Tom and the N.M. delegation take center stage

By Jill Cooper

DENVER — Today was all about the New Mexico delegation. They are staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Denver — a serious but reasonable walk to the Pepsi Center. Tom represented the delegation well with a series of speeches throughout the day. Then, later, New Mexico got to play its own little role in nominating Barack Obama to be president.

The day started with the New Mexico delegation breakfast where Tom and T. Boone Pickens were the main speakers. What a pair! A New Mexico Democratic congressman and a Texas oil baron coming together.

I decided to follow Tom for the rest of the day. As a spouse I pretty much sit in the back seat of the car or on the side of the room and try not to get left behind. Later I met Sen. Schumer (it’s his job to get these guys elected) and his wife. She is a friend and pretty much agreed that the role of a spouse can be a bit marginal.

After the first breakfast, Tom spoke at a second breakfast to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at the Brown Palace Hotel in a large, elegant ballroom. Tom and all the Senate candidates spoke. I thought Tom was best — and I am definitely not biased. Next we went to a DSCC press conference with just six of the Senate candidates. I thought Tom was best again. There were lots of press interviews at the convention center: KOAT-7 in Albuquerque, the New York Times, lots of radio.

Then we went back to a little conference room at the Brown Palace Hotel where Tom had meetings booked back to back. There was a lot of rushing about to get organized to move Tom to the Pepsi Center to give his convention speech. He was allocated 90 seconds and could not change a word. I suggested if he talked slowly he could get up to 95 seconds.

Amanda and I got to go out on the podium to watch Tom. Amanda can arrange anything. The roll call of states was still going on and we could see all the excitement of the nomination from the front.

Brian Colón was speaking about green and red chile and “the great state of New Mexico” (all states are “great” during the roll call). Then he paused in the middle and deferred to Illinois. Illinois deferred to New York, and then Hillary moved to nominate Obama by acclimation.

Then Tom gave his convention speech and was the best again. Really.

Later we had VIP tickets to the very exclusive Creative Coalition party. But we skipped it and stayed in. If we had gone, I could have reported on all the celebrities we saw.

Cooper is married to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall. She is blogging on this site daily from this week’s convention.