San Francisco at the DNC

BOSTON: 7.26.04---Boston's political circus kicked off today with thousands of journalists, movie stars, musicians, delegates, and, oh yeah, politicians, crammed into the labyrinthine Fleet Center.
The fireworks exploding over Boston Harbor as my plane landed on Sunday night indicated to me that this was sure to be a star-studded event.
But, the first big shot I crossed paths with wasn't Howard Dean (whom I crossed paths with many times as he and his entourage dashed around to mystery appointments in the catacombs of the Fleet Center), or John Cusak (whom I randomly ended up walking next to as we were herded along behind a group of grade school kids who were going on stage to sing some tribute to patriotism), or Andre 3000 from Outkast (whom I stumbled upon making rounds with the Mississippi delegation).
The first “someone” I spotted was actually San Francisco School Board member Heather Hiles as she was getting into a cab at the airport.
As I headed into the Westin Hotel to collect my press pass the following day, I saw newly elected San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris getting into a cab.
After collecting my press pass, I peeked my head into a room labeled as the “California Journalists Press Office”, just to see what sort of exclusive things a CALIFORNIA journalist had access to that a journalist from say, Indiana or Colorado couldn't get. And the man behind the table just so happens to be my friend from Berkeley Paul Hogarth who directed me to my first event of the Convention, which, just so happened to be a luncheon for California delegates, complete with Mayor Gavin, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Kamala Harris, and new School Board member Heather Hiles, just to name a few.
Even the ousted Gray Davis was seated on the floor amongst the California delegates
Yeah, the Clintons gave rousing speeches. Sure, Al Gore did a great job alluding to a stolen election. The lighter (actually they were battery-powered mini-flashlights) waving “Amazing Grace” tribute was moving. But, what struck me most about this first night of the convention was the fact that even 3000 miles away from home, in an enormous arena filled with thousands of people from around the U.S., I kept running into San Franciscans.