I was in Boston July 2004 to work at the Democratic National Convention!
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Convention employees stayed in the dorms on the campus of Northeastern University. I had a suite all to myself.
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I was a one-man band, interviewing, shooting and editing video packages for the convention web site - dems2004.org. This was all the equipment I carried with me.
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After working through a quarter-mile of security, I arrived at the front entrance.
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Credentials were very difficult to get your hands on.
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This was the credential for folks working in the Fleet Center before the Convention Started.
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Once the Convention started, there were several different credentials that could get you into different places. Everybody was striving for Red - Floor Access - or the Holy Grail, Blue - Podium Access.
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If you had Podium access, you had to get cleared by the Secret Service. They made me a fancy Secret Service pass that is illegal to reproduce, so you won't see it here.
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Occasionally I had a podium credential, and got to go down to the Convention Floor.
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Before we could start working, the Secret Service did a full security sweep of the whole building. It took a day and a half. Little seals like this were on everything. This seal, for example, was on the toilet paper dispenser in the bathroom stall.
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The Web Team was headquartered on the 9th floor in the Scoreboard Control Room. There was a whole set of passes just to get on the 9th floor.
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Ben (seen here) and Joe were running the "Off The Podium Chat."
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When politicians were done giving their speeches, they'd rope them in for a live interview online. People could send in their questions and host Sasha would ask them then and there.
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gabe and Joe deal with a major malfunction.
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John Stephenson also came out from Los Angeles to work on the team.
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There's Julie, or JZ.
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Odette moderated the Podium Chats, picking the questions Sasha would ask the people.
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There's Dean. It's all smiles on the ninth floor.
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Seriously, no non-smilers allowed. (Photo by Ben)
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Welcome to the FREE SPEECH ZONE.
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The "Free Speech Zone" (real name) was a place designated by the convention for protestors to have their rallies. It was set up under a half-demolished bridge, surrounded by a triple-fence and patrolled by Army Soldiers in camo fatigues...
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...Also by M-16 toting Police. Obviously there to protect everybody's right to free assembly.
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Very few people actually used the Protest Pen to protest anything but the Protest Pen.
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The triple-layer fence made it impossible to see into the zone from the outside.
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I have never seen so many cops in my life. Even in movies. I don't have many pictures of the cops out in force, but downtown Boston was a fortress.
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Military Helicopters patrolled the city.
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The "Everybody Protest All At Once" march started out in the Protest Pen. But it didn't go so well.
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Every single group showed up all at once, so you had things like Pro-Choice and Pro-Life marching side-by-side.
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Even Captain Morgan showed up to make his case.
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Word was a fistfight broke out before the march began.
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Helicopters were just hanging overhead. Not circling, not following. Just sitting there.
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Watching.
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Inside events were in full swing.
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Here's the view from my edit desk. (Photo by Ben.)
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The main stage had a podium on either side, and a giant super wide screen in the middle.
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TV Cameras were placed directly across from the podium...
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...And print press were on either side.
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Each Print Journalist spot had a little lamp for them to see.
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Delegates came from all over the country. The official purpose of the convention is for the delegates to nominate the Democratic Party candidates for President and Vice President.
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The floor was hopping. Here's Barack Obama who would soon be the hit of the convention.
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CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Jody Woodruff (seen here) broadcasted continuously from the convention floor.
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Fred Willard was a Comedy Central commentator.
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I got down to the front of the stage for the first night's big speeches!
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Al Gore came out to thunderous applause.
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A big theme of the night was "Make every vote count."
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The photographers up front all jostled for position whenever somebody big was coming onstage.
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Jimmy Carter spoke out against "Government working only for the super-rich."
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There was a stirring 9-11 tribute.
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Hillary Clinton talked about her experiences at Ground Zero as a New York State Senator.
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She introduced husband Bill, and the place went crazy.
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You can't really get the feeling of the convention floor from television. The applause thundered, you could feel it in your belly. And Clinton was a master at playing to his audience.
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I was fifteen feet away from the podium. It was awesome!
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Patti LaBelle finished the night off with a bang.
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