the dnc: day three ... live blog

Well, I'm here. Soldiering on for day three.

And if Barry treats Senator Clinton and her delegates, supporters, and voters with anything less than the ultimate respect, I might come unhinged today.

CNN reporting Hillary has released the delegates and will step in to stop the roll call "at some point". See, this is why we're screwed in November. Barry didn't win the popular vote. A full roll call vote would reveal that he didn't get enough pledged delegates to get the nod either. It had to come through the supers, who he no doubt bought off. But to allow a full roll call vote, would reveal that. Hence, we have to "cut it off".

Which begs me to ask: what the hell happened to the party of "every vote counts"? What the hell happened to the party that believed he (or she) that got the most votes, won? Have we really lost that in the last 8 years as well? And for what? To nominate a completely unelectable tool who has failed to heed some well-regarded advice? "Better a man keep silent and let people wonder if he is a fool, than open his mouth and confirm it".

I am really, really not looking forward to this. But I'm here. Soldering on.

(It beats working).

We have a Clinton delegate walking out! On FOX right now! He refuses to cast a vote for Obama!

"I'm an American first, my party comes second. If there is a conflict between my country and my party, I will vote for who I believe is the best candidate this fall."

My God, its like listening to myself. I like this guy.

"I know where I'm going to go, but I can't go on record at this point, in this place." Again, my kind of guy. Michael somebody. I'd vote for him.

(brent musburger voice) CSPAN is looking live! at the Pepsi Center.

Barry's plane has landed. Apparently that is news worthy.

The delegates in their seats look thrilled to be there.

The keynotes tonight:

Bill Clinton at 8. John Effing Kerry at 8:30. Joe Biden at 9:30. Here's hoping Biden doesn't break down in tears again addressing the floor.

We're already 5 minutes behind schedule. So far your music has been "Get Ready" and now "Dancin' in the Streets". Let's just get this debacle underway already.

Scary looking delegate from American Samoa "dancin' in the street". Or at least the aisle.

Here we go! Tonight's theme? "Securing America's Future". Like anyone expects Barry to be able to do that, when he can't even secure his own convention from the lady he supposedly beat.

Our opening speaker? You guessed it. Wearing pearls. She's going off about Ma Richards' speech in Atlanta in '88. That's the first convention I remember watching. Man I'm old.

"The Honorable Howard Dean" takes the podium.

The mic isn't working. Great. "I'd like to call this a Mickey Mouse operation ..."

He's submitting motions to honor the people who made the convention possible. Let's just get on with it already.

Whoa. We have an invocation at these things?!?! Never mind. Having seen the guy, it makes sense. He looks like a Muslim cleric.

Archbishop Demetrios.

CSPAN showing a row of delegates, and half of them are on the phone during the prayer. Oh yeah, its my party.

Colorado Veterans of Foreign Wars presenting the colors. Paul Bucha, a Vietnam war veteran, leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Whoa, we still do that? At a Democratic convention?!?! Sweet! See we're not all America haters!

Robert Moore, council member for the Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, doing the anthem. He's actually quite good.

Forgot to mention, since I figure the next 60, 90 minutes are going to make me vomit anyways, the libation of choice right now is the smuggled bottle of El Presidente brandy. So if you hear a lot of hurling sounds in south KC tonight, just know, its me. (The last time I tasted the stuff ... I puked all night, and I was so hammered that I not only kept toasting Jason's Chiefs coat, I put my keys in the freezer for "safe keeping". College. I miss it.)

Here we go. Speaker Pelosi. I like her outfit, a lot. Pale blue top, white pants, and oh yeah. Pearls.

"Presidential Nominating Process".

Hillary's nomination up first. Huge applause on the floor. Delores Huerta to make the nominating speech. She's from the United Farm Workers Union. See, the kind of useless trivia you don't just get anywhere.

Both nominations will be historic. Hence my desire to witness this live today. For the first time, a non-white male will be at the top of a Presidential ticket. (carlito voice) that's cool.

Is it Hispanic, or Latino? I'm confused.

"And now, Mrs. Chairman, on behalf of all women, on behalf of all working families, I have the great honor to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton ..." So she's officially in it. Too bad not to win it.

