Thoughts before heading to Denver

Quick note: This entry was written last week in preparation for trip to Denver

This is going to be interesting.

Not only being at the DNC, but blogging and publicly reflecting along the way.

Already the 2008 convention, apparently, will be a virtual beehive of blogging, videologging (vlogging?), youtubing -- the likes of which we've never seen before in politics. People call this the 'new media.' And we're part of it! If you're reading this blog, you're part of it.

How is all this 'new media' going to change politics? I imagine the American body politic more and more seeing the world the way a fly does -- through thousands of little lenses. Do they add up to a clear image?

Just the other day, I was having a conversation about the way new media is changing journalism, the business model for newspapers, and even the civic role that newspapers are supposed to be playing in society. We are definitely headed into uncharted territory. Everything is changing -- there's a lot we don't know about how the new media will shape our world.

What I do know is this is a great idea and I'm going to have fun. Politicians typically do a lot of talking and not a lot of writing. It's good for me to practice other modes of communication once in a while. Thank you Boston Globe for inviting me to do this.

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Went to a meeting of Roxbury4Obama organizing meeting at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center on Tuesday. Mid-August, dead of summer, an ordinary weeknight -- and over fifty people showed up, about half of whom had never worked on a campaign. They wanted to get involved because they felt that something important was happening and they had to be a part of it.

Mostly African-Americans in the room -- I and a poster of Bruce Lee were the only Asian representatives there. One woman said, "We are the change that we have been waiting for. We haven't been waiting for Obama. Obama has been waiting for us."

The hope and energy in the room was palpable. The post-meeting sign up and organizing and planning activity was like a trading floor at a stock exchange -- on a bullish day -- chaotic, but jubilant.

Denver will be exciting, to be sure -- full of hope and energy. Live, on television. But we will really be moving democracy forward if we can plant and harvest hundreds and thousands more moments like Tuesday night at the Reggie Lewis Center all over Boston, the Commonwealth, and the nation.