* Heather Clisby: Have you seen Heather's photos from the DNC? Check out her coverage of the cool, the crazy and the creativity with a few celebrity sightings tossed in for good measure.

* Katy Chen: VIDEO - Delegate reactions after Barack Obama takes the DNC stage for the first time

* Maria Niles: VIDEO - Gender and politics - a BlogHim perspective

Maria describes, "BlogHer spoke with BlogHim Chris Rabb, publisher of Afro-Netizen, and husband of Dr. Imani Perry, about gender and politics. Chris shared his thoughts on the importance of re-thinking gender definitions especially for progressives and feminists of any gender. He also speaks of the importance of men speaking out against the sexism that was directed towards Hillary Clinton in the campaign as well as how meaningful it is as a father to see Barack Obama's family..."

* Suzanne Reisman on Election women, Part II - Building the pipeline and AmyGeekGirl on Women's issues, rights and equality

Suzanne writes, "Buried in Susan Faludi's New York Times sprawling op-ed regarding the anger many women are expressing that Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination, how women are covered in the press, and the history of the white suffragette movement, there is a crucial paragraph with vital facts about our current political state. Faludi notes: 'Today, the United States ranks 22nd among the 30 developed nations in its proportion of female federal lawmakers. The proportion of female state legislators has been stuck in the low 20 percent range for 15 years; women’s share of state elective executive offices has fallen consistently since 2000, and is now under 25 percent. The American political pipeline is 86 percent male.'..."

* Joanne Bamberger: The Clintons set the stage for Obama

"They set the stage. They primed the audience of the faithful. To use a sports metaphor, they have teed it up as nicely as they can for Barack Obama when he speaks this evening before 70,000 people in Denver. The Clintons have made their speeches and stepped out of the convention spotlight. So now, it's up to him. Tonight is the night that Barack Obama is really going to have to hit it out of Invesco Field. Because even as motivating as the Democratic convention has seemed, the Republicans are up next and they'll take whatever opportunities they can to knock him back down..."

* JC: Hope for a change

JC writes, "Barack Obama is not my messiah. He's human with human faults and foibles. But he's the first presidential candidate in a very long time who has given me hope in a time when we certainly need it."

* Midlife Muse: Living history - the dream 45 years later

Midlife Muse writes, "Maybe, like me, this day -- both in 1963 and 2008 -- has overwhelming significance for you. Or maybe you're reading this and thinking that you don't plan to vote for Senator Obama. Maybe you don't really know much about Dr. King. Or maybe you aren't old enough to have lived through the fight for civil rights. And maybe you haven't experienced racial discrimination. Well that's OK. Because if you have 12 minutes to watch this video of Dr. King's speech, you'll get a sense of why, as Americans, we're all living history today...."

Hope to see you in Professor Kim Pearson's live-blog later tonight!

BlogHer's DNC team has had the opportunity to sit down and talk with a number of influential Democrats since Erin Kotecki Vest appeared on CNN yesterday. We asked them how delegates can come together, what Obama will need to do to win and more about their opinions of Election 2008. What do you think of their answers? You can watch the videos here:

For those of you who haven't read it, check out the comments now on PunditMom's live-blog on Hillary Clinton's speech that is archived on BlogHer.com. The fans, shall we say, went wild - see Lovlydrmr's enthusiastic post BEST PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN. Even some of Clinton's foes agreed: Don't miss Contributing Editor Backyard Conservative's take, or RightWingSparkle: "My only thought during Hillary's speech was..'Thank God she didn't get the nomination...' "

Here's one of the 117 DNC photos by Contributing Editor Heather Clisby thus far. She was inside the Big Tent:

With a reported Clinton delegate protest march planned and her prime-time speech, Tuesday is the day Sen. Hillary Clinton and her supporters pick a path. Will they step forward to support an Obama-Biden ticket or will they step forward to support HIllary Clinton as a candidate they believe should be on the ballot in November, either as VP or as an Independent candidate?

Emotional doesn't begin to describe what I'm reading in the BlogHer-sphere from pro-Clinton, pro-Obama and pro-Just-A-Democrat-Please bloggers. But first, watch what Sen. Clinton herself said on the topic at yesterday's Hispanic caucus (video by Tracy Russo of The Back Forty blog):

The audio isn't great, but if you listen hard you can hear Clinton clearly state her support for Barack Obama. Her words, however, appear to have no check on the emotion I'm reading around the BlogHer-sphere and in news reports from bloggers like Womenzvoice, who are openly activating for an independent candidacy for Clinton, even as PUMA (a group of convention delegates whose acronym means either People United Means Action or People United My Ass) is planning a march. And as you'll read in that last link, NOW President Kim Gandy is openly angry when talking with reporters about everything from the ballot to Sen. Clinton's title on the speaker manifest. "[M]any women are devastated by Obama's selection of Joe Biden as a running mate," wrote BlogHer Contributing Editor Suzanne Reisman yesterday, in a post exhorting progressive women to re-plug in called Election 2008: It's not over yet!

