Two Missouri teen-agers, starting their college careers this year, already have had a great start to their education. The two have served as delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Both were elected delegates as high school seniors. 18-year-old Rex Ryan graduated from Wellington High School and enrolled as a freshman at William Jewell College in Liberty today. Ryan says there’s a simple reason for his involvement with the Democratic Party so early. He says he wants to make politics his career and this is "an awesome time to start."

Ryan says the week in Denver at the Democratic National Convention was incredible and reaffirmed to him that the Democratic Party is where he belongs.

19-year-old Brett Carmical graduated from Brookfield High School and got special permission from Truman State University professors in Kirksville to skip his first week of school to attend the convention.

Carmical says it isn’t all that hard to get young people involved in politics.

"I lot of times, it just takes an introduction," he says.

Carmical was a strong Hillary Clinton delegate, disappointed that Barack Obama won the nomination. He says the convention helped heal wounds from the tough presidential primary battle.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

The Democratic National Convention in Denver has ended on an historic note, nominating Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee, the first African American to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. The significance of the evening isn’t lost on Missouri’s two black Congressmen.

Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver says the nomination of Obama to head the presidential ticket for the Democratic Party is no small step. Cleaver says it’s an amazing story that a race brought to America by slavery is on the brink of having one of its own elected president of the United States.

St. Louis Congressman William Lacy Clay says the nomination strikes a cord. Clay says he feels so proud of what African Americans have accomplished, but also what the country and state have accomplished.

Both Clay and Cleaver say the significance of the nomination, the culmination of the Democratic National Convention will not insure victory in November. Cleaver sees a tough political battle ahead and predicts it will be difficult for Obama to win Missouri..

Still, the two Missouri Congressmen say nothing can undermine the significance of a black politician climbing all the way to the top rung on the ladder. 

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (2 min MP3)

The hit of the Democratic National Convention this week hasn’t appeared on stage and it’s not even an official part of the proceedings. The hit of the convention is a pair of men from Rolla who have begun the grassroots effort, "Rednecks for Obama".

As Tony Viessman explains, the two plucked the name out of a page of Missouri political history, from a gubernatorial primary debate in which the candidate from St. Louis called the late Governor Mel Carnahan, "That redneck from Rolla".  Viessman says the good ole boys from Rolla took offense, but decided to turn an insult into something positive and "Rednecks for Obama" was born.

The two have conducted more interviews than they can remember; print, radio, and TV. They have been the subject of much blogging. The foreign press at the DNC seems fascinated by them, though Viessman says they usually aren’t familiar with the term redneck and the two have to explain it to them.

And, then, there are the doubters, the professional press skeptics. Les Spencer says they handle them as well, answering questions to prove they are, indeed, rednecks. All in all, he’s enjoyed all the attention, no matter what the reaction.

Spencer and Viessman had 300 bumper stickers and 50 T-shirts made at first. They’re gone. More are on the way. The two have actually met Barack Obama. During Obama’s swing through rural Missouri, they held up signs in Rolla and wore their "Rednecks for Obama" T-shirts. After Obama heard the explanation behind the group, he met with them at Union.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (2 min MP3)

Democrats in Denver made history last night, naming the first African-American to head a major political party presidential ticket. A roll call at the Democratic National Convention ended when rival Hillary Clinton asked to suspend the vote and declare Obama the nominee by acclamation. Missouri voted 82-to-6 for Obama prior to Clinton’s request.

Missouri had been nearly evenly split between the two. Obama narrowly won the presidential primary in February and had to settle with a 36-36 split of delegates. The remaining 16 Super Delegates leaned toward Obama. Clinton delegates heeded the call for unity made by party officials and confirmed by Clinton herself in an address to the convention. Missouri delegates held a meeting Wednesday morning after the delegation breakfast to discuss what to do. Many members called for a sign of unity and urged colleagues to cast their vote for Obama. Clinton met with her delegates at the convention center in the early afternoon and officially released them.

The Obama campaign whip in Missouri, Brian Wahby of St. Louis, says the state vote sent a strong message that Missouri Democrats are unified behind Obama’s campaign.

And Wahby believes those Clinton supporters who have switched to Obama are ready to fully support his candidacy by working for his campaign upon their return from the convention.

In Obama’s camp from the beginning is first-time convention delegate Robin LaBrunerie of Columbia, who so anticipated the vote for Obama, everything seemed to have more meaning, including the daily Pledge of Allegiance at the breakfast Wednesday. LaBrunerie is a true believer.  She says Obama has the ability to bring diverse people together, something she sees as sorely needed in today’s politics.

Tonight, Obama takes the stage, across the way in the Broncos stadium rather than the Nuggets arena, to accept his party’s nomination. He will make his case for the presidency just prior to the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities next week. 

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (2 min MP3)