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So today was the big day ... the day when the nomination of Barack Obama was to become official and America would have made a giant step towards minimizing the role of prejudice in our lives.

But first there was the drama, fueled by the media and the very existence of the Clintons. We didn't know how the roll call would play out. And then the roll call started.

I don't have to tell you how exciting the moment was to watch; you can see it for yourself if you have not done so already. But the level of tension and volcanic excitement within the New York Delegation was incredible.

I was seated at the front of the "plebe" Delegate section (non-federal elected officials). There were no assigned seats and you had to show up early to stake your claim. The front row was not ideal for seeing the speakers or the screens, but it was good for celebrity siting and conversations with people from around the nation.

Anyway, as New Mexico stood to deliver it's tally, Senator Clinton was hustled into the convention Center along the aisle directly towards us. The Delegation surged to its feet. Clinton was escorted by various people to the area around the microphone where statewide elected officials had congregated. When she started to speak, we were hushed. When she moved for acclamation, there was pandemonium. Those of us who had worked so hard to see Obama receive this nomination -- particularly in the hostile territory of New York State were ecstatic. Many of the Clinton supporters, particularly the elected officials, were "relieved' -- they could now dance the unity dance.

What a moment.

Hi, dear listeners!

My trip started badly, I admit, because I missed my flight to Denver and had to spend hours in JFK waiting for the next flight -- which was delayed due to various weather problems -- and got my to bed at 3 am Denver time (5 am NY time). I was wiped and I missed a few events I would have liked to attend.

Note to self: Remind JetBlue not to seat me next to young, gorgeous blonde women wearing really short skirts and who have really nice personalities -- particularly when I'm traveling without my wife ...

That being said, I have already reconnected with many old friends and politicos. This is the place to be. This morning I picked up my first credentials and am set for Night 1 of the convention. I'm being trailed by a reporter for the Brooklyn Paper, Dan Bush, so I've had the opportunity to pontificate a bit to him. Maybe you'll get some later on.

Posted here is my live interview with Rochester City Councilmember Adam McFadden. I'm sure you will enjoy it. We spoke as I was gobbling down some burgers and drinking water (which you are supposed to do here). Mr. McFadden has concerns about party unity, particularly with regard to Clinton supporters. He also has some harsh things to say about urban politics in Rochester, NY.

More later!

Chris Owens

A message from your host, Chris Owens:

I'm off to Denver!

And today, I'll be previewing the DNC and RNC with Ralph Nader and Robert George.

Ralph Nader’s crashing the DNC. The consumer advocate, lawyer, author, and presidential candidate explains his plans.

Conservative columnist, Robert A. George gives a preview of the RNC. He’s an editorial page writer for the New York Post and find his personal blog at http://raggedthots.blogspot.com/

I'll also share my thoughts on the untimely passing of Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

And next week … acclaimed writer and activist, Nikki Giovanni.

A message from your host, Chris Owens . . .

I’m talking with one of my favorite people about everything I’ve been dying to talk about concerning the presidential campaign:
Can Obama take Virginia and North Carolina?
Who’s the Democratic coalition really made up of?
What’s the role of third party candidates?

I’ll be speaking with Melissa Harris Lacewell, Associate Professor, Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, (Princeton 2004) and is currently at work on a new book: “For Colored Girls Who've Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn't Enough.”

All that and more on the show.

THE CAMPAIGN

McCain is hitting Obama hard on almost a daily basis. Will Obama fight back? With his latest ad out calling McCain a “Washington Celebrity”, are we seeing the beginnings of some brawling? Ron will talk to New York Magazine writer John Heilemann about if and how Obama should start swinging.

RUSSIA/GEORGIA

Russia has called for a halt to fighting but has yet to indicate a withdrawal of forces. Is this the beginning of the end of the struggle? Ron will look at the White House response
as well as the candidates.

