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From the floor

Its a huge crowd down here — the stadium is almost full. There are a few patches of empty seats here and there in the nosebleeds but apparently the Secret Service shut down the exits due to a threat. I’m not sure if they’ve reopened.

From where I’m standing, I can see Dan Rather sitting in the stands like any other civilian, no longer bringing the convention home to the masses. Obama will be on soon. He lucked out with the weather — no rain, a cool breeze, a gorgeous night. Everyone is dancing and cheering, and sending text messages that are showing up on the huge screen. Michelle got huge screams when she arrived in a red and black dress.

He has so much room to disappoint tonight: how to be eloquent without being vague; how to be presidential without looking presumptuous; how to talk about kitchen table issues in front of a stadium crowd… in short, who to live up to the huge expectations.

Television event aside and partisan politics aside, there is a feeling here that people in the audience are witnessing history. All those MLK videos did the trick. There’s a bit of electricity in the air.

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