Thursday, July 29, 2004

Care for a potato-tini?
Posted by ekdurand@yahoo.com">Emily K. Durand at 6:33 PM -

The last 22 hours have been so action-packed, I think I'll have to break it up into more than one post...and the DNC high point is still to come tonight (I mean the balloon drop, of course). So let me rewind to last night's Governor's Reception high above Boston -- the big blowout event for the NJ delegation, and an opportunity to see some hard-core political socializing in action.

After catching some afternoon ZZZZ's, I headed back into town around 8:30 to meet the other volunteers at 60 State Street, an office building next to Faneuil Hall, to set up. Once again, there was zero traffic: I made it from Watertown to a spot in the Boston Common parking garage in less than 20 minutes, listening to Al Sharpton's fiery Convention speech on the radio. I drove past the Louis Boston store and saw a pack of paparazzi waiting for celebs to arrive for the Creative Coalition party and Red Hot Chili Peppers show, the night's hot ticket. As I walked over Beacon Hill, I passed a few of the open but empty pubs and restaurants that Mayor Menino's probably going to have to answer for in the coming weeks. As you can probably tell from my blog entries thus far, there is no shortage of free food, treats, and booze at a convention like this, for the delegates and all the staff, guests, and assorted hangers-on who can wangle a pass. Who would go out to dinner when they can bounce from one corporate-sponsored shindig to another all night long?Sigh.

Of course, that's just what I did last night -- well, just the one shindig. The State Room, on the 33rd floor, has a breathtaking view of Boston Harbor and the Custom House Tower, and against this backdrop the NJ delegation feted Governor McGreevey (who didn't get up to speak until nearly 1am, after I left but long before the party ended) and several hundred of his closest friends. Everyone was in their party clothes, and unfortunately there was no TV to watch John Edwards speak, so there was some restlessness in the ranks. We volunteers sat in the lobby, somewhat lackadaisically checking people in and taking turns going up to check out the scene.  I say "lackadaisically" because at a certain point there were several busloads of delegates pulling up outside in the rain, some straight from the Fleet Center, and some from the hotel -- a mere 2 blocks away, but why walk when you can ride? The delegation staff started waving through the VIPs, as in members of the state assembly or the Congress, but of course once that starts everyone wants the VIP treatment, right?

For the record, our 1800-person "guest list" included the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton (no shows), members of Congress like Barbara Mikulski, Mary Landrieu, Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi (ditto), and one "Joseph Buttafuoco." Draw your own conclusions there. The "regular" delegates were very energized from the Convention, and it was nice to start to recognize them by face as they filed past. With only one day left to go, they were ready for a deluxe party.

Upstairs, the lights were low, a jazz combo was playing, and a random but delicious assortment of hors d'oeuvres was offered to the throng. Brie in pastry, shrimp salad on celery, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, a towering array of sushi on ice, a whole smoked salmon that went mostly untouched, beef, shrimp, and...drumroll...a mashed potato bar. Step up, fill a small glass with straight carbs, and top with sour cream, bacon bits, chives, cheese, etc.  I thought it was great, but then I'm not on Atkins -- and for those poor souls, they provided a big bowl of salad. Mmmmm, salad.

There were two fully stocked bars, and things got a little silly right from the start.  Three slightly shady gentlemen came to the registration table unable to sign their names in a straight line, but they had tickets and so we let them up, after receiving their business cards, from the postal worker's union of NJ. That certainly didn't fill me with confidence about the mail.  Things were in full swing when I left after midnight -- the thought of the 7:30 breakfast drove me home to bed, but not before the giveaway prizes were unveiled. Each guest (well, the reasonably sober ones, anyway) got a black fleece jacket with "Boston 2004 -- Gov. James McGreevey" printed on it, plus an outline of New Jersey, of course.  They went like hotcakes...which is just what people want after a night of barhopping, right?

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