The Republic of T.

Part One: Yours, Mine…

One of the things I hoped for when Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic convention, was that she would introduce people to the America that she came from, and that was the setting of her story. One of the biggest shames in the campaign — aside from the fact that political realities required this intelligent, accomplished woman to effectively bite her tongue for the last couple of months — is the lack of any honest discussion about the reality that we don’t all live in the same America. It’s one reality that both progressives and conservatives must grapple with between now and November, and beyond

Delivered on a night that carried the theme “One America,” her speech should serve as a reminder that if we are to be America, we have to first acknowledge that what we have are three America’s: yours, mine, and ours.

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After the last post, I thought I’d share one more celeb citing, as I was on my way out of Denver. This time, I was at the Denver airport, taking the shuttle from security to the departure gate. (Note: this couldn’t be posted from the Denver airport because — like most of my time at the convention — I was never able to get their wifi internet access to work. To add insult to injury, the 24-hour technical support number on the brochure that the woman at the information desk gave to me as dead. It never even rang when I called it. The call just disconnected. Did the same thing when she called it, after I informed her of it.)

I didn’t see her going through security, but I glimpsed a flash of red out of the corner of my eye, turned my head ever so slightly, and there she was, wheeling her carry-on to the shuttle.

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It’s true, celebs abounded in Denver.

You can’t walk within shouting distance of the Pepsi Center here without sighting Ben Affleck, Eva Longoria, Stephen Spielberg or Melissa Etheridge.

After Hillary Clinton’s speech Tuesday, reporters lurched after passed canapés poolside at a posh Denver home where Sean Penn and directors J.J. Abrams and Cameron Crowe filled out a crowd that included Charlie Rose, Sony Pictures (SNE) Chairman Michael Lynton and Liberty Media chief executive Greg Maffei.

It’s no surprise that the mostly liberal cultural mavens of Hollywood cannot contain their enthusiasm for Barack Obama (if that looks like Oprah cheering tonight during his big moment, it probably is.) It’s also brilliantly perverse that while the Republican governor of California is an action movie star, John McCain’s campaign derisively labels Obama as “the biggest celebrity in the world.”

But from a business perspective, it’s hard to explain why so many media folks are here. Rarely has so much firepower come together in one place with so little specific purpose.

I had psuedo-celebrity citings all week. Pseudo, because they always turned out to be wrong, except for one. On Monday, I thought I saw one of my favorite actors. But it was only some guy who looked like Joaquin Phoenix, if he’d put on a little weight between movies. Wednesday, I thought I saw some guy who looked like an unshaven David Spade. I thought I saw George Lucas walk past me as one point, but I decided that if he was at Invesco field, he’d have a private box.

But then I hit the jackpot with my number one bona fide celeb encounter in Denver. I was leaving the press box and leaving Invesco field (to beat the rush), riding the elevator down to the first floor, when the elevator stopped on the third floor, and on to the elevator stepped…

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I walked into the convention hall today, on my way to the LGBT Caucus (and on my way to pick up a credential to get me into the Pepsi Center today), when I saw San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome. After what he did in San Francisco, and what came of it on the California Supreme Court, I couldn’t just pass him by. (It didn’t hurt that he was taller and more handsome in person than he is in his pictures.) I had to stop and thank him.

I told him, I was just on my way to the LGBT caucus and that just wanted to stop and thank him. To which he responded “Thank you!” One of his aides overheard me say where I was going, and invited me to walk with them since they were going to the LGBT caucus too.

And then we stepped into the hall, and heard the announcement that Del Martin just passed away. She died quietly, surrounded by her family and friends. There was a gasp, and a moment of stunned silence.

And as I thought about Del, I realized that before she died she got to do something that perhaps she never thought she would: after 55 years together, she got to marry the woman she loved. Something Gavin Newsome helped happen, and something that some people with deep-pockets want to keep us from doing.

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I walked into the convention hall today, on my way to the LGBT Caucus (and on my way to pick up a credential to get me into the Pepsi Center today), when I saw San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome. After what he did in San Francisco, and what came of it on the California Supreme Court, I couldn’t just pass him by. (It didn’t hurt that he was taller and more handsome in person than he is in his pictures.) I had to stop and thank him.

I told him, I was just on my way to the LGBT caucus and that just wanted to stop and thank him. To which he responded “Thank you!” One of his aides overheard me say where I was going, and invited me to walk with them since they were going to the LGBT caucus too.

And then we stepped into the hall, and heard the announcement that Del Martin just passed away. She died quietly, surrounded by her family and friends. There was a gasp, and a moment of stunned silence.

And as I thought about Del, I realized that before she died she got to do something that perhaps she never thought she would: after 55 years together, she got to marry the woman she loved. Something Gavin Newsome helped happen, and something that some people with deep-pockets want to keep us from doing.

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My reaction? “Goddamn and Holy Shit! She did it!” I’m (finally) sitting here in the bloggers’ lounge at the Pepsi Center, where I heard her speech, and from where I sit, she did what she needed to do.

In the first two sentences, she unequivocally supported Barrack Obama. Then she talked about her campaign — about the people she was in it for — and then she laid it on the line with one question: “Were you in it for me? Or were you in it for them?”

The answer was clear: You’ve got to be in it for them, and if you’re in it for them, you’ve got to elect Barrack Obama.

But you saw the same speech. What do you think?

So, I flew into Denver yesterday, after not bothering to go to bed Saturday night, because my flight was at 6:06 a.m. and the shuttle to Dulles picked me up at 3:29 a.m. Besides, I wasn’t able to pack until after the kids went to bed. But then I wanted to help the hubby fold the laundry, and wanted to load and run the dishwasher, since I was leaving him on his own with the kids to go off and witness history. Oh yeah, and blog about it.

The problem is, my first day at the convention, I didn’t really see much to blog about. Actually, I sat in on about 15 minutes of the LGBT caucus, and saw Michelle Obama’s speech on a television screen with closed captioning and the volume turned down, and from a distance at that. But, at least I got a pretty good story out of it. So, maybe the day wasn’t a total loss.

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Have you been watching the Democratic National Convention on television? If so, you’ve already seen more of it than I have, I’m in Denver for the supposed purpose of blogging about the convention. (More on that later.) So, what are your thoughts? Can you tell m what I missed. I’m hoping to have time to watch Edward Kennedy’s and Michelle Obama’s speeches via YouTube, if I can find (a) the time and (b) a reliable wifi connection.

But seriously, what did I miss yesterday?