By Jeff Jones

Journal Politics Writer 

 DENVER - You gotta hand it to them : These Democrats know how to put on one doozy of a political show.

The Political Animal ( yours truly)  and Journal photog Jim Thompson have spent all week at the Democratic National Convention, which roared to a close Thursday night with Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High.

 So what was it like to be a stressed-out, sleep-starved reporter in and around the floor of the stadium, surrounded by more than 84,000 revved-up Dems?

 I offer these snapshots:

*  There are only a few minutes before Obama's speech, and The Animal - who has scored a coveted floor pass - is hauling down the jam-packed main concourse in hopes of making to the floor to catch the show with New Mexico's delegation.

I get to the gate leading onto the floor - and am blocked by a security guard who informs me the Denver fire marshal has sealed access because there are already too many people inside.

 Just when all appears lost, I remember this rule from big, chaotic scenes:  The left hand often has no idea what the right hand is doing. So I hitch up my briefcase and walk/jog/sprint to another floor entrance about 20 gates away - where another security guard lets me in to the promised land.

 Victory!

 * Keep your head down when the ushers pass by, avoid eye contact (if you can) and work on your best set of Bambi eyes (if you can't). That's the Animal's advice for avoiding getting kicked off the primo floor area after you've parked your blue-suited self  in the narrow walkway next to your state's delegation.

It worked for about the first 20 minutes of Obama's speech before an usher impervious to my Bambi eyes booted me to a less-desirable area behind the New Mexico delegation.

 * And speaking of primo spots, New Mexico's 38 Democratic delegates and their guests had greats seats for this show - likely the result of being from a key battleground state in Obama's campaign strategy. The only thing between them and Obama was Indiana (the delegation, not the actual state).

 * As Obama walks on stage, more than 84,000 people packing the seats at Invesco focus on this single figure up on a wide, brightly lit stage.

Like a never-ending string of Christmas lights, cameras twinkle and flash - from the highest seats to the best chairs near the base of the stage.

A chant rolls over the crowd - "O-Ba-Ma" - and Sean Stimmel of Los Alamos, who at age 20 is the youngest member of New Mexico's delegation, emphasizes each syllable with a shake of the tiny American flag and the "CHANGE" poster he clasps in his hands.

"We're all ready to get out and get working," Stimmel, an Obama volunteer, tells me later. "This guy's going to the top." 

*One of Obama's biggest cheer-grabbers of the night comes during a slam on McCain involving al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"John McCain likes to say he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell. But he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives," Obama says, a reference to what he believes is America's distraction from the war on terror by an unnecessary war in Iraq.

*As hundreds of news photographers pop pictures and dozens of TV cameras pan across the stadium, literally tens of thousands of American flags - and literally tens of thousands of Obama posters - wave in the stands like a rush of wind through a wheatfield.

Obama, just a dot on the stage for many spectators, works his lines as they scroll up on a giant teleprompter. At least four jumbotron TVs are spaced around the stadium, flashing up giant images of the candidate as he talks.

The crowd collectively hitches its breath - and then explodes in applause - as Obama finishes his speech and fireworks and confetti blast into the sky over the stadium.

Dignified party heavyweights in their best silk suits and  women in their Sunday best stare skyward, wide-eyed and smiling like kids. They reach for the bits of red, white and blue confetti as it twirls down into the crowd.

 *On Thursday morning, state Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, one of Obama's highest-profile black supporters in New Mexico, told me, "In my lifetime, I'm going to see African-American children playing on the lawn of the White House."

As the crowd delivers another standing ovation to Obama Thursday night, Williams looks at me and repeats three words:

"In my lifetime."

 * On the other side of the New Mexico seats, former Democratic National Committee chair Fred Harris of Corrales smiles and rests his hands on his cane.

Harris, who served as DNC chair in 1969 and 1970, told me earlier in the day that he appointed a commission that required affirmative action for women and minorities in the party.

Looking out over the mammoth crowd, Harris says, "It looks like America. I'm really proud of what small part I've had in it."

That's all from Denver. Good night.

 If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail the Animal at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it