Lost at Breakfast

By Rep. Robbie Wills

While Steve departed early for the panel discussion with Dustin McDaniel, the rest of the Arkansas delegation was treated to a joint breakfast program with the delegation from Hawaii. The keynote of the breakfast was Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack's half sister and a native of the 50th state. For you dedicated star-watchers (and fans of the hit ABC TV show Lost) actor Daniel Dae Kim gave brief remarks on why he is supporting Barack Obama for President. On further questioning, he was absolutely adamant in his refusal to cough up any hints about the upcoming season of Lost and whether or not his Character, Jin, makes it off the island. "You'll just have to watch!," he said. I will. The folks from Hawaii were just as friendly and enthusiastic as the Arkies and a great little pep rally ensued.

I am very interested in the stagecraft for tonight's speech. The buildup to this has been fascinating. The obvious comparison to JFK's acceptance speech at the L.A. Coliseum in 1960 is easy to understand, but with the speech coming on the 45th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech, the homage to Martin Luther King, Jr. strikes me as the most enduring. The Greek revival backdrop for the speech, in spite of being panned by conservative commentators and Republican pundits, reminds me of the Lincoln Memorial, the setting for Dr. King's famous address. Judging from the production quality in the Pepsi Center the last four days, I can only imagine what's in store tonight. My take is this: Barack Obama is not trying to go over the top, he's trying to inspire a nation. It's not about elevating his own celebrity, it's about placing the nation's problems on the biggest stage possible. These are big problems requring big solutions and they should be presented in the appropriate light. What's wrong with that? It's a huge order to fill, but Senator Obama has been prepping for this speech his entire political career.

As Steve said in an earlier post, the blogging infrastructure at Invesco Field is very limited. Steve has the capability to access the internet wireless (of course he does...he IS the technology whiz) and will be posting as battery capacity allows. I am taking along my Blackberry and will be emailing him updates as possible throughout the night. We are leaving at 12:30 p.m. CST to go to the stadium. I've packed my shades and sunscreen and am looking forward to the night's events.