ENVIRONMENT

RUSSIA/GEORGIA

Despite Georgia’s call for a ceasefire, Russia continues to push into South Ossetia and Gori, and seems set on regime change- sound familiar? We will to talk to Spencer Boyer from the Center for American Progress today about the latest in the now 4-day conflict and what this may mean in terms of our own Russia/US policy moving forward.

IRAQ

Well, it looks like Iraq and the US are knee deep into negotiations for withdrawal, but what have we agreed to and what are the sticking points? We’ll talk to Fawas Gerges, Chairholder in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence College, about where the talks are and where they are going.

OLYMPICS

The Olympics are officially underway, with lots to see and do- Ron will give you the latest on who’s winning, who’s losing and what Bush is doing while there…

As JFK's closest advisor for 11 years and then the first to prominently yoke Kennedy and Obama, Ted Sorensen's views are politically telling this month in our approach to Denver. But John Edwards' humiliating sex scandal is not for two reasons: it's a failing of person, not party, and John McCain did the same thing -- viz. have an affair while his wife was ailing.

This is not to say that the misconduct of both Johns should be disqualifying for president. If that were true -- and based on the best scholarship -- we wouldn't have had an FDR, IKE, JFK, LBJ or Clinton and we'd today be lionizing Nixon and W as top tier presidents. I recall once debating a religious conservative. Cal Thomas, on a talk show during the Clinton kerfuffle. "What could be worse than lying to your wife?", he said. "Nuclear war" was my reply. That is, looking back, who would we rather have had navigating the Cuban Missile Crisis when the world risked extinction -- a frisky Kennedy or a chaste Bush 43?

McCain has admitted to his misconduct. It hasn't come up in this contest and shouldn't. It should not be THE factor determining someone's vote but rather possibly a factor for those who choose to focus on bad behavior 30 years ago rather than his capacity to be president today.

Hear that, Republican mudslingers? Let us in this context urge rabid family-values Republicans and Atwater-Rove political operatives to stop their moralistic slandering when the shoe's on the other foot. Recall how most of those Hill Republicans hounding Bill Clinton over Monica Lewinsky in 1999-2000 had their own affairs -- Gingrich, Livingston, Hyde. Recall how so many anti-gay conservatives came out of closet later or were throw out.

A message fom your host, Chris Owens . . .

I’m taking on two topics:

Claims about John McCain’s racism . . . Is McCain racist? And are his recent ads really working? I’ll be speaking with Irwin Tang, author of “Gook: John McCain's Racism and Why It Matters.” (See his youtube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2rpvj9NSXM.)

And, I’ll be talking about the latest news from Gitmo, the folks who’ve been forgotten down there in Guantánamo, Cuba, with Shayana “Shane” Kadidal, Senior Managing Attorney, Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative (GGJI) at The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).

Plus, I’ll share my recap of this week’s news, including the outcome of the TN congressional primary – impacting Rep. Steve Cohen, who was on BP last week. And, I have a follow-up on Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick, who we’ve spoken about in the past, he’s still in hot water.

All that and more on the show.

Do you know that even if you make good money -- you still might get a bad loan? Hear Chris Owens today explain why and how this happens. He’s talking with Jim Carr, Chief Operating Officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which just announced its findings this week showing where there are real differences in how people get loans in this country and how unfair lending practices work. Visit www.ncrc.org after the interview to learn more.

Plus, he’ll be speaking with Rep. Steve Cohen, from Tennessee’s 9th District, who in his own way, has changed history: He sponsored the House bill that this past Tuesday, passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow laws.

Air Americans:

It's time to hear from you!

Post-Primaries and pre-Conventions, what's your opinion of some much-discussed topics in this historic election season?

Take the 2008 Election Poll #1 here!

Let's have fun, let's tally up the answers -- and then we'll determine the person(s) who got the most right answers to Questions 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7.

The winner will come on my 7 Days in America weekend "views on the news" program sometime in January.

You listen to us; now let us listen to you!

Take the poll! Click here!

Please vote only once -- and the voting will conclude next Monday August 4 at noon.

