Monday in Denver: Credentialocracy

Credentials. They hang around the necks of conventioneers, like rare diamond necklaces. Credentials are what you need to access the Convention. And like everything else in America, they come in various classes. There are Floor credentials, Hall credentials, Arena credentials, Perimeter credentials, Honored Guest credentials, Special Guest credentials and Guest credentials. They determine your proximity, your place, your stature. As a result, there is fierce jockying for credentials. I am besieged with requests. From colleagues and political leaders, from friends and friends-of-friends and people who "heard-you-have-pull-with-the-people-who-are-handing-out-credentials-and-can-you-do-me- a-favor-and-get-me-an-extra-Floor-pass?"

I do the best I can, but it is rarely enough. A Hall pass isn't a Floor pass, and a Perimeter pass is hardly a pass at all.

Still, the desire to be "close to the action" is understandable, because it's not really action, but history that people want to be a part of. The history of choosing a President. The history of changing history.

It is loud, boisterous, competitive and messy.

In other words, it is democracy. And who doesn't want to be a part of that?