Jordan Apollo Pazell, a 20, maybe 21 year old from Copperton, Utah, seconding the nomination. He's the "third youngest delegate" here. Thank God I'm not the only dude who backs Hillary.

I so should have been a delegate. I could do this job.

"I am proud to be one of 18 million Democrats to stand for Hillary Clinton". So am I Jordan. So am I.

Denise Williams Harris from Syracuse NY to third the nomination.

And now, Barry's turn. As Speaker Pelosi returns to the platform.

Seriously, her outfit kicks ass. Very, very nice.

A louder ovation for Obama. Disappointing. I guess.

Michael Wilson, an Air Force veteran from Florida who served in Iraq, to officially nominate Obama. And he's a registered Republican. Again, (go west voice) I am the king of (useless trivia) ...

"A president who has the judgment to use war not as a last resort ..." Uuh, that's gotta be a gaffe.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my distinct honor as a Iraq war veteran, and as a proud member of this great democracy, to nominate the next President of the United States, Barack Obama!"

Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado to second the nomination.

The roll call is projected to begin around 4:55pm.

The plan for tonight's blog is to go through the end of the roll call, then pick back up in the 7pm hour. I will go through at least Clinton's speech, maybe Kerry's. As a PUMA Democrat, I am still "undecided", so I would like to see Biden's speech uninterrupted. Since, you know, if "we" win this thing, Biden is the brains of the operation.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida to third the nomination. She was the co-chair of Hillary's campaign. Judas!

Another nominating speech. This one from Rep. Artur Davis, who represents Birmingham, Tuscaloosa ... and Selma. Symbolism over substance. Yup, that's Obama.

The nominations are done. "We will now proceed to the roll call of the states ..." Alabama is up first. I think.

All votes taken earlier today will be collected and counted. Regardless of when the roll call ends. So Obama will not be a unanimous candidate?

Alabama casts 48 for Obama, 5 for Clinton.
Alaska casts 15 for Obama, 3 for Clinton.
American Samoa all 9 for Obama.

72 Obama, 8 Clinton, 0 others through 3 states, territories, and the District.

Arizona casts 40 for Obama, 27 for Clinton.
Arkansas casts 47 for Obama, 0 for Clinton. They "heded the call for unity".
California up next.

Barbara Boxer reading California's vote.

California passes. Figures. HRC won California easily. Colorado up next.

Allegedly at some point Hillary will show up and stop this.

Colorado goes 55 for Obama, 15 for Clinton.

Connecticut: 38 Obama, 21 Clinton. Is she gonna carry a state? She might have if California hadn't passed?

Delaware goes 23-0 for Obama.

Democrats abroad 8 1/2 votes for Obama, 2 1/2 for Clinton. OK, who's the deuche who couldn't pick a side?

DC Statehood! (clap clap clap clap clap!) DC Statehood! (clap clap clap clap clap!)

The District casts 33 for Obama, 7 for Hillary.

How did a resident of the District die in the Revolutionary War?!?! What was Ms. Holmes Norton smoking to make that claim.

Florida up next. 136 Obama, 51 Clinton, 1 abstention.

452.5 Obama, 131.5 Clinton, 1 abstention. Time to pull the plug?

Georgia ... Georgia ... the whole day through ... just an old sweet song ... Georgia on my mind ...

Georgia: 82 for Obama, 18 for Clinton.
Guam: 4 for Obama, 3 for Clinton.
Hawaii: 26 for Obama, 1 for Clinton.

594.5 Barry, 153.5 HRC, 1 abstention.

Idaho: 20 for Obama, 3 for Clinton.
Illinois passes. Probably to put Obama over the top later on.
Indiana: 75 for Obama, 6 for Clinton.
Iowa: 48 Obama, 9 Clinton.
Kansas: 34 Obama, 6 Clinton.
Kentucky: 36 Obama, 24 Clinton.
Louisiana: 43 Obama, 7 Clinton.

