Well folks, the 2008 DNC is over. The stage at Mile High Stadium has already been mostly torn down, and the delegates and press members are leaving town just as quickly as they arrived.

As planned, Barack Obama gave his speech in front of 80,000 screaming people. I feel very fortunate to have been right in the middle of it all. I even saw police officers, giddy with excitement, taking pictures while Obama spoke.

In a previous post I complained about the media logistics. The complaint still stands, but after a few hours some of the volunteers finally set up a table where journalists could go to trade in their hall credentials--which only give you access to the bleachers--for floor passes.

These floor passes are only good for 30 minutes, after which they have to be returned. So, I spent an hour or two running back and forth between the press room and the field. Finally, I took a chance and just kept the floor pass. There was no way I was going to be sitting up in the bleachers for Obama's speech. I wanted to be down where the action was.

Even if my name is now in some Secret Service database, it was worth it. It was surreal to be at an event that so many people throughout the country (and around the world) were watching.

As Obama's speech drew closer, security got so tight that the police wouldn't even allow delegates to reenter the field, even if they'd just gotten up to go to the bathroom. I sat by the entrance behind the police, waiting for a violent confrontation. The delegates, normally so cheerful and upbeat, were irate. If I learned anything last night, it's that you don't get between Democratic delegates and their presidential nominee. The police eventually learned this lesson, too. A few delegates pushed onto the field, and suddenly, a whole stream of them poured through the line of guards.

I think the police realized it would be bad for the whole "unity' message if they started tasering delegates.

As one might expect, Al Gore spoke about the environment, and how basically, a vote for the Democrats is a vote for mother earth. (Coincidentally, the photo I included of the overflowing garbage can was taken during Gore's speech.)

I've posted a lot about how scripted every single second of the convention is, and last night was no different. Several DNC volunteers were given giant American flags to wave during Bill Richardson's speech. After his speech, I overheard one volunteer scolding another, "Susan, you have to wave it slower."

I understand the Democrats wanted nothing more than to stay on message this week, but does it really matter how fast the flags are being waved? I can't really imagine viewers at home being all that concerned about such a seemingly insignificant issue. ("Well gee, honey. I was going to vote for that Obama guy, but now I'm not sure. Did you see how quickly that flag was moving?)

As for Barack's speech, I thought he did a pretty good job. He managed to speak in specifics for once, and he also addressed the criticisms of his candidacy that will surely be raised at the RNC next week.

As for the Wisconsin/Illinois after-party at the Marriott...

I'm sorry if I got your hopes up in my post yesterday, because this party was a big bust. Obama didn't show up. I even saw the ushers letting in people without the required wristbands, which only hours earlier, were very hot commodities.

Maybe it was the fact that I was exhausted, or that my feet hurt. Or, maybe it was the guy covering John Denver songs in the background. Regardless, I went home early.

But first, I made a stop at the hotel bar inside to see what some of the other delegates were saying about the convention.

This, too, didn't work out as planned.

I sat down next to a Latino delegate from New Mexico. I asked one simple question--"What did you think of the speech?"--and he went off on a 25-minute lecture about immigration, illegal aliens and his time as a worker in a meat processing plant in the late '60s.

His rant was a bizarre ending to a wonderful day.

Click here for all the pictures I took throughout the day.

Stay tuned. The convention may be done, but this blog isn't.