DNC 2012: Democrats Get Their Turn To 'Come Together'

Many Democrats are already in Charlotte, N.C. for this week’s Democratic National Convention, with more set to arrive throughout the week. Although the convention’s official theme is "Americans Coming Together," it's increasingly seemed like the theme might as well be "we are better off," as Democrats have spent the past few days trying to counter Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s claims that Americans are worse off than they were four years ago.

Democrats faced a minor setback in this regard over the weekend, when Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley answered a question on "Face The Nation" about whether the country is better off with the word "no," adding that the U.S. hasn't made up for the losses caused by President George W. Bush's administration. O'Malley quickly backtracked, commenting to CNN that Americans are "clearly better off" than they were four years ago.

WAMU 88.5 News and The Kojo Nnamdi Show staffers are already in Charlotte, and they’ve been previewing the week’s events: 

• Matt Laslo notices that Virginia’s delegation has a similarly prominent place in front of the stage as the commonwealth’s GOP delegation had at last week’s RNC. 
• D.C.'s delegation isn't so lucky. Eleanor Holmes Norton also came on the Kojo Show to talk about D.C. Statehood being left out of the party’s platform, and she answered a question about her delegation’s poor seating location within the venue. Short story: she's okay with it.
• Sen. Barbara Mikulski has a speaking role at the convention, and she's planning to honor women in the Senate, as she told WAMU’s All Things Considered host Pat Brogan Monday. (There is also audio of Mikulski’s full interview.)
• The Kojo Nnamdi Show interviewed O’Malley live from Charlotte, and he predictably dodged questions about whether he’s thinking about a 2016 run for the presidency. 

 In the leadup to the official start of the convention: 

• NPR profiled Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas who will speak before First Lady Michelle Obama this evening, and rounded up memorable moments of DNCs past. 
• ABC’s political team looked at who’s not going to the convention and why. 
• Lots of people attended a private party featuring the Roots and Will.i.am Monday night. 
• Governor O’Malley took a break from his many delegation events to rehearse for an upcoming gig at CarolinaFest with Jeff Bridges, according to a Democratic Governors Association tweet. 
• Thousands of people are petitioning for Betty White to be the Clint Eastwood of the DNC, but there’s been no official invite yet. 
• NPR's It's All Politics blog asked D.C. Council member Marion Barry about why he became a Democrat.