LIVE FROM THE DNC.... I'm at the DNC Winter Meeting today, sitting in an underlit conference room with spotty internet, flickering jumbotrons, hundreds of DNC delegates, and every presidential candidate who could squeeze onto the schedule. Here, on the first day, Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Dodd, Clark, and Kucinich will speak, though not necessarily in that order. Howard Dean, of course, is emceeing, and he began his speech reminiscing about the DNC Winter Meeting from four years ago, where he electrified the audience with his "What I want to know" refrain. "Four years ago," he said today, "I stood before you at this meeting and we promised to change America, to change the Democratic Party, to take back the country. As I stand before you today, I am proud to be part of the Democratic Party -- any wing of the Democratic Party." So yes, it's a slightly different vibe here today. Clark is speaking right now, and not doing a terribly good job of it. Dodd was the first of the presidential candidates, and his rumbling growl lit the room up. "Before you have bipartisanship," he said, "you need leadership. Because bipartisanship doesn't mean getting Democrats to agree with Republican principles. It means getting getting Republicans to agree with Democratic principles!" Obama was next, and I thought the cheers would never end. I'll write more about his speech later, when I've had some time to digest it. His rhetoric fascinates me, though. Most candidates speak about politics, Obama speaks of civics. Most politicians promise policies, Obama communicates primarily through principles. His emphasis on unity was on fine display as well, repeatedly mentioning all the legitimate disagreements progressives have, but begging that, instead, we all agree on the fundamental need for change in those sectors Then came Clark, who seemed quiet and underpowered compared to his company. Anyway, Edwards is about to come out, so I'm going to return to the notebook. More later. --Ezra KIein
