Q&A: Democratic National Convention, 25-28 Aug 2008, Denver, Colorado
Updated on 26 August 2008
Barack Obama will officially become the Democrats presidential candidate at the party's national convention this week. But what does the convention actually do for four days?
Q. Who attends?
A. There are two types of convention delegate - 'pledged' and 'unpledged'.
The 3,253 pledged delegates - so called because they are obliged to vote for the presidential candidate based on their state or territory's primary or caucus vote - make up around 80 per cent of the delegated. They are usually elected at district or state level.
In addition, 19 per cent of the delegates are 'unpledged' or 'super' delegates.
They are generally allowed to attend by virtue of having held a position of party leadership. While they are not officially mandated to vote for a particular presidential candidate, many have announced their intentions in the run-up to the convention.
A number of 'alternate' delegates are also selected if, for whatever reason, a pledged delegate is unable to attend all or part of the proceedings.
Q. What do the delegates do?
A. Over the four-day convention, delegates will hear from a range of speakers, and, ultimately, approve the nominations for their president and vice-president candidates.
A typical day might start with a breakfast for each state delegation, where they will hear from state leaders, guest speakers and receive their credentials for the day.
They may then head to caucus meetings, where specific interests groups can get together, or training sessions before the main business of the day starts mid-afternoon.
Typically, the key-note address will take place on Monday evening, and this year will be given by Virginia governor Mark Warner.
Tuesday includes debate and discussion of the proposed 'national platform' - a statement on the Party's position on a wide range of issues.
Wednesday starts with the formal nominating process for the presidential candidate, and the vice-president nominee is usually expected to speak in the evening, ahead of the formal nominations for the position on Thursday.
The business of the convention is usually rounded-up with an acceptance speech from the presidential nominee.
This year, Barak Obama is set to speak on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, and he is hoping for a big crowd. He will deliver the speech in the 75,000-seat Invesco Field stadium at Mile High, across town from the convention centre.
Q. Who else will be speaking?
A. The convention will have around 50 featured speakers.
Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, took centre stage on Monday alongside the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi - the highest ranking woman in American political history.
Hillary Clinton is set to speak on Tuesday - the 88th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote in the US - and her husband, Bill, and former president Jimmy Carter are also due to make an appearance during the 4-day convention.
Q. What about the presidential nomination?
A. On Wednesday, the formal nomination process begins. Although Hillary Clinton has conceded to Obama, she will still symbolically appear on the nomination as part of a deal between the two campaigns.
A state-by-state roll-call vote is then held, after which Clinton is expected to "release" the delegates pledged to vote for her and endorse Barack Obama for the nomination.