820.5 B Hussein, 208.5 H Rodham, 1 A ?.

Maine: 24 Obama, 8 Clinton.
Maryland: 94 Obama, 6 Clinton.
Massachusetts: 65 Obama, 52 Clinton.
Michigan: 125 Obama, 27 Clinton.

1128.5 BHO, 301.5 HRC, 1 A??.

Minnesota: 78 Obama, 8 Clinton.
Mississippi: 33 Obama, 8 Clinton.
Missouri: 82 Obama, 6 Clinton.
Montana: 18 Obama, 7 Clinton.
Nebraska: 28 Obama, 3 Clinton.

Obama up 1367.5 to 333.5, with 1 abstention.

Nevada: 25 Obama, 8 Clinton.
New Hampshire: all 30 for Obama, "heeding the call of unity".
New Jersey: all 127 for Obama, again "heeding the call of unity".

I still want to be a "Corzine Crony".

Now we'll see about "unity". New York up next.

1549.5 Barry, 341.5 Hillary, 1 "screw it, I'm out".

Oops. Forgot about New Mexico. They're actually next.

New Mexico yields to Illinois. (brian griffin voice) what the hell? Illinois can't put him over the top yet ...

Illinois is up. They yield to New York.

I'm guessing this was a pre-worked deal with New Mexico, thinking this is where Barry's be put over?

New York "on the clock".

Hillary on the floor. Approaching the mic.

Green pant suit. And pearls. (steve smiling broadly). If this is how the dream ends, at least its in pearls.

I think Schumer just smacked HRC on the ass.

And she's thrown in the towel. (steve upset voice) boo!

The Titanic just hit the iceberg. And there aren't enough life boats. (thomas andrews voice) not enough by half ...

I cannot imagine the pain Senator Clinton is feeling. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I'm disgusted. I'm hacked.

I now need to focus, listen to Sen. Biden, Sen. Obama, and wade through next week's crapfest to determine who I'm voting for.

(sounds like a good time to go mow the yard ...)

I'll be back before Bill takes the stage at 8pm CT. Until then, remember: (col. hannibal smith voice) its always darkest just before it goes pitch black.

-------------------

7pm: and I'm back.

As someone whose cousin served in Iraq and came back a staunch opponent of the war ... solid opening video.

Melissa Etheridge to the stage! I still have her National Anthem performance from the 2000 DNC somewhere ...

This starts really solidly. "God Bless America". "The Times, They Are a Changin'" Not that me and about 5 drunk friends sat around on Float Trip '08 singing this song ...

She's gotta be the hottest lesbian in the business.

John Lennon! "Give Peace a Chance"! All we are sayin' ... is give peace a chance ... holy crap I'm channeling back to my childhood here ...

I love how they have the Declaration of Independence on the backdrop.

"Born in the USA". Slowed down. Nice.

The floor is more energized right now than they've been for 99.99% of this convention.

Is it too late to nominate Melissa Etheridge? It is? Crud. (florida evans voice) damn damn damn!

Absolutely amazing. Woo! (fist pump)! Yay!

Oh no. Dingy Harry Reid up next. The single most incompetent Senate Majority Leader since ... uuh ... uuh ... I'm thinking here ... ok, I have no clue. He's that useless.

He looks like Herbert from "Family Guy". And yes, you know exactly what I'm comparing him to.

This is just awful. He's blaming oil for all of our problems. Uuh Harry? If your party would simply let us drill, we wouldn't have a foreign oil dependency issue! If you'd let us drill in ANWR 6 years ago, we'd have that oil already flowing into our pipelines NOW! You mother f*cking idiot! We are in the energy crisis we are in because you and your party did NOTHING in the 1990s to develop an alternative energy solution, and because your party has stood in the way of EVERY attempt to drill our way out of this! Because we CAN drill our way out of this! Just f*cking shut up, go away, and for the love of Jesus Christ himself, give us a Senate Majority Leader who isn't dumber than a 5th Grader!!!

(I told you I was coming unhinged tonight).

Since when are Democrats committed to "hard work"? Aren't we the party of welfare, Medicare, government handouts, and tax the rich to feed the poor?

(Good God, I might have to change party affiliation at this rate ...)