In an attempt to explain, PunditMom blogged The Hurdle Some Hillary Supporters Can't Get Over -- and says that even Michelle Obama's glowingly acclaimed Monday night speech cannot change it:

My experiences of not always being treated fairly or equally in the workplace are not going to prevent me from voting for Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. But I have to wonder whether the persistent sense of experienced women coming up short in the workplace and having to take the helper's role to the younger man in the office is something that will unconsciously tip more than a few mid-life women into the John McCain or 'other' column.

When I surf Democratic bloggers who can and do support Obama, they don't sound any less frustrated. With "WHAT?! Southerngirl in a single post touches on every point I've seen made about the effect some bloggers fear this conflict between Clinton and Obama supporters could have on the election:

Hillary, do me a favor and get over yourself and out of our way so we can get a democrat in the White house and start to fix this mess we are in. The things facing this country are too important for one person to hold up. LISTEN UP! Hillary is not the nominee. Barack is and it is his right to decide who is on his team, it is his right to seek the counsel of whomever he wishes. This is about him not Hillary. If we want respect for the next woman then she and her supporters have got to act with some dignity and (gasp!) class.

Meanwhile, Michael Melcher on The Huffington Post makes a satirical point: The way the news media tell it, no matter what happens, "It's all Hillary's fault!"

On day two of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, BlogHer's Erin Kotecki Vest, Maria Niles and Videographer Katy Chen will be at the convention, fingers typing and cameras rolling, asking delegates what they think -- perhaps even the Senator herself if they are fortunate.

First on BlogHer's agenda is an interview with Chicago Businesswoman Valerie Jarrett, whom The Washington Post described as a member of the Obamas' inner circle and pivotal according to New York magazine in both Michelle Obama's career and the Barack Obama's decision to seek the presidency.

Midday, BlogHer will cover the WomenCount.org lunch featuring Hillary Clinton, which was to have been co-hosted by the late Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. Later that day, BlogHer will attend the Emily's List gala where Sen. Clinton and Michelle Obama will appear with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Afterward, the BlogHer team will take a trip to the Pepsi Center to interview New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and cover tonight's speeches, culminating in Hillary Clinton's remarks.

Image credit: Hillary Clinton by http://nytimes.com

* Jeralyn of TalkLeft reports Cindy Sheehan and "Recreate '68" helped kick off the first, 1,000-person protest - a peaceful one even after a Fox News reporter laid hands on a professor. Immediately after, Anita Thomas questions the name - "Recreate '68" - and invokes Hunter S. Thompson.

Image credit: ClizBiz on Flickr

* Gloria Feldt, 2004 DNC veteran, recommends anyone participating as a speaker in the DNC "watch out for dingbat campaign consultants" and invokes the spectre of a Kerry finish if Obama doesn't heed her advice.

* Kim Pearson posts how bloggers like Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake allege AP editor Ron Fournier is biased against Obama. Kim has asked AP to comment...

* Okay, we know you know that Obama chose Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) for his running mate. What you may not know is how many women are responding. Read these comments, and then take a peek at Beth Arnold's post, 1968 to 2008: We must not screw this up, in which she remembers her very political father, a yellow-dog Democrat, and forward to an opportunity she fears Americans will waste. Meanwhile, Laracolvin is arguing with herself now that Obama's chosen Biden as Veep. Others, from Lauriesm to Maria Niles are not.

* MSNBC blogger Domenico Montanaro blogs that the GOP has has opened up Denver offices to commentate during the convention and launched a new site which partially honors Obama's Veep choice: www.NotReady08.com.

* Myrnatheminx wants to know your choice for John McCain's Veep.

* Both parties are uniting local merchants, and not in a good way according to Elana Centor. Her Political Conventions and Local Businesses: Not A Love Fest douses the economics of these party mosh pits in what I'm calling eau de Beijing in a nod to those of us who have read reports of Chinese merchants disappointed by their take from the 2008 Olympics.

* Finally, I am shocked, I tell you, shocked that no one is blogging about the yoga class that The Big Tent will offer bloggers 7 a.m. Monday.

* More Monday as we prepare to hear your reactions to scheduled speeches and events by Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi and many other women critical to both campaigns. The policy topic of the day for BlogHer's team is health care: Which candidate's health care plan will insure the most women and children, and why?

Okay, what have we missed?

Best,
Lisa