In Denver
THE party is in full swing.
"Buy a bit of history," calls out Ruth, a vendor of Obama buttons in a street in downtown Denver. "One for $3, two for $5."
Passers-by stop to admire her collection, even if they don't buy one. They are not short on Obama-quotient themselves; plenty are wearing T-shirts with his picture on the front and back.
Obuttons galore.
Source: BLOOMBERG
I have yet to spot a Hillary button, though plenty are apparently in circulation. Her 1,896 delegates are outnumbered by the Obama supporters and most - unlike the lady pictured above - are not exactly seeking attention openly.
You can often spot them in the crowd, mostly older, white women who identify deeply with her story of shattering the glass ceiling.
Today, they will bring the traffic to a halt as they protest the absence of their leader on the Democratic ticket.
The clock ticks on Mrs Clinton's highly-anticipated address this evening. Can she put the feminist genie she released back into the bottle?
Bottles, meanwhile, are being uncorked as delegates mingle in all sorts of parties all over town.
In Denver's rather tiny "black quarter", there are nightly jazz sessions. The New York delegation has been politely reminded not to get drunk. Apparently that can happen quite quickly in the thin mountain air of this Mile High city.
The restaurants (this city boasts it has the highest restaurants per capita in the land) are doing brisk business. Naturally, Obama is on the menu and you may order any of the following:
Ba'Rock Shrimp;
Obamalettes;
Ballot Box Brownees;
Campaign '08 trail mix;
Obamanator Lager;
Barack on the rocks;
Changing Tide; and
O'Pama Granite Martini.
And, given the 15,000 journalists in town tasked with bringing the Democratic National Convention to the world, you might well want to take a break from the Obama-fare and have another of the proffered concoctions: Media Madness.
Goodness knows what liquor they put in that one.