DENVER -- With three raps of the gavel, the 45th quadrennial Democratic National Convention opened at the Pepsi Center a few minutes ago.
All that's missing is most of the delegates.
Yes, it was a less-than-packed house here in the chilly but bright Pepsi Center, when DNC chair Howard Dean went out onstage to welcome the delegates, alternates and even the media to Denver. Maybe a fifth of the seats down on the floor are filled, if that. And it's not that big of a hall.
That doesn't faze the Democrats, who press on with the invocation, the presentation of the colors from the Navajo Code Talkers Assn., the pledge and then the National Anthem performed by the Colorado Children's Chorale.
Since I'm in the hall, I have no idea whether this scene is being televised. I doubt it. If you can't get the delegates to come for the opening, then it's hard to believe that many people at home have tuned in, either.
Posted at 02:27 PM
