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Health & Fitness

An Amazing First Night of the Convention

Leslie Robertson's account of the first official day of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Wow - Wow - Wow!  Many of the speeches tonight were spectacular and more importantly - right on point!  I can honestly say I watched the RNC convention last week so that I could compare and contrast it with the DNC convention.  The Democrats in Charlotte far exceeded my expectations.  Seeing the diversity represented at the Democratic Convention is a true reflection of the America I know - a stark contast to what I saw at the RNC. 

I don't want to give any more space to the RNC, let me tell you about my day in Charlotte.  I started my day at a California Delegate Breakfast that featured Valerie Jarrett, Sandra Fluke and Barbara Boxer.  These dynamic wormen spoke of the accomplishments of the Obama administration and why he needs to be re-elected to complete his mission.  At the breakfast, I was interviewed by ABC 7.  My 15-year-old son thinks I'm pretty cool!  

Next I attended the Women's Caucus @ the Convention Center featuring Donna Brazile, Ashley Judd, Cecile Richards and Kathleen Sebelius among others as speakers. 

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Upon returning to my hotel to prepare for the first night of the convention, I found myself trapped behind a police barricade because of a handful of protesters.  The gridlock that was caused turned a 15-minute walk into an hour and a half - not fun.

From there, I went on a mad dash to get my husband a credential to get into the Time Warner Arena so that he could experience the convention and hear our first lady, Michelle Obama speak.  We got the credential thanks to the kindness of a friend I know that works in the California Assembly.  We dashed to the arena in flash of rain and I made my way to the California delegation.

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The highlights of the night for me were the speeches by the Linh family from Arizona, Gov. Duval Patrick of Massachussetts, the Castro brothers from Texas and, of course, Michelle Obama. 

On the convention floor, I was interviewed by KTVU and CNN.  My friends from home texted me all night with the excitement of seeing me on television - it was very fun.

Most importantly, I proudly cast my delegate nomination to re-elect President Barack Obama.  Casting that vote was right up there with voting for him in 2008.  Casting that vote tonight made the hard work of running a delegate campaign completely worth it and completely satisfying.

It's 2:15am - I'm going to call it a night - thanks for following my adventure.

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