2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convention was held in Denver, Colorado, from August 25 to 28, 2008, at the Pepsi Center. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois gave his acceptance speech on August 28 at Invesco Field in what the party called an "Open Convention".[1][2] Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Obama became the party's first nonwhite nominee, and nominee of African descent, for president. Senator Joe Biden from Delaware was nominated for vice president.
See also: Schedule for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, 2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, and 2008 Democratic Party presidential primariesConvention
August 25–28, 2008
Pepsi Center (August 25 – August 27)
Invesco Field at Mile High (August 28)
4,419
2,210
Obama (IL): 3,188.5 (72.15%)
Clinton (NY): 1,010.5 (22.87%)
Abstention: 1 (0.00%)
Not Voting: 219 (4.96%)
Biden (DE): 100% (Acclamation)
1
Obama officially received the nomination for president on August 27, when his former opponent, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, interrupted the official roll call to move that Obama be selected by acclamation.[3] U.S. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware accepted the nomination for vice president on the same night. Obama accepted his nomination the following night in a speech at Invesco Field before a record-setting crowd of 84,000 people in attendance.[2]
Early party division[edit]
With close delegate counts for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, there was early speculation of the first brokered convention in decades. Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean sought to avoid such a circumstance.[7]
In addition to the possibility of a brokered convention, a dispute over seating delegates from Florida and Michigan led some to compare the year's convention with the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which ended in a divided party and unhappiness over the outcome.[8] This speculation ended when Obama was declared the presumptive nominee on June 3, 2008,[9] and Clinton officially announced later that week that she was suspending her campaign and was fully endorsing Obama.[10]
Rules[edit]
On February 2, 2007, the Democratic Party published "Call for the 2008 Democratic National Convention,"[11] the rules governing the convention. There were 3,409.5 pledged delegates, those committed to vote for a particular candidate, selected by primary voters and caucus participants. There were about 823.5 unpledged delegates, those free to vote for any candidate, colloquially known as "superdelegates", for a total of about 4,233 delegates, requiring 2,117 votes to constitute a majority of the convention.[11] The superdelegates consisted of DNC members, Democratic Congress members and Governors, and other prominent Democrats.[12]
The pledged delegates were allocated among the states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to two main criteria: 1) proportion of votes each state gave the candidate in the last three presidential elections; and 2) percentage of votes each state has in the Electoral College. Fixed numbers of delegates were allocated for American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and Democrats Abroad. Under the party's Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention,[13] delegates were awarded through proportional representation with a minimum threshold of 15% of votes in a state or congressional district to receive delegates. The delegate population must reflect the state's ethnic distribution, and at least 50% of the delegates must be women.
Denver Police bear riot gear during the 2008 Democratic National Convention
A "decontamination tent" was maintained by security in front of INVESCO field, where Obama spoke on the last day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention
Denver Police patrol the "LoDo" (Lower Downtown) district during the convention
Controversies[edit]
Seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan[edit]
The Florida and Michigan legislatures moved forward their primaries to January 2008,[46] in contravention of party rules and were stripped of their delegates.[47] The Clinton campaign with others initially opposed their seating, stating they acknowledged that the delegates from neither Michigan nor Florida would count. However, after winning the Florida and Michigan primaries, Senator Clinton spoke in favor of seating the states' delegates (despite Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and John Edwards having removed their names from the Michigan primary ballot).[48] DNC Chair Howard Dean asked Florida and Michigan to submit a new plan for a process to choose the delegates, such as holding primaries again, or let the matter be referred to the Credentials Committee.[49] In May 2008, the rules committee agreed to let their delegates have half a vote each. In August 2008, Senator Barack Obama, the party's presumptive nominee, asked the credentials committee to let the two states have full voting rights at the convention.[50] The credentials committee met on August 24, the day before the convention began, and voted to restore full voting rights to Florida and Michigan.[51]
Use of municipal fuel by convention planners[edit]
From March through July, convention planners were provided subsidized and untaxed fuel from municipal government gas pumps at a price less than retail fuel available to ordinary citizens, reportedly without a signed contract. After the practice became public at a meeting with city council members, only convention planners' buses were allowed to refuel at city facilities.[52][53][54][55][56]
Lawsuit by protesters[edit]
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of 12 organizations who planned to protest at the Democratic Convention, requesting that the Secret Service and Denver officials release information about procedures concerning protesting times and the Demonstration Zone.[57][58] In a June 12 release, a parade route and Demonstration Zone were announced. The Demonstration Zone will be in Parking Lot A of Pepsi Center. Some groups, including two groups opposing abortion chose to delay filing suit after it was announced that their applications for permits are being processed.[59] In an amended complaint, the ACLU and interested advocacy groups have filed suit against the Secret Service and the city and county of Denver, questioning the constitutionality of the restrictions. The lawsuit failed and the ACLU did not appeal.[60]
Depiction in media[edit]
Ava DuVernay was commissioned by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture to create a film which debuted at the museum's opening on September 24, 2016. This film, August 28: A Day in the Life of a People, tells of six significant events in African-American history that happened on the same date, August 28. The 22-minute film stars Lupita Nyong'o, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Angela Bassett, Michael Ealy, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland and Glynn Turman. Events depicted include, among other things, the night Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the convention.[82]