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Mile-High Conversations

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

DENVER - The Democratic National Convention you see on TV is not the same convention as experienced in the Pepsi Center.

You see delegates cheering, dancing, waving signs. You don't see the army of men and women in lime-green vests patrolling the aisles, distributing American flags and signs and instructing delegates in their "spontaneous" demonstrations.

Humanity clogs the area behind the prime floor seats and in front of the risers. Delegates push to find their seats. Gawkers want a glimpse of network news stars broadcasting from the floor.

"My God, that's Katie Couric!" a woman screamed as she snaked through the crowd.

Others in the lumbering massacre celebrities whose conversations cause those around them to stop and stare. A jam quickly formed when comedian and TV talk show host Bill Maher stopped to talk with Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. I couldn't hear their conversation and was blinded by camera flashes. Kucinich's beautiful wife, Elizabeth, stood off to the side, almost unnoticed.

Many of these wanderers are guests or staffers who have no seats - but they do have cameras and cell phones and the need to share. Others are members of the news media - who outnumber delegates here better than three to one - who must take the temperature of their delegation, again. Is the party unified yet?

So, hundreds, if not thousands, of people roam the hall - or they would if there was room to roam. We may be in a city on the wide-open plains, but here in the Pepsi Center the proximity to other human beings is worse than anything New York commuters experience on rush-hour subways

During former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's keynote address Tuesday, I tried to make my way to Media General's seats in the press stands near the podium after visiting with North Carolinians. Here's some of what I heard from the podium and on the floor:

Warner: "The most important contest of our generation has begun..."

Lime-green vest man: "Put the signs down for now. We'll tell you when to put them up."

Warner: "I believe from the bottom of my heart with the right vision, the right leadership, and the energy and creativity of the American people, there is no nation that we can't out hustle or out compete. And no American need be left out or left behind."

Man to friend: "You coming to the party tonight?"

Friend: "Which one?"

Warner: "In America, everyone should get a fair shot."

Lime-green vest woman speaking urgently into phone: "We have a press bottleneck between Alaska and New York! They won't move!"

Warner: "Barack Obama has a different vision - and a different plan...the status quo just won't cut it."

Lime-green vest man, shouting: "Guys, you can't stand there. You've got to keep moving. Move! Move! Move!"

Marsha Mercer is Washington bureau chief of Media General News Service.

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