Above: 22-year-old San Diegan Delegate Dave Carlson. Interview by Joe Spurr.

This was our first live, UStreamed interview with a local delegate, and we very much had to set up the stream on the fly, running on batteries and using my computer's built-in camera. I was a little frazzled heading into it because of that, and I also hadn't yet met Dave, so I wasn't as familiar with his background as some other young delegates.

That said, I enjoyed the chat and was impressed with Dave's knowledge and on-the-spot speaking ability.  I'll let the video speak for itself, but your feedback is welcome and we can continue the conversation in the comments section below.

I've been tweeting more and more as our production processes have smoothed out, so feel free to interact with us there as well -- and in that respect please consider yourself in Denver with us!

Above: From the DNC in Denver -- KPBS correspondent Gloria Penner talks with Jess Durfee, Chair of San Diego County Democrats.

Note: We had some last-second technical difficulties and went without a tripod for this one.  All forthcoming videos will be steadier.

KPBS Web Developer and Producer Joe Spurr and I were sitting at our table on Radio Row at the DNC last night, working on our separate projects when a very dapper Dennis Kucinich walked past.

I was deeply engrossed in some writing, but Joe challenged me to interview the former contender for the Democratic nomination.  His campaign in the Democratic primary had failed, but apparently his spirit wasn't diminished. He looked triumphant, almost as though this convention would come to its senses and give him the nomination.  His very attractive wife was busily smoothing his hair and straightening his tie and collar.

I couldn't resist Joe's challenge so we grabbed an audio kit and a microphone, walked half the length of our table and there I was conducting this extremely impromptu interview.  He responded enthusiastically and gave us a clear and thoughtful discussion of his views on the economy and foreign policy.  I wonder if he'll run again.

Wow!  There goes Senator Biden -- maybe another unplanned interview is waiting.

Three weeks ago, Political Fix alerted you to the planned KPBS presence at the DNC and RNC with staffers Joe Spurr and Kurt Kohnen joining me in both Denver and the Twin Cities. 

The time has arrived.  On Sunday, we three fly to the mile-high city prepared to cover the Democrats' events from a San Diego perspective.  Six days later, it's on to the Twin Cities for the Republican activities.  We'll be using both KPBS Radio and the kpbs.org web site as our media outlets.

In just a bit more than three weeks, I'll be on a flight to Denver to cover the Democratic Convention where Senator Barack Obama is expected to be that party's nominee for president of the United States. This journalist is getting very excited. Then a week later, I'll fly from Denver to Minneapolis to report on the Republican Convention and Senator John McCain's official acknowledgment as the GOP contender for the highest office in the land. My excitement grows and here are the reasons:

Although no convention since 1952 has gone past the first ballot to agree on a nominee, I recall the excitement of the 1960 Democratic Convention at the Los Angeles Sports Arena when an opening day demonstration in favor of Adlai Stevenson was so wildly exuberant that my skirt was torn by an out-of-control Stevenson enthusiast. I was covering that convention (as a novice assistant producer) for NBC's Today Show and I still can call up memories of the event and the glamour provided by the Kennedy clan, Frank Sinatra and the rest of the rat pack. Eleanor Roosevelt had proposed a Stevenson-Kennedy ticket. But the Kennedy youth and charisma won the day. Might Obama face a challenge on that first ballot?

National Democratic Chairman Howard Dean has a problem. It's the hate spewing forth from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's campaigns that is dividing the Democratic Party and could destroy its chances to take back the White House. He wants the undeclared superdelegates to make up their minds yesterday, certainly well before the August nominating convention, and put one candidate over the top.

In February, I wrote about the options available to the Democratic superdelegates as they individually figure out which candidate to support. I omitted one major element in determining how to decide their vote, and that is pressure from their party leaders. Before the wrenching personal attacks by the candidates escalate to the point where both are so badly damaged that a November win becomes remote, those leaders must intervene.

So, who are they? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have a great deal to lose if the Republicans benefit from a Democratic meltdown at a divided National Convention: Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Pelosi and Reid are the natural leaders -- but can they short circuit the process without making things worse? Neither has yet come forth with an endorsement. After all, they are active politicians who run the risk of alienating a possible future president.

But consider this: Others are! Nobel Laureate and super superdelegate Al Gore could endorse either candidate and thus powerfully influence the as-yet uncommitted superdelegates. Or, if Democratic unity can't be achieved and the presidency barrels toward John McCain, the delegates at the Democratic National Convention might let the warring candidates loose and nominate the former vice president. He has said that the only way he would return to politics would be as a candidate for president. Politics does have strange twists and turns, and hate is destructive.