TennesseeTicket.com

12:30 - The meeting hall is ostensibly divided down the middle, what with there being just two candidates — but so far, it is a lopsided result, as Barack Obama supporters outnumber those for Hillary Clinton by almost three to one. The Obama folks are camped out on the far side of the room, so Obama people have to stroll past the meager Hillary crowd on their way to the much larger (and still growing) oval of blue vinyl chairs designated for them.

12:45 - A man in a navy shirt marked SECURITY on the back stands ready to lock the door. The rules are quite strict about this. They make one imagine days when a faction might have found itself fighting a losing cause, and would go round up some more faithful to come in and save the day. If you aren't in the building by the 1:00 start time, tough luck. (Update: it appears that this gentleman was just providing building security, while someone else actually shut the door. But he made for a good image, so I left it.)

Local elected officials supporting Obama include County Commissioner John Allen Brooks and Board of Education member Jeffrey Wilson; those for Senator Clinton count Chairman John Bailes and State Executive Committeewoman Mary Anglin among their ranks.

12:55 - A few more Hillary supporters have arrived, but their numbers are still much smaller. I wondered if I would see any evidence of the support Clinton enjoys among Latino voters. Not so much. Most are women, and all but one are white. By contrast, the Obama side contains a much more diverse mix (still hardly any Hispanics); these are young and old, black and white, men and women.

1:05 - Party chair John Bailes starts the convention by ringing a rather clanky bell. After his pep talk, and introduction of elected officials and other dignitaries, Jeffrey Wilson says a prayer, and all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. (In case there was any question, the Obama supporters held their hands over their hearts.)

1:15 - As large as the crowd is for Obama, they still lack the possible 60 delegates they could send to the district convention in two weeks. No question, then, that the much smaller Hillary camp has fewer than the 50 they're allowed. A paperwork snafu seems to be holding up what would potentially be a very quick process on the Obama side. Someone runs out to get the right forms, and the delegate selection resumes.

While the caucusing continues, a Clinton supporter chats with her Obama-backing friend across a row of folding tables that marks the "no man's land" between the two groups. There are no hard feelings evident anywhere in the room. Each group is enthusiastic about its preferred candidate, and all are committed to supporting one or the other in the general election.

1:45 - The only grimace I've witnessed was while someone in the Clinton group was trying to read off the names of delegates being sent to the next round, and noise from the much larger gathering across the room was making it hard to hear.

1:50 - And suddenly, it is over, as the nominations were made and the congratulatory "see you in Clinton!" — Clinton, Tennessee, that is, which is the site of the Third District convention, and a town whose name is somewhat regarded as a good omen by Hillary supporters — ring out across the room. John Bailes formally closes the meeting by ringing the bell again, but the attendees have largely dispersed.

Bailes tells me he is glad that the Democrats wait until after the primary elections to select delegates, instead of voting for the delegates on the same ballot as the candidates, as the Republicans do. He says that it is much easier to select delegates after the primary votes are in, and that the other method is fraught with unknowns. I remind him that it's his job to say that. He laughs, then invites me to cover the district convention on February 23.

By the way, there is a new blog in town, as I discovered when I spoke very briefly to the WTVC correspondent (Dan Lehr, it turns out, is his name). It's called Vote08, and was launched around the same time Fred Thompson ended his campaign for the White House. I defer to Dan's account of today's events for the final delegate totals.

Afterward, while waiting for my ride, I spoke to an Obama supporter in the parking lot. We discussed the turnout to today's convention, which I honestly would have thought to be higher. The number of delegates to come out of the next convention is much smaller: two men and two women will be selected to attend the national shindig in Denver (one of each for each candidate). Hamilton County is by far the most populous in the Third Congressional District, so its county delegates for Obama will dominate, if they so choose, the selection of their man and woman.

The local Clinton supporters aren't so lucky. While they still compete against any single county's totals, the low turnout today, coupled with the fact that Clinton won so big in rural counties, means no guarantee that those sent to Denver for Hillary Clinton will be from Hamilton County.

Do I understand the process now? Much better, but still not perfectly. If I get a chance, I'll show up at the next one and learn some more. As an unpaid blogger, I may seek out a small sponsorship for fuel and meals. Barring that, I'll just chalk it up to experience.

I'll see what I captured in photos and video, and will post anything decent.

I don't have one of those big fancy TV cameras and full production studio like Abena Williams or the other guys, so I'm still working on that.

"He says that it is much easier to select delegates after the primary votes are in, and that the other method is fraught with unknowns."

It seems to me that the GOP's "winner take all" method of assigning delegates is more authoritarian and disenfranchises more voters than the Democrats' proportional allotment. The media is trying to make it sound like "superdelegates" will decide a candidate, taking the power away from actual voters, but the way I see it, the opposite is true. It allows for a wider array of interests and issues to get into play because the final candidate will be negotiated.

Thanks very much for the shout-out!
I'll check back here to compare notes on a regular basis!
=dan=