For the untold number of celebrities, lobbyists, politicians and lawyers at the DNC, schmoozing is priority number one this week. So where do the new congressional ethics laws fit in? Takeaway contributor and senior editor for ESSENCE Magazine Patrik Henry Bass follows the glitz, the glamor and the money trail in Denver.

From The Takeaway

It’s John McCain’s turn to tease us with the prospect of naming a running mate. The political blogs have been spinning out prospects for months now and there are reports that McCain has made his decision and could make the announcement tomorrow. (That also means you have less than a day to predict the Republican's Veep on our Facebook game, The 2008 Veepstakes.)

To brief us on the candidates who have been short listed (and the chances that the famously low-fi candidate might alert the nation of his decision via smoke signal) is Elisabeth Bumiller, reporter for the New York Times.

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Takeaway political director Andrea Bernstein talks about Hillary's roll call "surprise," Bill Clinton's appearance and Joe Biden's speech.

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Takeaway convention correspondent Faith Salie sets out to find the truth behind some myths, whispers and rumors surrounding the DNC in Denver.

From The Takeaway

DENVER -- Now you too can experience the delegate's-eye view! I spun around in place and snapped a series of shots in the middle of the Democratic National Convention floor at the Pepsi Center. You can also click through to The Takeaway's Flickr page for a big, downloadable version.

DENVER -- An archive of tonight's live-blogging for anyone not reading our Twitter stream:

• Bill Clinton speaking now; "please sit down, seriously."
• Pres Clinton is "proud of the campaign" that "his candidate" ran. Opened with "I'm here to support Barack Obama."
• "Hillary says she's supporting Barack Obama.. well, that makes two of us. <cheering> Well, actually, that makes 18 million of us."
• "Everything I have learned in my 8 years as president ... has taught me that Barack Obama is the man for this job." <cheering>
• Pres Clinton says Obama's positions are "far superior to the Republican alternatives." Interesting phrasing.

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DENVER -- So I'm leaving the Pepsi Center, and walking out through the loading dock I see a chain-link-fenced enclosure marked "SECURITY" containing several hundred green duffle bags each marked "WMD."

So I stop, look at them for a minute, and then ask the nearest police officer what's in the bags.

"Tyvek suits," he says. "Gas masks, you know, that kind of thing."

"Oh," I say. "Supplies to use in case someone else uses WMDs, you mean."

"Yeah," he says, and then stops for a second. "I guess they could be labeled a little more clearly, couldn't they."

I'm live-blogging the major speeches tonight from Radio Row, inside the Pepsi Center. Madeline Albright just walked past, surrounded by a gaggle of honking press. The thumping bass of the musical interludes is vibrating my chair. There are a lot of very psyched people around here.

The vendors' food, however, reveals that we are, in fact, attending an event in a hockey arena. Mini-donuts, heat lamp pretzels, nachos, and "chicken" "tender" baskets. Compostable containers, though.

Very tall security

Originally uploaded by The Takeaway

Getting into the venue for tonight's speeches, we passed several of these cranes. (Watching for any suspicious giraffes, I figure.)

Joking aside, the security has been very thorough and surprisingly smooth. The lines have been looked over by lots of police encouraging people to drink water; it's a small thing, but it subtly changes the feel of the interaction, and people seem to be responding well to it. There's plenty of square-jawed, taciturn, sunglass-wearing law enforcement as well, mind you.

Back in June, when Senator Barack Obama claimed the Democratic nomination for the presidency, we were wondering what role New York Senator Hillary Clinton could play in an Obama administration. Following Clinton's 2008 DNC speech, a Takeaway listener suggested (it's near the end) that Obama could create unity by announcing a role for Clinton. With that thought, we're reviving our poll...

Despite Hillary Clinton's pleas for unity, many of her most ardent supporters remain unmoved. Chicago Public Radio's Ben Calhoun hung out with a few of them to find out why.

From The Takeaway

Last night Hillary Clinton urged reluctant supporters to vote for Barack Obama and took a few clever shots at John McCain.

