On the Way to Denver
(Note: The views below are the author’s alone.)
DENVER — The Democratic convention takes place in Denver but it begins all over the country. Chicago is one of the many places where people gather and travel to Colorado. As in recent days, the Obama crowd was flying out of Chicago O’Hare yesterday, and United flight 247 was populated by travelers that were a bit more mixed, and a bit more intense than regular air passengers on such routes. Everyone seemed to focus on the days ahead and even the blue and grey airline was announcing via video screen (and old-fashioned beamer) that it proudly supports the city of Denver during the convention that brings over 60,000 visitors to town. The plane had clearly seen more years than the Bush Administration. But its passengers were the people that want to change the country, the crowd on board was different. It was, from front to back of the plane, more female, more black, and younger–in a word, more American than the average business traveler.
Only a few passengers spent the two hours and a few minutes without reading the Washington Post or the New York Times. The Times’ Sunday Magazine on “Obamanomics,” his economic plan, was particularly popular, closely followed by the Times’ listings of Senator Biden’s positions in “Where Biden stands” on page 23. The mood was sober but focused: This one is not to be lost. After two winnable elections in 2000 and 2004, the crowd on flight UA 247 was unified in winning back the White House. “We gotta be strong” a woman a couple of rows back could be overheard saying, no stumbling and wavering this time. It was as if the lost batons in the U.S. women’s and men’s four-by-100 meter Olympic relay teams were the metaphor of the day: Don’t let this one slip. This election has been a 16-month relay race, and it is closing in on its last leg.
There was also the feeling of being part of history being written. The Chicago Tribune ran a cover story on “What Biden brings,” but most of the metro section featured a sober reminder of that other Democratic convention in 1968. The promise of racial integration that was violently broken back is supposed to be fulfilled in Denver’s Pepsi Center 40 years later. Herein also lies Obama’s dilemma. The weight of fulfilling the American dream (or nightmare, depending upon your perspective) of overcoming the Color Line on his shoulders might break him. If expectations are sky-high, you can fall off a cliff. That’s why the mood has been subdued in recent weeks–people seem to be afraid of their own hopes.
At the airport, thousands arrived in Denver from all over the United States and beyond. The National Democratic Institute runs a major operation for international visitors. Five hundred politicians and observers from all over the world decided to be part of this American moment in Denver. Many more wanted to attend. During the opening reception yesterday evening, the importance of the international outreach was palpable among all the participants. The Democrats take their international visitors dead serious–Madeleine Albright welcomed them to her hometown of Denver, Congressman Russ Carnahan from Missouri talked about his experiences in Europe and the need of cooperation, Nancy Pelosi spoke about the Democratic ticket and Joe Biden’s impact, Howard Dean took his designated role and attacked Republican unilateralism.
The entire event in its cosmopolitan setup was reflecting something new, a change that occurred after the end of the Cold War. This American election has a global dimension, a global audience, and global participants from Senegal to Germany, Vietnam to Chile. As much as it may bother some, this is not only an American vote. There are people all over the world that are concerned about western Pennsylvania moving toward the GOP. And when Barack Obama introduced himself as a citizen of the world in front of a crowd of 200,000 in Berlin, he captured the essence of what has happened. The ending block confrontation and the intervention in Iraq have brought the world closer together and at the same time alienated America from many parts.
On flight 247, as with the convention delegates at large, many want to set this record straight. The attitude is similar to that of the U.S. men’s basketball team during the Olympics: Let’s finally stage a comeback. Denver will give an indication if a similar return for Democrats in the realm of national politics is possible.