PRIME-TIME

Monday: MICHELLE OBAMA, wife of Barack Obama, on ‘One Nation’. Will focus on Obama’s life story.

Tuesday: HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York Senator, on ‘Renewing America’s Promise’. Speeches will discuss economic issues.

Wednesday: JOE BIDEN, Vice-Presidential nominee, on ‘Securing America’s Future’. Theme of the day:national security.

Thursday: BARACK OBAMA, Presidential nominee, on ‘Change You Can Believe In’. This will be Obama’s acceptance speech, delivered at the Invesco Stadium.

STAR GUEST

Liberal icon and Massachusetts Senator EDWARD KENNEDY (76), the longest-serving member of the current US Senate, who is battling brain cancer. His speech is ready, and he is very likely to speak.

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Scheduled to be held between September 1 and September 4 at Minneapolis, Saint Paul.

CONVENTIONALLY SPEAKING

A short history of the Democratic National Convention

DOWN THE YEARS

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years by the US Democratic Party. The first six Democratic Conventions were held in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1832 to 1852. The seventh Convention, in 1856, was held in Cincinnati. The last six Conventions, organized every four years between 1984 and 2004, were held in San Francisco, Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston respectively.

MILESTONES

1844: Convention recommended establishment of a national party organization. Four years later, Democratic National Committee (DNC) came into being; it is now the longest-running political organization in the world.

1920: The Convention, held in San Francisco, supported the right to vote for women. In the Republican Convention the same year, the suffrage plank was rejected. Laura Clay became the first woman to receive a delegate vote for the nomination, though ultimately Governor James Cox became the nominee.

... contd.