From The Takeaway

Takeaway contributor and ESSENCE magazine editor Patrik Henry Bass and Takeaway convention correspondent Faith Salie try to get access to exclusive parties and after-hours events in Denver, with mixed results.

From The Takeaway

Last night, in the most anticipated speech so far, Hillary Clinton took to the podium and challened her reluctant supporters to throw their weight behind Barack Obama. Takeaway Political Director Andrea Bernstein checks in this morning from Denver.

From The Takeaway

DownloadThe PUMA Den watches Hillary Clinton's speech, August 26, 2008

DENVER -- Senator Hillary Clinton gave a rousing speech tonight, as near as I could tell. My back was to the screen as I held a video camera on the crowd of PUMAs watching. From what I could hear, she spoke naturally, as if she were talking to friends (no teleprompter stumbles), paid off a nice emotional arc over the course of it, recognized the accomplishments of President Clinton, repeatedly told people that voting for Senator Barack Obama would be necessary to avoid the consequences of electing Republican Senator John McCain, and left the stage to waving signs and raucous cheers. OK, that I saw.

But it wasn't enough to convince the folks I was with at "The PUMA Den" — a bail bond office repurposed for the evening.

The big-screen TV was tuned to Fox News, which obliged the crowd, showing polls with McCain on top (to cheers!) and cutting away in the middle of former Virginia governor Mark Warner's speech for a commercial break that featured the latest ad for McCain, using Senator Clinton's own words! (Big cheers here, too.)

Once the speech began, there was lots of yelling for Clinton herself, and whoops at any mention of John McCain — this from self-described lifelong Democrats and feminists — and boos and hissing at any mention of Barack or Michelle Obama. This is wounded anger.

There were some tears. They love Senator Clinton profoundly. It's hard to overstate just how much. But despite Clinton's entreaties, only one PUMA at the Den said she'd even consider voting for Senator Obama come November. The rest said they intend to skip the polls or vote for McCain — a message to the Democratic National Committee and Howard Dean, whom they hold responsible for squashing Clinton's shot at the White House.

Watching HRC with the PUMAs

Originally uploaded by The Takeaway

DENVER -- Room full of cheering, jeering Hillary-supporters watching Fox News and whooping whenever John McCain is mentioned. Traditional Democratic responses these are not, I'm thinking. The people here are mostly (though not entirely) white, middle-aged women, and between the yelling and the angry pins and angry posters and angry t-shirts, the tone here feels like the Furious Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Still up tonight... Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner (the keynote speaker) in the 7 p.m. Mountain (9 p.m. Eastern) hour and New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the 8 p.m. Mountain (10 p.m. Eastern) hour.

There are more details from the DNC's Tuesday prime-time schedule after the jump.
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DENVER -- Obama campaign strategist Anita Dunn tells the 6:30 a.m. conference call (Hey, we're up!) that Hillary Clinton "graciously" reached out to Michelle Obama after her speech last night, though Dunn wasn't sure if they actually spoke. 

Dunn said Michelle Obama will be in the hall tonight for Clinton's speech.  Obama managed to get more than a few in the crowd verklempt with her tale of Barack Obama driving daughter Malia back from the hospital when she was born 10 years ago. Sasha Obama, 7, then upstaged both parents when dad made a cameo from a home in Kansas City, Missouri, after Michelle's speech.  He was trying to introduce the Girardeau family, beginning, "Just like us..." when Sasha cut him off to give a shout out to the Girardeaus.  Must have been some people in the crowd exhaling, because the theme of the night, in case you missed it, is that the Obamas are just like us. 

Whatever it was Barack Obama was going to say, we'll never know... but Sasha made the point a whole lot better than Obama Papa, the great orator himself.

From The Takeaway

Chances are you've caught some clips of Michelle Obama's speech from last night’s Democratic National Convention. The potential First Lady held the national spotlight, taking about herself, her husband and their family.

What you might not know is that she was preceeded by many, many speakers who took the podium in the six hours leading up to her speech -- many you might never have heard of. Chicago Public Radio's Ben Calhoun talks to The Takeaway about what speaking at the convention is like for some of the party's lesser-known names.

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Last night Michelle Obama talked about her background and about life raising a family with her husband.

From The Takeaway