Yes She Can.

I'd really like to have a long talk with the various pundits, television blabbermouths, the man...or likely easier to find...woman on the street, who honestly thought Hillary Rodham Clinton was going to do anything less than what she did here in Denver tonight.

From my position about 50 yards outside the Pepsi Center, in the throng that lined the fence outside the CNN hijacked restaurant next door, you'd have had a hard time finding anyone who wasn't dazzled by her speech. The continuous applause, the rapt attention, the whole bit just worked from word one from this crowd. It was fun to witness. You could really feel it.

My station was strategic in nature. I very much wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation from the delegates as they streamed outside following and it didn't disappoint. To my ears I could not sense a single soul who was not satisfied at some level. I was especially interested in sensing the HRC supporters who have been sporting the colors this week, and the smiles were broad, the tone upbeat, and the body English telling the whole story.

The convention has clearly gone to another level. Michelle Obama was going to be tough to top, but given Hillary's stakes were arguably higher, she was up to the task without doubt.

Nice scene outside here tonight. Much chiller than last night. Folks seem settled in. The annoying stuff is settled (where to find a cab/food/drink/coffee/your hotel) and the business at hand is less about understanding a new city than getting down to the task at hand.

After walking with the crowd and past the filled to capacity bars and restaurants, taking the 16th Street Mall free bus back up to Congress, I had a chance to get around a good bit of Denver this evening and get a feel for things from a vantage point I think works best; the seat of a bike. At least three hours worth.

It's amazing how much Obama "stuff" flows by you in store front windows, on telephone poles and the like. Everything from full size cardboard cutouts to every imaginable poster possible. It's really filtered out from the vicinity of the Pepsi Center and downtown, where Obama merch hawkers are in full throat.

I bought two buttons outside the security gates from a young girl who is here with a crew from Detroit. The buttons were designed and made by them, and the pitch was the money was slated to get them back home. Sold. That's the kind of spirit going on here. From whatever means they could make a go of it, they have.

I'm staying in the Capitol Hill area of Denver for the next couple of nights with a friend of Albuquerque slam poet Danny Solis. He's a poet (and artist) as well, and our conversations have been really interesting. I'd say he's typical of the kind of dialed in Democrat you'd find here. It is very much a blue dot city.

I gotta say, Capitol Hill is the bomb. This area is very, very cool. Urban hipster nirvana with a dazzling array of diversity. And there's loads of people on the streets, particularly where I am at Pennsylvania and Colfax (down t0 13th, 14th, etc.).

I rode by one club on Pennsylvania that was thumping so loud I could hear it two blocks away. I had to explore. Finding the entrance, it was a party for the Michigan delegation, with their Governor slated to appear, so said the sign. Wow. These people are getting after it.

As I sit here at the small table of my friend's friend, I see two books in front of me that encapsulate what people are feeling here. One is Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" (which I'm going to hit after this), next to John F. Kennedy's "A Nation Of Immigrants." Fascinating.

Denver is feeling it tonight.

Yes She Did.