Democratic National Convention

First-time delegate excited at Obama's nomination

By GAYLE WEBER

DENVER -- Bobby Whitten never expected to see an African-American elected as the president of the United States in his lifetime.

However, now that the possibility is just 68 days away, he's excited and taking in as much as he can at his first Democratic National Convention.

"I get there early, (and) they give me a lot of flak. But it's my first time, so I'm going to try to soak in as much as I can," Whitten said.

The Junction City school resource officer recently got involved in politics and was surprised to be selected as a delegate.

Whitten has been traveling to the Pepsi Center for the convention early in the day, skipping out on some caucuses and other events just to be able to hear what Democratic leaders have to say about the country's future.

Whitten was looking forward to Thursday's featured address from presidential nominee Barack Obama.

"I hope he comes out talking about why it's important to put a Democrat back in office," Whitten said.

He said Martin Luther King Jr. laid the framework for Obama's success and enabled him and others to become leaders of the country.

"I never thought I would see this," Whitten said. "Even if he's not elected, that's history in itself."

Whitten said he was happy with the selection of Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as the vice presidential candidate.

"He doesn't bite his tongue at all," Whitten said. "I think he'll bring some kind of relief to people concerned about foreign policy."

Since Whitten has been on the floor for nearly all of the convention speeches so far, he has been able to judge the good speeches from the bad.

He said Michelle Obama, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer were dynamic and memorable. However, Ted Kennedy's appearance Monday was the first thing Whitten mentioned.

"Ted Kennedy had a very moving speech. Nobody expected that at all," he said.

Whitten said he thought Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., did what she needed to do Tuesday during her convention address.

"Hopefully she brought the fact that it's not about her, it's not about Obama, it's about unifying the party," Whitten said.