The 2004 Democratic National Convention Continues...

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Here's some of the signs people were holding. They were passed out just before each speaker.
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This was the hardest sign to find after the first night. People were buzzing about Obama. Just about everybody I talked to said they thought they'd just seen the birth of a future president.
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The Reverend Al Sharpton gave the most thunderous, rousing fire and brimstone speech of the whole convention.
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This is my favorite one. Old School.
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A more modern Kerry/Edwards sign.
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Certain organizations made their own endorsement signs. This one's from the NEA.
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Teresa Heinz Kerry had her own fan base, too.
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I'm not really sure why Pennsylvania calls her their "own." She was born in Mozambique...
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Vice Presidential hopeful John Edwards speech was on the theme "Hope is on the way!"
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More celebrity sightings. Here's Rob Reiner. I also rode in an elevator with P Diddy and his SIXTEEN PERSON ENTOURAGE.
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Here's a sight you thought you'd never see - Larry King interviewing Ben Affleck, The Reverend Al Sharpton, and some other guy who couldn't get a word in edgewise.
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One convention treat for me was spotting James Carville, The Ragin' Cajun.
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Carville and George Stephanopoulos were the guys that got Clinton Elected.
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They are the subject of a really good documentary called "The War Room." It's a good behind the scenes of the Clinton campaign.
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Stephanopoulos is doing news now. He was more than happy to pose with a fan. (I guess political insiders must not have many fans.)
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John Cougar Mellencamp sang "Small Town" on day 3.
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He and his boys really rocked it down.
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Out in the hall, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was taking new victims.
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He'd been thrown out of the convention twice already, but somehow he was back inside.
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On night three the DNC "Got It Started" with Black Eyed Peas.
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Vice Presidential hopeful John Edwards came out to a more-than-full house.
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It was so full, in fact, that the Fire Marshall started freaking out.
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They closed off the entrances to the convention hall. You could get out, but you couldn't get in.
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Some Delegates were stuck in the halls, watching the speech on TV.
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Edwards had a remarkably positive speech built around the line "Hope is on the way."
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It was one of the rare speeches that people were allowed to hold two different signs. Unity of message!
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His family came out at the end, including his two little kids.
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And then it was time to get down to business.
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The delegates are officially there to vote for the candidates who won their state primaries. The winner becomes the Democratic Party Nominee.
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Each state was polled one by one.
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Some states were all for John Kerry, some were divided between Kerry and his competition - Howard Dean, John Edwards, and the rest.
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Ben watched with high anticipation from the 9th floor HQ.
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Ohio was given the honor of being the official "Over the Top" State. Their votes for Kerry gave him the majority to become the official Democratic Party Nominee.
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Astronaut and former Senator John Glenn got to announce the vote. The crowd went crazy. Then everybody that had already voted went home. Half the states had to stick around and cast their votes for the sake of completing the process.
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Night Four! The crowd was packed, waiting for John Kerry to accept the nomination.
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Standing room only.
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The crew of John Kerry's Vietnam Swift Boat came out to sing his praises. As did The Honorable Max Cleland, former Senator from Georgia.
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The cameras were ready.
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Our crew was waiting.
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They passed out Kerry signs, told everyone to put their other signs on the floor.
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Unity of Message!
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Finally the moment came, and John Kerry took the stage.
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The crowd had been priming for this all week.
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Now he was there in the flesh.
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Kerry talked a lot about his military experience and his plans for America.
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Everybody was so amped up that he kept having to wait for applause to stop so he could continue his speech.
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Look! It's me and John Kerry!
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Finally the ballons started to drop. (Well, some of them.)
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Here's a nice moment as Mrs. Edwards tries not to harshly discipline her children in front of the entire press corps. Please, step away from the balloons, little ones.
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With a bang of the Gavel, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico adjourns the convention.
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They were still struggling to dump balloons an hour after everbody had left, trying to destroy the evidence of their flawed drop.
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It looked like Spider-Man was living in the Fleet Center ceiling.
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I had a really good time at the convention, and I'm glad Ben and Joe got me out there for it.
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You can see all the videos and chats our team did at www.dems2004.org. (For a while, at least...)
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