Program Note: The following article appeared on the Irish Times website. Yes, we now have two bloggers in the family! It was written for an Irish audience, so please take this perspective into account while reading it.

-- Chris Weigant

An Irishwoman's Outlook On The Democratic Convention

September 2nd, 2012

My name is Fiona Weigant, and I will be travelling to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina as part of the blogging press. As a young girl growing up in Dublin, I never dreamed I'd be making a trip to such an event. My road to the convention started four years ago when American politics was energized by Barack Obama's campaign. As a legal alien ("green card" holder) I had followed the campaign with a certain amount of distance, given the fact that I could not vote. I felt I had a stake in the outcome, yet I was unable to influence the result.

The election of President Barack Obama made me realize that I could no longer be an observer on the sideline. I had to be a participant, so I became an American citizen. I knew I had made the right decision when my husband Chris and I attended Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009. It was a day I will never forget. [Editor's note: see photo, above] There we were, two amongst thousands, on the Mall in Washington D.C. in the freezing cold waiting to see the swearing in on the giant TV screen. Before the event started, Bono warmed us up. It was worth it though to experience that "being a part of something great" feeling.

I grew up in Ranelagh Village, in a home steeped in Irish politics. I remember stuffing envelopes with my Mum for Fine Gael election campaigns in the 1970s, when our house was filled with people running for office. I made so many cheesecakes for the cheese and wine fundraisers my Mum threw that I vowed never to make one again once I left home. In those days you could not walk down Sandford Road without bumping into a politician looking for your vote. It is very different here in the United States, and especially in California (where I have lived for the past seventeen years). You might be lucky enough to meet your city mayor or your local state representative here but there is very little access to politicians at the national level.

The two-party system here in the states was very strange to me at first. I could not understand how you could have a real democracy without the choice of multiple parties and platforms. Both the Republicans and the Democrats like to stress how inclusive they are. They both talk about being "big tents." In this way they attract people who feel strongly about particular issues; such as small government vs. big government, states' rights, women's rights, minorities and immigration to name but a few.

One of the reasons such issue groups do not form their own parties is that it is extremely difficult for a new "third party" to participate in national elections because it is very hard and expensive to get your candidate on all 50 state ballots. It is also important to note that in order to vote in the party "primary" elections, (which choose the candidates for the "general" elections); you have to be registered to vote as a member of that party. In recent years some states have experimented with "open" primary elections but most have reverted back to the members-only model by the next election cycle. It is for that reason that I myself registered to vote as a Democrat. This year I will cast my first vote in a Presidential election.

What the country and myself just watched during the Republican National Convention last week was candidate for President, Mitt Romney, tell the American people that his agenda was their agenda. That he would work on their issues and be on their side. That he would take the country in the direction they wanted to go. Was he successful? Did he convince the Republican base that he can win this election? Did he persuade any "undecided" television viewers to exercise their vote for him? According to the mainstream media and the social media he managed to not say anything too controversial or to alienate the base too much. I agree the base will at best hold their noses and vote for him and at worst stay home and not vote for the other guy.

I am looking forward to seeing the Democratic National Convention from the inside and the outside. Will they put on a better show than the Republicans? Will a detailed platform be presented to the public? It will be interesting to see all of the things that don't get shown on television. Will demonstrators such as the "Occupy" movements be allowed to march to the convention center or will they be herded into the "free speech zones" set up to corral activists? Both host cites were allocated $50 million dollars by the federal government for security and I guess they have to spend it on something or return it.

September 5th, 2012

Day one of the convention took a while to get going but ended with an emotional and electrifying speech delivered by Michelle Obama. I am sure that many in Ireland have seen the highlights by now. It took me this long to get out of the security zone so I could start writing -- well... maybe I did go to a party or two before coming back to the hotel. Seriously, there were a lot of security guards, police and secret service people telling me "you can't get there from here" yesterday and even more so today. If you remember what it was like when President Obama was in Dublin last year just imagine that chaos one hundred times over. My dad went down to see the President speak and said it was a brilliant show but he would have been better off watching it on the television.

Once I was in the convention center (The Time Warner Cable Arena) things were a lot better. I was able to wonder around the halls and speak to many of the delegates as well as other press. Everyone was excited to be there, to be part of this very American political process.

Press with "hall passes" are also allowed to exchange their pass for a 15-minute "floor pass" during the program. I have to say that it was an amazing experience to be down on the floor in front of the stage. The delegates were wearing their best campaign hats and buttons and the television media were doing their sound bites and interviews. I had to keep moving all of the time so I would not get in someone's camera shot.

I think that the first night of this three-day extravaganza was a huge success. The speakers laid out the party platform and used the prime television coverage to highlight the differences between the two choices. The crowd cheered and roared its way through the evening, energized to do everything they can to re-elect President Obama. Rob Dolan, a delegate from Washington state, summed up why he gives so much of his own time and energy to a political party: "I want to wake up the day after the election and know that I have done everything I could to make our country a better place." This is why Americans come to political conventions in the first place -- to try to influence their country's politics. In America everything is on a much grander scale than in Ireland but the urge to improve their country's leadership remains the same.

-- Mrs. Chris Weigant