Tuesday at the Convention: Waiting for Michelle

Tuesday at the Convention: Waiting for Michelle

I met Barack and Michelle Obama on the campaign trail in 2008. They were each young, articulate, and passionate about improving America.

I am curious to see how they look in person four years later. Their positions seem to age people prematurely. My impression is that they are older and wiser, but won’t look much different. Any naiveté they had about being able to govern in a bi-partisan way has been shattered. Despite this, the President was able to bring America back from the brink of financial and international disasters left to him by President Bush. Now, can the convention make the case clearly that he needs more time to complete the job, hopefully with a congress that will work with him on improving the economy, instead of always obstructing his agenda?

Pennsylvania delegation is housed in three hotels in the South Park area (no, no, not THAT South Park?) Today began with 6:45 AM busses to our prime hotel where we obtained our daily credentials and had a breakfast meeting. It was interesting to sit next to the press, watching Rick Williams and Larry Kane at work. They are such familiar faces that you feel you know them, but of course they are just doing their jobs like the rest of us.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz spoke. Sage is an energetic advocate for the party. She warned about Pennsylvania not being complacent about this election, even though Obama is ahead in the polls. She reminded us to work hard to elect all of our candidates, up and down the ticket. She specifically mentioned Dr. Manon Trivedi in the 6^th district. I will add my own thoughts: PA should go to Obama BUT if the PA Supreme Court validates voter ID, we may have enough people disenfranchised to throw the election. This would be a travesty of all that a democracy stands for. 

Other speakers included Senator Casey; State Treasurer Rob McCord (from Lower Merion); PA Attorney General candidate Kathleen Kane, SEIU VP of Health Care Kirk Adams, and US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Senator Casey focused on a clear and simple message about Medicare, “We will preserve the guaranteed Medicare benefit; they will end it…this will end Medicare as we know it.”

Tom Vilsack thanked Senator Casey for his work on the Agriculture Committee. He then spoke about how the Republicans will try to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The act has already helped 5 million seniors who no longer have to pay for the “donut hole” in their coverage; 3 million children who now get health insurance; 13 million people who have received rebates from their insurance companies; and 54 million who now get free preventive care. The republicans could get rid of all of this.

Vilsack also spoke of how the Farm Bill is held up now by the house republicans, who want to cut $134 Billion over 10 years from nutritional assistance, most notably for children. He also talked of Obamas improvements for rural farmers who are doing much better than one would expect given the drought.

The convention officially opens later today. The Pennsylvania delegation has great seats just above the floor. Keep your eyes out for us!