Convention notebook: A historic day in Denver

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By Times Staff | Wednesday, August 27, 2008 |

Shawn Johnson to lead pledge at DNC

DENVER — The Obama campaign confirmed Wednesday that Shawn Johnson, the 16-year-old Des Moines girl who won a gold medal and three silvers in gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics, will be at the Democratic National Convention here today to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at Invesco Field.

‘We feel good about Iowa’

Jim Messina, the chief of staff of Barack Obama’s

campaign, laid out an assessment of where things stand, when he spoke to the Iowa

delegation.

So far, he said, the campaign figures Obama is winning in states with 200 electoral votes, with McCain leading in states with 137. There are 18 battleground states with 199 electoral votes. One is Iowa.

“We believe today we carry Iowa. We feel pretty good about Iowa. We need a lot of help here, but we feel great about it.”

Incidentally, Messina breathed a little insight to just how sophisticated these campaigns are. He said the campaign has four doctoral-level statisticians working in the Chicago office. The campaign is micro-targeting voters all over the country, something the Republicans have done successfully.

Pelosi’s Iowa schedule

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the Iowa delegation Wednesday and huddled with U.S. Reps. Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, to talk about her upcoming trip to Iowa.

A few days ago, it was announced Pelosi would come to the state Sept. 8 to tour parts of the state struck by disaster. Braley said, If the Secret Service is willing, the idea is that she’ll go to Des Moines, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. He said he also hoped that she could get to Parkersburg, the site of a devastating tornado.

The Iowa congressional delegation has been pushing for additional disaster aid, and the tour is aimed at bringing home the point.

The speaker talked to the delegation about the importance of health care for kids and said John McCain stood by President Bush too often on such issues. Pelosi mingled with Iowans and posed for a few pictures, but she left without talking to reporters.

Memories

In this city, where the entire machinery of the Democratic Party is aimed at promoting Barack Obama, it’s hard to believe the junior U.S. senator from Illinois had a hard time even getting into the party’s convention in Los Angeles eight years ago.

Yet, that’s the story that U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told the Iowa delegation Wednesday morning. Durbin was a guest speaker at the state’s daily breakfast meeting.

Durbin said Obama, a state senator then, could barely get inside the convention hall in L.A. He wasn’t a delegate. In fact, he said he had a hard time even getting a car from the airport to drive downtown.

Eventually, he got into a skybox, Durbin said, but

didn’t even last the whole week of the convention.

“He packed up and left before Thursday. He’d run out of money, heading back to Chicago to his family,” Durbin said.

This time Obama’s skipped the first part. But he’ll be here today to accept his party’s nomination for president.

Gluba’s son

Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba’s been a Barack Obama backer for a long time, but not a lot of people know that his son, Kevin, is a diehard, too.

Kevin, who was ever-present in the mayor’s congressional campaigns, is now up in Alaska working for Obama, according to the mayor.

Alaska is one of those traditionally Republican states, like Montana, that Obama is making a play for. He’s at least the second person with Iowa connections up there. Jeff Giertz, the chief spokesman for U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, also is up there.

Special guest

When Sen. Joe Biden spoke to the convention Wednesday night, an Iowan was sitting with his family. Marshall Clemons, 37, of Cedar Rapids, spent a day working with Biden at Harding Middle School there.

Biden took up the challenge by Clemons’ unions, SEIU, to spend a day with an average working person. SEIU issued the challenge to all the candidates.

Biden worked on a boiler and the heating and air conditioning system. “He caught on real quick,” Clemons said.

Biden then had dinner with Clemons’ family. Since then, they’ve talked a few times and, when Biden got the veep nod from Barack Obama, Clemons headed out here.

About noon Wednesday, he was invited to sit with Biden’s family. “My feet haven’t touched the ground,” he said.

Biden is pretty well known as a regular guy. He goes back to Delaware each night after work on Amtrak, he talks to big shots and working people alike. And Iowans will appreciate this: Clemons said their dinner last year was chicken and corn on the cob. “Oddly enough, he picks his teeth just like the rest of us,” Clemons said.

—Ed Tibbetts

Q-C supporters host watch parties

Convention watch parties will be held tonight in about 30 locations around the Quad-Cities for supporters to watch Sen. Barack Obama’s convention acceptance speech televised from Denver.

The campaign plans watch parties in all 99 counties in Iowa.

“Iowa played a crucial role in Senator Obama’s early success and we want to make sure that all Iowans have a chance to be a part of this historic night. Sen. Obama’s message of change has inspired Iowans from every background and every part of the state, and we look forward to joining together to watch Sen. Obama as he speaks about his vision for our country,” Obama Iowa State Director Jackie Norris said.

A list of watch parties can be found at the Web site iowa.barackobama.com, where supporters can search by Zip code to find a party and respond to attend.

Among the Quad-City parties are gatherings at 8 p.m. at the Redstone Room, 131 W. 2nd St., Davenport, and 7 p.m. at the home of Helen Kwan, 1 Briarwood Chase, Bettendorf, according to the campaign.—Times staff