The 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, which begins Monday, will be historic, even though the result is likely a foregone conclusion, according to two Oneonta residents who will be there.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who is leading the delegate count, is expected to bear his party's standard during the Election Day presidential vote. Sen. John McCain is the presumptive Republican candidate. The GOP convention begins Sept. 1 in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Former Oneonta Mayor Kim Muller is an alternate delegate pledged to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who suspended her presidential campaign in June and endorsed Obama.
Muller said she will be leaving Sunday for Denver to attend the four-day convention with Obama's acceptance speech Thursday billed as the final act.
She will be joining State University College at Oneonta philosophy professor and delegate Ashok Malhotra, who is already in Colorado.
Muller is no stranger to Democratic conventions. It is her fourth as a delegate or alternate delegate, having participated in the 1988, 1996 and 2000 conventions. She also attended the 2004 convention.
Her role in Denver will be similar to that of a substitute teacher, who is called only if someone is absent.
"You never quite know," Muller said.
The biggest unknown heading into the weekend before the convention was who would be Obama's running mate.
"I don't know anymore than anyone else," Muller said Friday night as election coverage focused on Obama's selection and not much else.
A roll call vote by delegates will likely be a formality, she said.
Although Clinton eventually trailed Obama in the delegate count, she won the Feb. 5 New York Democratic primary with 57 percent of the vote to Obama's 40 percent. Otsego County mirrored the state results.
Muller said the Clinton supporters she knows are prepared to cast their Election Day votes for Obama, who she said also has a strong following among non-Clinton supporters.
"Locally, there is very strong support for Obama," Muller said. "I know people personally who have never voted Democratic who are voting for Obama this year."
The big issues that are driving people to Obama are the war and the economy, according to Muller.
"His proposals are better. He's not a strong proponent of the war," Muller said.
His energy policy is also strikingly better than McCain's, she said, and he is younger and enthusiastic.
"I am a very, very strong supporter of Sen. Clinton, but I also recognize that John McCain cannot be the next president of the United States," Muller said.
The convention itself will be a marathon of meetings, caucuses, speeches and strategizing, Muller said.
Days will begin at 8:30 a.m. and not end until well past midnight, she said.
"It's a great chance to do a lot of networking," Muller said.
Delegates and alternate delegates will work with nationally known Democrats, as well as leaders of special-interest groups.
"Our delegation alone has Hillary and Bill Clinton in it," Muller said.
The New York delegation numbers 320, with 281 of these having a vote.
It includes state Democratic Party all-stars such as Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
Congressional Democrats representing New York, including Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand of Greenport and Rep. Michael Arcuri of Utica, are also on the delegate list.
A first convention for SUCO prof
But the list also includes grass-roots Democrat activists and leaders from nearly every nook and cranny in the state.
Among these are Malhotra, who will be attending his first convention.
"It's going to be very busy starting tomorrow night," Malhotra said Friday from Colorado. "I've never been involved in anything like this."
Malhotra said he was recruited last November to be placed on the Feb. 5 ballot as a Clinton delegate candidate.
"I had to just say yes," Malhotra said. "I didn't know what I was getting into."
He said he was elected as a delegate on Feb. 5 with about 17,000 votes in the 24th Congressional District.
"I didn't even know how big the district was," Malhotra said.
After getting elected, Malhotra said, he started to pay more serious attention to what the campaign issues were.
Although he was elected as a Clinton delegate, Malhotra said he will cast his vote for Obama.
"I am not bound, actually," he said. "Some people are still supporting Hillary. I'm going to vote for Obama for the sake of party unity."
Malhotra said many of the Clinton supporters he knows were very enthusiastic about her candidacy.
"I don't know whether they have that same passion for Obama," he said.
Malhotra, a professor at SUCO since 1967, is looking forward to a "very busy week," which he said will start Sunday when he participates in meetings with the American Federation of Teachers, New York State United Teachers and the National Education Association.
Monday's highlight will be a speech by Michelle Obama, he said.
Clinton is expected to deliver a speech Tuesday night, which Malhotra said is the 88th anniversary of the day women won the right to vote in the United States.
It should also be a special night for the New York delegation, which he said will be in the spotlight.
On Wednesday, Bill Clinton is expected to speak, along with Obama's yet-to-be named running mate, who will give a headlining address to the delegates.
During the day Wednesday, Malhotra said, he and other delegates will be performing community service by helping to build a playground at a school in Denver.
The highlight of the week is expected to be Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field before 75,000 people.
"It's a lot of people," Malhotra said. "He wants to reach the grass-roots."
He added he is very excited about getting the chance to participate.
"I want to say that I am very happy that the local community chose me as their delegate," he said. "I'll speak my mind."
Handling protests
But in addition to enthusiastic Obama supporters, Denver officials are also planning for protestors.
Conventions are always marked by protests, Muller said.
The Denver Post reported the city received a $50 million federal grant to help pay for the security in and around the convention, which will be focused around the Pepsi Center for the first three days. Three thousand law enforcement officials will be part of the Secret Service-led security effort, which will also include National Guard troops.
Some websites are encouraging protestors to converge on Denver en masse. One of these is titled Recreate 68, in reference to the massive protest and riot at the 1968 Democratic convention.
"Hopefully, we won't have anything unfortunate happen," Muller said. "I haven't heard anything yet how our security will be handled."
Muller said the New York delegation will be sharing a hotel with the California delegation.
"I think there will be a lot of protestors," Malhotra said. "They are going to designate certain spots for the protestors so they can express themselves, as it should be."
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Jake Palmateer can be reached at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 221, or at jpalmateer@thedailystar.com.
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