Night one of the DNC has concluded and I have made my way home via bicycle from the Pepsi Center. The ride along the deserted Cherry Creek bike path gave me time to put the spectacle in perspective. The cold beer by my side is helping some too.

How much of last night was about education? Almost nothing. National Education Association President Reg Weaver had about three minutes of glory at 5 p.m., when the hall was at most half full and no one was paying attention to the speakers. The podium is so over-the-top large and gaudy that even Weaver, a big man, looked like a grain of sand behind the dais.

Although some prominent Dems have been firing shots across the union’s bow in recent days, Weaver did not strike a combative tone. If anything, he sounded a bit defensive:

"I know a man (Obama) who knows that NEA is not for the status quo, that we are an organization that has changed as the needs of children have changed. And together we must change public education. I know a man who offers new ideas and new commitments to public education, while his opponent proposes to continue or expand the failed policies of the current administration, policies that fail our children. I know a man who knows we can’t be prepared for the 21st century, rebuild our economy, and secure our nation without a well-educated workforce."

Well, maybe it’s a good thing no one was listening.

Carolyn, an affable middle school teacher from 40 miles east of L.A. was sitting next to me. A stalwart member of the California Education Association, she was crushed that she arrived too late to hear Reg speak. "He’s so dynamic," she said. I bit my tongue. Carolyn said she is renting an apartment for the week from an East High School teacher, who has moved in with friends during the convention. The teacher even rented Carolyn her car for $20 per day. Solidarity in the teacher ranks goes only so far, apparently.

Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers spoke at about 5:35. She got maybe six minutes, and was a bit more eloquent than Reg:

When those children walk through the doors of our classrooms, they bring us their dreams, their potential and their trust. And sometimes they bring empty stomachs, untreated ailments, and life experiences that can chill you to your core.

America’s teachers take them all in their fullness, and we do all we can to help them reach great heights. Good things are happening in our public schools: teachers and para-professionals who work tirelessly to inspire their students; students who struggle, yet strive and succeed; communities that value education and ensure students have what they need.

I can’t tell you how proud I am when I visit those schools. 

And that was about it for education.

 Random impressions:

People did, in fact, wear funny hats and dance like doofuses to the top-notch funk band that played throughout the evening. Delegates batted beach balls through the air, as if they were attending a low-scoring L.A Dodgers game.

The event was immaculately choreographed. Delegates held up themed signs at the appropriate moment ("Kennedy" when Teddy Kennedy made his poignant apperance, "Michelle" when Michelle Obama appeared, and countless others). It had a faintly big-brotherish feel to it.

The standing room only crowd appeared truly engaged only when Caroline and then Ted Kennedy spoke, and when Michelle Obama gave her polished and eloquent speech. Other than those moments (and the brief introductory remarks by Michelle’s brother, Craig Robinson), it was boilerplate, or pabulum or however you care to describe it.

I can’t believe this thing goes on for three more nights. I imagine this is what an Amway convention must be like, only more racially and ethnically diverse.

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