I was on the convention floor before EricV. One of the things you notice being on the floor that won't come through in the media coverage is that the back of the convention is plastered with signs for corporate media outlets. This heavy-handed presence won't show in the pictures from the convention, but it's completely in-the-faces of the people speaking at the podium.
When I got to the section for the Illinois delegation there were just a few people there. A delegate from north Aurora sat near me and a guy who is running for city council in Wheaton was serving as an organizer. On the other side were a couple of Black women.
A photographer (I think he said he was from the Trib) asked to take a picture of the older Black woman. She said she'd rather not. He tried to take a picture anyway and she tipped her head down so he couldn't get a good shot.
Later the other woman introduced herself. The older woman said her name was Alice Palmer.
Palmer was the incumbent state senator Obama beat in his first race for the Illinois Senate. He defeated her by disqualifying her nominating petitions.
If Obama is elected POTUS, Palmer will be remembered in history, and probably in her family, for being the first elected official defeated by Obama. That's got to be painful. Of all the things she accomplished in life and all the loving things she's done for her family, she's going to be remembered for doing an inadequate job gathering nominating petition signatures in a race where her opponent went on to the big time.
