of sorts. Democratic primary votes were essentially split down the middle, with approximately 18 million votes for each candidate. Many of Clinton's most ardent supporters felt she had earned the right to be Obama's running mate in a fabled "dream ticket." When Senator Joe Biden was announced as the vice presidential nominee, many feared it would leave a good portion of Clinton's 18 million voters sitting on the sidelines.

The convention began just one day after the closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics. In a brilliant move, the first night functioned more or less as a prayer ceremony, echoing the Obama campaign's successful in-roads at religious voters-previously a Republican stronghold.

The next several nights saw an all-star cast of speakers, including Senator Ted Kennedy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Michelle Obama, take to the stage and speak passionately about the urgency of our national situation and the direction the Democratic Party would lead us. All eyes seemed to be fixed on Senator Clinton in nervous anticipation of her speech Tuesday night.

Ironically, that speech was in many ways the biggest speech of Obama's political career. Senator Clinton performed brilliantly, giving her whole-hearted endorsement of Obama and calling on all Democrats to unite behind the ticket. Her speech was insightful, eloquent and most of all, genuine, silencing pundits who questioned her enthusiasm. I never thought I'd say this about Bill and Hillary Clinton, but it was almost heartwarming to watch the former president listen to his wife speak. During one round of applause, he mouthed "I love you." It was a rare moment of warmth shared amongst a very calculating pair.

On Thursday the convention moved outdoors to Invesco Field, where Obama was set to deliver his acceptance speech before a crowd of 70,000 people. From the Walden Inn, I watched him give the perfect speech: one full of policy, tasteful attacks, defense and inspiration. As always, he took the high road and came off as a genuine statesman, ready to lead and full of promising ideas.

In the wake of the convention, the Gallup poll shows Obama as the benefactor of a healthy eight-point bounce, suggesting the Democratic party might finally be united. McCain's choice of politically-irrelevant Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate seems a laughable attempt to gain support amongst women who supported Senator Clinton. McCain is right. Palin is a woman, and that alone is appealing to some women. But I give the women of America more credit than that.

Obama has done more than re-energize the Democratic party; he has revolutionized America's political landscape. The past 20 years have been marked by a steady decrease in voter turnout, especially amongst young people. On the final night of the convention, 38 million television sets were watching Obama, a politician, give a speech. That's more viewers than a recent season finale of American Idol, more viewers than the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, more viewers than the Academy awards. No matter what one's political beliefs are, the energy Obama has brought to a previously apathetic American electorate is undeniable. McCain has actually attacked Obama for being too popular, in an advertising campaign that places the Democratic nominee alongside Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

The Democratic National Convention was perfect. The party is united, Obama proved once again he is ready to bring necessary change to a broken government, and America is listening. Now all eyes turn to the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, where the Republicans get their taste of the spotlight, unless Hurricane Gustav crashes the party.



- David Dietz is the president of College Democrats;

daviddietz_2011@depauw.edu.