Sooo, maybe I am not supposed to write this, but, this Convention thing? Incredibly boring. I know Obama will light it up Thursday night, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are must sees. Joe Biden should be interesting, but already he is the forgotten man. Mark Warner? Come on. And having to listen to talking heads all day and night? Ugh.

They say politics is show business for ugly people, and I must say conventions are to politics what the Oscars Awards Shows are to show business. Except they last for 4 days, not 4 hours.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Via corrente, David Sirota demonstrates how to do the most harm you can to Barack Obama:

The Clintons are doing everything they can to make this convention all about them - and to absolve themselves from the substantive criticism of both Clintonism and Bill Clinton's behavior on the campaign. . . . No, Bill Clinton was not "painted as a racist" - he was a racist during the campaign.

Nice work David. John McCain thanks you.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Here's the video:

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

CNN Reports:

Sen. Edward Kennedy is expected to make a dramatic appearance Monday night at the start of the Democratic National Convention, his office said, marking his second public appearance since brain surgery in June. . . . Sen. Edward Kennedy, who endorsed Sen. Barack Obama in January, is "itching to go," a source says.

Good to see Kennedy is well enough to come speak. It will be a highlight tonight.

By Big Tent Democrat

As Anita and I make our way through downtown, here's another open thread for you.

TalkLeft is getting traffic spikes that are making the site run slowly. Remember, if it goes down, I will switch to the backup site here. Bookmark it now as you won't be able to find it if the site is down.

Here's tonight's speaker list. While Pepsi Center speeches begin at 3pm, the prime time program is 7 to 9 pm MT. Michelle Obama is the final speaker.

The program will close with a benediction by Don Miller, described as a "Best-selling author & public speaker focusing on Christian spirituality." I'll be gone as soon as Michelle has finished speaking.

After that, I plan to attend a special cocktail reception at the Denver Art Museum celebrating the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. It's from 9pm to midnight. Sen. Hillary Clinton will be among the speakers.

Thanks to Atrios for taking and posting this photo of CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin and me from the Salon Party Saturday night.

This is an open thread.

It's fair to say, as does this Indianapolis Star editorial, that there's a crisis in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Ten IMPD officers have been arrested, jailed or targeted for investigation in the past four months. The latest in a string of scandals involves officer Anthony Smith, charged on Thursday with seven felonies, including rape. He is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman while on duty last week.

[more ...]

I'm getting ready to head downtown, to the Big Tent, the Streets, the Pepsi Center and to check out CNN's The Grill Room.

I'm glad to see Big Tent Democrat's post that Hillary is asking her supporters to focus on electing the next Democratic President.

I'll be as clear as I can: TalkLeft and all three of its authors, and this week's guest contributor, support the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. I have since the day Hillary dropped out in June, asking readers to respect her and her decision.

Despite my aversion to Sen. Joe Biden on the ticket, keep in mind it's my individual reaction to his decades spent promoting ill-advised and draconian crime legislation. It in no way means that the Democratic ticket isn't the preferred one over the other options in November. [More...]

Ben Smith reports about Hillary's remarks to the New York delegation:

"I'm Hillary Clinton and I do not approve that message," Clinton tells the New York delegation of McCain's ad that features her old criticism of Obama.

Here is Hillary's message:

Clinton says Democrats are gathered in Denver for a "clear and specific purpose and that is to elect Barack Obama President of the United States [. . .] Now I ask each and every one of you to work as hard for Obama as you worked for me," she said.

By Big Tent Democrat

A New York Times/CBS News poll of delegates to the Democratic National Convention found:

More than half of the delegates that Mrs. Clinton won in the primaries now say they are enthusiastic supporters of Mr. Obama, and they also believe he will win the presidential election in November, the poll found. Three in 10 say they support Mr. Obama but have reservations about him or they support him only because he is the party’s nominee. Five percent say they do not support him yet.

When Hillary Clinton's name is placed in nomination: [more ...]

I do not know how it looks from the ground in Denver, but on cable TV the story is All About The Clintons. As predictable as it was, apparently the fact that the Convention Narrative today is Dem Divided/What About The Clintons? comes as a great shock to the Obama camp and his supporters, both in the Media and on the blogs.

Picking Joe Biden (who is only mentioned in passing on TV today), which was the best Obama could do once he ruled out picking Hillary, especially the way it was rolled out, pretty much guaranteed this result. Obama should have known this would happen, and assuming he did, he chose this path.

To change the subject, Ted Kennedy is being flown out from Boston tonight for the tribute to him. But let's face it, the Media can't resist the chance to attack the Clintons, so it won't work very well. The good news is old Republican habits die hard and, on MSNBC, GOP talking head Barbara Comstock just smeared the Clintons saying it was the same old Clintons, all about them. If I was on Obama's team, I would get that clip up on You Tube.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

NYTimes:

During the years that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was helping the credit card industry win passage of a law making it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection, his son had a consulting agreement that lasted five years with one of the largest companies pushing for the changes, aides to Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign acknowledged Sunday. Campaign officials acknowledged that the connection between the Bidens and MBNA, the enormous financial services company then based in their home state of Delaware, was one of the most sensitive issues they examined while vetting the senator for a spot on the ticket.

Mr. Biden’s support for the bankruptcy changes, which were signed into law in 2005, puts him at odds with Mr. Obama of Illinois, who opposed the bill and has criticized the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for supporting it. Consumer advocates and other Democratic allies remain sharply critical of Mr. Biden’s actions, saying in recent days that they could hamper the campaign’s efforts to attack the Republicans over their handling of the nation’s credit crisis.

Baggage. Every pol has some.

By Big Tent Democrat.