The Democratic National Convention: Not Just for Candidates
By Samantha Hayes in Washington
It’s coming up fast. In a little more than a week, our “RunningMate” crew will be heading to Denver for the Democratic convention. We know it will be history making, as Senator Barack Obama becomes the first African-American nominated by a major party. And we know there will be plenty of drama now that former rival Hillary Clinton’s name will be put in nomination, which will prompt speeches in her favor and an opportunity for her delegates to vote for her. Clinton says she doesn’t expect to usurp Obama for the actual nomination. I’m sure during the week-long convention we’ll see many U.S. Senators and Representatives, state politicians and party leaders, too.
And adding some glitz to the gala, it appears the Democratic convention will also be a star-studded event. Reportedly, actor Ben Affleck, and directors Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee will be attending, according to Hollywood.com. As well as Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Susan Sarandon, Forest Whitaker and Ed Norton. And lest you think the convention will sound like an afternoon of C-SPAN-like speeches, musical acts have been booked. Namely, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Wyclef Jean to name a few.
But the biggest celebrity, and arguably most influential supporter of Barack Obama’s, isn’t an actor or musician. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned and hosted fundraisers for Obama, is also planning on attending the convention when Obama accepts the nomination. A representative from her production company says while Winfrey will be there, she will not take the stage.
Of course, the biggest star will be the nominee himself, and whoever he chooses to be on the ticket with him.
Samantha Hayes is a national correspondent for CNN Newsource based in Washington, D.C. She contributes political stories to KSAT-12. You can learn more about her here.
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This entry was posted on August 14, 2008 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Politics. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: annette bening, barack obama, ben affleck, cnn, democratic national convention, ed norton, forest whitaker, hillary clinton, kanye west, ksat, oprah winfrey, pharrell williams, presidential campaign, quentin tarantino, samantha hayes, san antonio, spike lee, susan sarandon, warren beatty, wyclef jean
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