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September 8, 2012

Area delegate 'energized' by President Obama's speech

By Jane Smith Special to the Tribune

MEADVILLE — Valerie Kean Staab of Espyville is coming home from the Democratic National Convention ready to work harder for the re-election of President Barack Obama.

She said Obama’s speech was magnificent and “energized the room.” It left all the delegates “ready to go be on the cheerleader team and move forward.”

For her, the “most memorable” part of the convention, however, were video clips of the late Ted Kennedy and Republican nominee Mitt Romney (when Romney challenged Kennedy for a U.S. Senate seat). She said although it was years ago, Romney is still doing the same thing today, referring to flip flopping on issues.

This is Kean Staab’s fourth time as a delegate to the DNC. She previously went as a delegate for Bill Clinton twice and four years ago supported Hillary Clinton. She recalled four years ago she was there to “kind of hang out,” noting she wasn’t a huge Obama supporter. This convention changed that thinking. “I fell in love with my president,’ she said. “Yeah, he’s my president.”

She said it was Obama’s sincerity and his message that changed her mind from four years ago.

Asked the differences in the four conventions, she said the ones in “New York and Chicago were the best.” She said it was because those cities “were big enough to hold us all (in one hotel.)” She said in Charlotte the delegates were scattered and “we could not do all the events together.” She noted when the president came to town, everything was shut down. While she understood that, it made it difficult for camaraderie. “It’s nice when the delegates are in the same hotel. It’s nice when we can all be part of the demonstrations.”

Asked what she believed was Obama’s message, she said,  “The Democratic breed is something to be proud of.” She noted the Democratic party’s belief is one of  “giving back and giving a hand up of helping you.”

All in all, she said the convention was wonderful and the speeches were fantastic. She said the best one was from the governor of Michigan, but she also enjoyed John Kerry’s and the AFL-CIO speaker.

“I’m riled up and ready to go back to work hard,” she said. “I got rejuvenated.”

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