On the first formal day of the Democratic Convention, any pre-game jitters seem to be gone, and the show will soon begin.

Here in the Red Rehearsal Room (the other two, appropriately, are called White and Blue), we've just rehearsed AFL-CIO chief John Sweeney, and the who speech prep system seems to be functioning well. The total number of speakers is down noticably from past conventions (a good idea, IMO), and the number of what everyone calls "real people"--some who have personal stories to tell about Barack Obama, and other who exemplify one or another of the major convention themes--is up. Nobody seems to have been told they can't criticize George W. Bush or John McCain, which is a nice change from the message straightjacket in Boston four years ago.