Tales from the Trail

As far as vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is concerned, Michelle Obama has given what will prove to be the most pivotal speech at the four-day Democratic Convention.

And Biden predicted on Tuesday that her prime-time address at the opening of the convention on Monday will help propel her husband, Barack Obama, to the White House.

“Wasn’t that the most incredible speech you ever heard,” Biden, who addresses the convention on Wednesday, a day before Barack Obama steps to the podium, told a breakfast meeting of convention delegates from Biden’s home state of Delaware.

“Mark my words,” Biden said.

“When this convention is over and three to four years from now they are commenting on why the Democrats won, they are going back and say the single most significant event that occurred at the Democratic convention is Michelle Obama — not Barack Obama, not Joe Biden, not Ted Kennedy — but Michelle Obama’s speech.”

“She gave a window to the American people who she is, who he is and what really is the American dream,” Biden said.

Inside the Tent’s Kathleen Miller, a pledged Barack Obama delegate for Maryland, talks to Hillary Clinton supporter Marsha Massey about whether it’s possible to unite the Democratic Party.

Reuters Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Miller is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are her own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll be moving to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention next week.

Bernice Scott, a pledged Hillary Clinton delegate for South Carolina, talks about how a phone call from the New York senator convinced her it was time to pledge support to Barack Obama. This video was shot by Inside the Tent contributor Kathleen Miller, a Barack Obama delegate for Maryland.

Reuters Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Miller is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are her own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll be moving to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention next week.

Alabama state representative Merika Coleman discusses why as a parent, she supports Barack Obama. This video is from Barbara Scarpella Reed, one of the contributors to Reuters Inside the Tent.

Reuters Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Scarpella Reed is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are her own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll be moving to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention next week.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, hailed as a voice for the working class, arrived in Denver shortly before the start of his Democratic Party convention on Monday and went straight to an outdoor barbecue for lunch.

“Five pulled pork sandwiches,” the white-haired, 65-year-old senator — accompanied by family members and crush of Secret Service agents — told the folks at Boney’s Smokehouse at the 16th Street Mall in the city’s downtown. Lunch was stuffed into a paper bag as the senator posed for pictures with a hundreds of passers-by who applauded and cheered the Delaware Democrat.

“Pennsylvania loves you,” yelled Michele Bortner, a Democratic delegate from York, Pennsylvania.

Nancy Kivlen of PUMA (“Party Unity My Ass”) explains why she plans to vote for John McCain if Hillary Clinton doesn’t receive the Democratic nomination. This video is from Mike Smith, one of the contributors to Reuters Inside the Tent.

Reuters Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Smith is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are his own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll be moving to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention next week.

Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, on the floor of the Democratic convention, talks about the importance of the economy as an issue in the 2008 elections with Corbett Daly, Washington bureau chief for Thomson Reuters Markets.

Reuters Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. Click here for a full list of contributors at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll be moving to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention next week.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

Reuters Inside the Tent has more than 40 delegates and other attendees in Denver and St. Paul, equipped with video cameras to capture the conventions from the ground up. The following video is from Mike Smith, who has worked in politics, journalism and public policy for the last 25 years.

Smith is not a Reuters employee and any opinions expressed are his own.

Click here for a full list of contributors at the Democratic National Convention. We’ll be moving to St. Paul for the Republican National Convention next week.

Full coverage of the 2008 Elections