Martin Frost, a victim of DeLay's redistricting in Texas, kicked things off, touting his string of victories in Red Texas.  This was a common theme:  Nearly every candidate tried to position themselves as the one who has the skills and experience necessary to turn red into blue.  Frost also spoke to another recurrent, and welcome theme: The necessity of standing by our core Democratic principles despite the tough defeat.  Yet to my eye he showed neither the requisite charisma (shrill and rather forced) nor vision (the was really nothing new in his speech, nothing the rest of the candidates didn't also touch upon) to turn the DNC Chair into a higher-profile and more influential position, something we're hoping Dean will be able to accomplish.

Wellington Webb was next, the only person of color on the ballot.  I was impressed with his speech, which balanced high ideals and straightforward pragmatism.  His two main themes were creating a more inclusive party capable of reaching voters in the South and West (though he was short on details of how to accomplish this), and the need to emphasize local activism run by locals, rather than the `hired guns' brought in on the eve of elections.  This too was something quite a few speakers mentioned, and while I don't underestimate the importance of local leadership, for those of us who spent much of our time and energy campaigning outside our home states--because that's where the need was greatest--there a whiff of the offensive in being dismissed as interlopers.  No doubt most of us would campaign close to home if the electoral college didn't afford such increased importance to the swings!  All the same, Webb showed some fire and drew one of the biggest ovations of the night.

Finally, our man, Dean took the stage.  He promised to appoint grassroots organizers in every state to serve as liaisons between the party and organizations like ours--showing in his first words the commitment to the grassroots that earned him our support.  He also emphasized the importance of local and state elections, pointing out the huge power wielded in places like Ohio and Florida by secretaries of state, county clerks, and election board members.  He stressed the 4-year nature of the modern presidential campaign, and urged us all to hit the ground running NOW NOW NOW.  

Simon Rosenberg seemed the most intellectual of the bunch, and while he didn't struck me as a polished orator just yet, he far outstripped the other speakers in terms of offering some details of what his agenda would be like if he were to win the chair.  Nurturing the grassroots on the one hand, while building the party machine on the other--one does wonder how easy it will be to actually hold that balance, but in theory it seems like the right sort of strategy.

Donnie Fowler Jr. came out firing, getting the crowd to chant along, decrying the party bigs for making the same mistakes year after year.  Clearly trying to position himself as the outsider, he promised to stand up and fight for core principles, and argued that our first job has to be to capture the hearts of the people, and only then their heads.  This is certainly the tack our opponents take, and it dovetails with what many of us have been feeling regarding the party's failure to clearly articulate a message, a vision for what it means to be a Democrat.  Still, Fowler didn't seem to me to have the kind of experience and solidity of character to lead the big, diverse party.  Maybe down the line?

Tim Roemer was the insider of insiders, telling self-aggrandizing stories about 9/11 widows counting on him and his toughness in the face of terror, and appealing to our inclusiveness to `forgive' his anti-choice stand.  For those of us who fear the rightward slide, Roemer would be anathema.  Indeed, I wondered about his ringing final slogan:  "Make America Right!"

David Leland was solid, trumpeting his Project Vote credentials (1.1million newly registered voters).  But his baseball metaphors (I'm Joe Torre.  No wait, if you're from Boston I'm Francona) didn't exactly hit the ball out of the park.  He made up for it with a  rousing finish, listing off all the things the Dems have accomplished and getting a big ovation.  Still, he didn't really emerge as a real person to me, just a speech, and that seems too much like the problem Kerry and the 04 campaign had.

The Q&A was mostly softballs, though a few interesting issues arose.  One question asked if the candidates, as Chair, would speak out against congressional leaders on confirmation issues, with Rice's confirmation as an example.  Wellington said he would, but showing the pragmatic streak, said he'd pick his battles carefully.  With Rice, he worried that African-American voters might misconstrue opposition to Rice as opposition to an educated African-American woman, and so hinted that he wouldn't have picked THAT fight.  Dean concurred on the latter, but because it seemed a foregone conclusion.  Rosenberg stressed party unity, saying he'd do intense lobbying behind the scenes but would avoid open confrontation with the congressional leadership.

The Fowler Amendment, to reduce the number of at large delegates from 75 to 25, led to the most heated exchanges of the night.  Some pointed out that this might reduce the diversity of the delegate pool, and this got Fowler up in arms to defend dad.  Dean scored what were for me the biggest points of the night here:  He forcefully promised that if he wins, the party will not waste time arguing and fighting about issues that, on the principles, everyone agrees with.  Bigger battles, not wrangling over little things!  Everyone wants diversity and will find a way to get it, but he promised that on his watch there would be "no fights about how to dot the t's and cross the i's (sic)".  Of course, with his semi-outsider status, it will be interesting to see, should Dean win, if he'll be able to get the troops to rally around him enough to hold true to that promise.

Truthfully, I came to this event supporting Dean largely because our own organization (DrivingVotes.org) had decided to endorse him, and I didn't know much about the other candidates.  But I left reassured about the decision to support him.  He balances experience and vision in a way no other candidate seemed to.  I'd be curious to hear what other attendees think!