Leaving the Convention Newly Energized, Ready for a Fresh Start

Ohio Delegate Terry Carson watches speeches on day four of the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field in Denver. Photo by Mark T. Osler

Listening to Barack Obama’s Democratic-nomination acceptance speech Thursday gave Terry Carson an optimistic feeling, reminiscent of his youthful days as a Vietnam War protester.

“As young adults and children we always believed that we could do anything we set our minds to. That hasn’t been the case for the past seven-and-a-half years,” says Carson, 57, a delegate from outside Cleveland.

As the audience filed out, Carson’s 32-year-old daughter, April, bounded up to his seat and pronounced herself “uplifted” by the speech.

Carson’s wife, Janet, was the skeptic. “It’s the same speech he’s given so many times before. I wanted more—some details,” says Janet, the Geauga County Democratic chairperson. Like her husband, she came to Denver as a delegate for Hillary Clinton. Both plan to work for Obama this fall.

But Terry Carson was more energized by the speech than his wife. He liked the pledge to cut taxes for 95 percent of families and Obama’s clear delineation of his differences with Republican John McCain.

Carson also loved the convention’s change of venue to INVESCO Field at Mile High. He arrived about five hours before Obama’s speech to secure his spot while nearly 80,000 people filed into the football stadium.

Carson’s sunglasses and SPF 50 weren’t enough protection when he arrived in the afternoon, so he shelled out for an Obama hat with a new horizon logo. This week Carson picked up a few Obama souvenirs to go with his Clinton buttons.

The convention’s change from the smaller Pepsi Center—host to the first three days—was as symbolic for Carson as his change in souvenirs from Clinton to Obama. The Clinton delegate cast his vote for Hillary at the Pepsi Center Wednesday. INVESCO Field, he said, was a fresh start on the Democrats’ path to unity.

Republicans criticized the venue, saying the massive crowd was indicative of Obama’s interest in rock-star status over substance or connection with average people. They also gibed him for the stage’s classical Greek columns and backdrop, calling it “Barackopolis.” Young protesters in downtown Denver wore togas to drive the point home.

But Carson, an insurance agency owner, said the truth was the opposite—the huge open-air setting meant more people could be there.

He remembers Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. Watching on TV at a party, Carson was struck by the fact that his grown niece turned to him and said, “I could vote for that guy for president.”

Although his niece doesn’t need convincing, Carson said, Obama’s speech Thursday should help make the case to those who do.

Tamara Lytle was the chief Washington correspondent for the Orlando Sentinel from 1997 to 2008.