Mark Green
President
Air America Media

Obama's "Rolling Thunder Tour" through the Middle East and Europe has likely decisively changed the arc of both the war and McCain's presidential candidacy.

Usually it's only in retrospect that history judges a moment to be a turning point politically, like the day in 1980 that Jimmy Carter's helicopters on a hostage rescue mission crashed in the Iranian desert - and so did his chance for reelection.

But Senator Obama's trip this past week was like a rolling decisive moment, stylistically, substantively and politically. I'd be surprised if years from now we don't look back on these 10 days as when his 4-6 point lead hardened and expanded.

Our conversation with Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin - and Arianna Huffington and David Bender - converged on the conclusion that Obama looked "presidential" and like a commander-in-chief while McCain looked like a biblical Job wandering around from golf carts to supermarket aisles shopping for news and votes. Short of negotiating peace between Shia and Sunni, it's hard to conclude anything other than Barack Obama won the week, if not the election.

First, the contrast between the two candidates couldn't have been more pronounced. One was calm, cool, poised, positive - the other was surly and defensive.

Second, one was vindicated on his Iraq position when Prime Ministers Maliki and Brown agreed with a 16 month timetable for withdrawal - while Bush agreed on a time "horizon" and even McCain told Wolf Blitzer that "16 months was a pretty good timetable."

Chris Owens takes on the FOX news machine and the activists who are pushing back against that network’s insulting and disrespectful portrayal of people of color. Chris will be joined again by James Rucker, executive director of Color of Change.org.

Plus, he’ll have an update on a story that broke just yesterday… it’s one you may have missed and it involves the prosecution of a reviled Haitian paramilitary leader, named Emmanuel “Toto” Constant. Chris will be speaking with Jennifer Green, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights. Visit ccrjustice.org after the segment to learn more.

And, Chris will have a challenge to the menthol lobby… all that and more on today’s show.

Chris Owens takes on the FOX news machine and the activists who are pushing back against that network’s insulting and disrespectful portrayal of people of color. Chris will be joined again by James Rucker, executive director of Color of Change.org.

Plus, he’ll have an update on a story that broke just yesterday… it’s one you may have missed… and it involves the prosecution of a reviled Haitian paramilitary leader, named Emmanuel “Toto” Constant. Chris will be speaking with Jennifer Green, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights. Visit ccrjustice.org after the segmnet to learn more.

And, Chris will have a challenge to the menthol lobby… all that and more on today’s show.

Two fuses were lit this past week that could eventually explode later in John McCain's campaign -- a housing-banking crisis exposing Republican anti-regulation orthodoxy and the senator's penchant for falsehoods that gives new meaning to Bush III.

First, the modern anti-regulation crusade began officially in 1978 with enactment of Prop-13 in California limiting property taxes and the defeat of the federal Consumer Protection Agency in Congress as "more big government." And then of course Reagan rode this deregulatory movement -- "Government is not the solution... Government is the problem" -- to the White House two years later.

Now cut to 1995 when two events combined to start a counteraction: Speaker Newt Gingrich's unpopular shut-down of the federal government during a budget battle with President Clinton and the attack in Oklahoma City by domestic terrorists who killed people precisely because they were federal workers. Responded Clinton, "I'll never criticize 'bureaucrats' again."

On this weekend’s show: Why is the patriotism of African Americans questioned? Tune in for the feisty conversation on this topic with:

22-year veteran of the military, Mustapha Rahim; he served in Iraq and Bosnia and he’s a Republican.

Dr. David Campt, who’s joined us before, his expertise: those testy social questions that make you want to duck out of the room.... he’s known as the RACE DOCTOR, and he’s the author of “The Little Book of Dialogue For Difficult Subjects” with co-author Dr. Lisa Schirch. www.davidcampt.com

Commentator and author, Janus Adams, who was one of four children selected to end de facto segregation in New York in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. Today she is a frequent lecturer and on-air guest, and her commentaries are heard on NPR. www.janusadams.com