Nobody on the floor is listening to this crock of sh*t. The side noise is almost as loud as Dingy Harry's speech.

He has a wedding ring?!?! Someone is voluntarily sleeping with this man?!?! And I get to sleep with two dogs tonight? (literally dogs?) That's it, Adult Friend Finder here I come ...

Wow. He just challenged Gloria Craven for "worst convention speech ever".

"Higher and Higher" by Spencer Davis! Not as awesome as the Rita Coolidge version, but I'll take it.

This chick could definitely kick my ass.

She is wearing ... you guessed it. Pearls. I love pearl necklaces. (ka boom boom ching).

How the hell does a community organizer from Chicago understand the need of veterans and active reservists?

Zero tolerance for homeless vets, that's a good policy. Too bad its completely unrealistic.

Obama doesn't "understand the threats we face". He doesn't even have the cajones to put Hillary in her place for Christ's sake! And he let Bill write his own speech tonight rather than vet the speech out! The man ... James Carville put it best: "if Hillary lent him one of hers, they'd each have one".

I'll agree with God Bless Mrs. Obama. I thought Mr. Obama was God, if you listen to him and the media, he is the "Messiah" after all.

"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Another veterans tribute from a party that's trying to lose the war in Iraq. Priceless.

138 degrees?!?! My kind of day!

God bless every one of you on stage right now. And I do mean that. You have a considerably larger pair than I could ever imagine having. Thank you, for your service to this nation. For your service to this planet. Thank you, and God bless you, and God keep you safe.

Yes, it is time for a commander in chief who knows what leadership means. Unfortunately, that man is the presumptive Republican nominee.

Wonder if Bill will bring up that he "loathes the military" in his speech in 30 minutes.

It is ridiculous that we haven't gotten bin ladin yet. I'll agree with that. We ended the Holocaust faster than this.

Madame Albright up next. This should be a snoozer.

Some females should never, never, never have face lifts. Madame Albright is one of them.

Diamond earrings. But they could pass as pearls. Still acceptable.

I have no idea what she just said. Something about striking a blow against a blow.

Madame Albright says we rely on Biden to keep the country secure. Yet another reason why we blew this nomination. When the Veep is more qualified than the nominee ...

The man who should have been veep next, Senator Bayh, a man I tremendously respect. This one might be tough. This ticket should be Clinton-Bayh.

He's on fire early on.

Can someone tell me why this guy isn't on our ticket?

A Dem who gets it on Middle East policy?!?! Again, why is he not on the ticket?!?!

Bayh: "Now John McCain, he's not a bad man" No he's not. Which is why, barring two great speeches from Biden and Obama, he's got my vote.

Bayh is confident, he's on point, he's focused, and we have yet to hear a single "uum". Why is this guy NOT on the ticket?!?!

Bush didn't divide the nation, the Supreme Court did. Come on Evan, you're better than this.

Solid, solid speech by Senator Bayh.

Now, Jack Reed of Rhode Island. (steve heads for the 'loo ...)

What the hell is "al quader"?

This speech is going nowhere fast.

President Clinton in 10 minutes.

"Puff" Daschle!!!

Is he wearing pink glasses?

Why would anyone want to be like a dude wearing pink glasses?

ok, ok, they're "red". But still. You gotta question them.

I hate Bush with a passion ... but I trust his judgment and leadership at this point over Obama.

sorry, Dusty called.

I effing LOVE Fleetwood Mac! Don't Stop (Thinkin' Bout Tomorrow!!!)

President! Clinton!!!!

Here we go!!!!

(steve applauding!)

as is the convention floor.

We're at 45 straight seconds of applause and counting.

Make that a minute.

Michelle looks miserable applauding for Bill.

He's reading off the page. Not the teleprompter. THIS could get REALLY interesting ...

He's on board. This one is going to be one for the ages. I'm done blogging for now. I want to hear this live.

8:26pm: amazing. Just ... amazing.

I'm done for the night. I'll be back tomorrow for night four. Hopefully, between that incredible speech, Sen. Kerry, Gov. Richardson, and Sen. Biden, I am convinced to embrace the ticket by then ...