American Dispatch: DNC 2012, A Summer Camp For Adults

Sep 7, 2012

By: FOX News Radio’s Jessica Rosenthal reporting from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte:

Watching adults at a political convention is like watching kids at summer camp, after those kids have inhaled like 20 juice boxes. Instead of archery, arts and crafts and swimming, people listen to speeches.� It�s what happens in between and before those speeches that�s truly entertaining.

People danced in the aisles with reckless abandon, arms flailing up and down. Some of the hats and pins and glittery red, white and blue outfits were incredibly picture worthy.

People screamed out campaign slogans at each other. Or really they just screamed at each other, happily of course. At one point, some delegates from North Carolina shouted out “O. H.” and some delegates from Ohio responded “I. O.” See? Just like kids at camp, they combined cheers with spelling!

People were so happy and amped up some even forgot to ask me which media outlet I was with when I�d ask for an interview. People at political events in general have become much more media savvy. And on the floor of a convention, you�re dealing with delegates. These people know the drill. But they were so caught up in the moment I could get away with just sticking my microphone in their faces and they�d oblige. We were, after all, in the South.

Big wigs like Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer wandered through the crowd and talked to me as did City Council members and bailiffs and small business owners.� Will.i.am, one of the most popular performing artists right now, leaned on my shoulder as he gave me a brief interview.� All of the delegates from Arizona, Ohio and Florida were incredibly accommodating.

But just like when summer camp ends, and you go back to school, delegates left the floor knowing it�s time to get to work.� Maybe that�s what these conventions really do. They may be political theater. The nominee is a foregone conclusion. But perhaps the energy level needed to sustain a political party over the next couple of months, starts with an actual party in a convention hall.