Bill Clinton

My mother, Pearl, always gave great advice in life. "Always wait a half hour after eating at the beach before you go swimming." "Finish your food. Children are starving in Europe [or alternatively, China, when I noticed that children were fat in France]." And she warned me to clean up after myself when visiting someone's house. And she gives good advice to this day.
 
Obviously, however, this is not something Bill or Hillary Clinton followed. It seems they both left their crumpled up pre-speech "To Do" lists on the podium at the Democratic National Convention. Fortunately, because of my wide spread connections in the world of politics, I knew the staffers who cleaned up, and they forwarded to me the actual notes themselves, warts and all.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) with mother and daughter constituents visiting Denver: Aisha, left, and Valerie.: Politicker photo 

DENVER - The Democratic Party had been splintered all week, and the test of the convention would be whether on the last day Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) resolved the contradictions and moved everyone forward.

The factions were not imagined, or at least one piece of the delegation claiming the loyalties of 18 million voters was hesitant about the presumptive nominee. For New Jerseyans, that faction had particular force. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) had beaten Obama by almost ten points in New Jersey and her fundraisers had hauled in millions form New Jersey supporters.

Some Monday night drama hinged on Michelle Obama’s shot to prove she loves her children and understands the Middle American concept of family.

"I cried until I couldn’t applaud anymore," Newark Councilwoman Mildred Crump said of Obama’s speech.

However, warm and fuzzy testimonials were already starting to rile the Rev. Reginald Jackson of Orange. Yes, he’d been a solid Clinton backer during the primary, "but we need to deal with the Bushes and we’ve got to define McCain."

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

Former President Bill Clinton addressed the Democratic National Convention tonight, pledging to help elect Barack Obama: Getty Images Photo
DENVER - The Clinton legacy took a battering in the recent Democratic Party primary, but Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) says most of the landed blows are unjust, and argued that only the former president could convincingly argue on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) the way he did tonight.

"In 1992, the Republicans called Clinton too inexperienced and that’s what they’re trying to say now about Barack Obama," says Wisniewski in the Spotted Dog bar at the Inverness Hotel, paraphrasing one of Clinton’s key arguments from his speech at the Democratic National Convention tonight.

"Clinton proved to be one of the best presidents of the 20th Century," added the assemblymen, who is poised to begin his term as a Democratic National Committeeman at the end of this week, where he is interested in examining possible reforms to the system.

President Clinton balanced the federal budget, and created surpluses approaching a trillion dollars.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) and his wife, Debbie.: Politicker photo 

DENVER - The crowd crams into the Spotted Dog for Assemblyman John Wisniewski’s (D-Sayreville) convention watch party, which includes three other recognizable elected officials packed cheek by jowl into this low-ceilinged underground Inverness Hotel hangout: Assemblyman Gordon Johnson of Bergen and West New York Mayor Sal Vega and Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs.

Wisniewski’s been attending conventions going all the way back to 1976, when his father served as a member of the New Jersey delegation. Now he has his own daughters here and they’ve already been on the floor of the Pepsi Center.

"It’s a relaxing atmosphere down here, in a way even better than getting on and off the bus to go out there to the Pepsi Center," says Wisniewski, chair of the state Assembly Transportation Committee.

"At least I know New Jersey’s not the only place with gridlock," he says.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

The third day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST on Wednesday, with a theme of "Securing America's Future."

The day will begin with the nominating process for President, including nominating speeches for U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), followed by a roll call vote.

The headline speaker will be vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

Featured speakers will include President Bill Clinton (D), U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

The full schedule is below.

Gov. Jon Corzine with Bill and Hillary Clinton at an Invesco Field party: Politicker PhotoDENVER - Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) speech was over, but the night wasn't done.

Invesco Field crowded the horizon like a set-piece out of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and State party Chairman Joe Cryan and West New York Mayor Sal Vega trudged under the crisscrossing Denver highways, leading a scattered contingent of the New Jersey delegation.

Inside they were greeted by the familiar strains of Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer," and when the rest of the haggard-looking delegation finally arrived, either by foot or bus from the nearby Pepsi Center, they found a stage overcrowded with Gov. Jon Corzine, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and New York Gov. David Patterson.

Joining the governors on stage were none other than the Clintons.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day two of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ): Politicker file photo 

DENVER - When Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) attended his first convention, he was running for Congress and serving as a Bill Clinton delegate in 1992.

"It was interesting," Menendez recalled in a phone interview with PolitickerNJ.com. "We invited this little known Southern governor to Hudson County, to our Hudson County dinner. He lost his voice that night, but he was very earnest in his effort, and he went on to become our president."

Fifteen years later, Menendez supported Bill Clinton’s wife for president in what was ultimately her unsuccessful bid for the White House.

Now Menendez, vice chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), backs Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL.), and wants an all-out Democratic Party takeover of not only the executive but the legislative branch.