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Rahm Emanuel celebrated the end of the Democratic National Convention on the dance floor, showing off his moves at Thursday's Google/Vanity Fair party in Denver.

With his jacket and tie off, the top two buttons of his white shirt undone and the sleeves rolled up, the Illinois Democrat danced enthusiastically to a mix of '70s and '80s dance moves.

And he wasn't the only politician at this celebrity/political mix.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-S.D.) checked out the wiis but declined to play. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) made his way through the crowded room in a green cardigan, but admitted he was getting warm and would probably remove.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wisely passed over the long line at the bar and helped himself to a beer from its storage case. And Sen. Claire McCaskill commandeered a booth in one of the more quiet areas of the multi-room event.

Several celebrities mingled with the ordinary folks. Actress Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway held court in the VIP area just off the dance floor. "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm posed for pics with female fans and said he was enjoying his first political convention. He added he took plenty of pictures of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during his acceptance speech.

Taking place at the Exdo Event Center on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Obama's acceptance speech played on flat screens in the several rooms that made up the party. The main room contained bars made out of ice, lounge chairs and several choices of food. The second room contained the dance floor, while a third room contained a quiet bar area and a fourth room was filled with wiis. The party went until 2:00 a.m. and when the music stopped the crowd called "more music, more music" but alas, all good things must end.

Greetings from the Denver International Airport! This is a friendly travel update for those of you going on to St. Paul.

Arrive at the airport extra early. When The Hill arrived at Northwest for its 6:15 am flight there were only two automatic check in kiosks working.

The check in line is long and the security line is just as bad. Also going to St. Paul are all the extra security personel brought into Denver for the convention. The Hill counted six security dogs being checked on its flight and they were just as unhappy at being up so early as we were.

So get there early, be prepared to wait and don't forget about those excess baggage fees. Good luck!

Here's the response by John McCain's campaign to Barack Obama's convention speech Thursday.

"Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama," campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement.
When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Sen. Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm's way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President."

Several members of the media were seen cheering and clapping for Barack Obama as the Illinois senator accepted the Democratic nomination Thursday.

Standing on the periphery of the football field serving as the Democratic convention floor, dozens of men and women wearing green media floor passes chanted along with the crowd.

Two members of the foreign press exchanged opportunities to take each other's pictue while wearing an Obama hat and waving a flag.

Several others nearby screamed "woo" during some of Obama's biggest applause lines.

Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for president in a much-awaited address Thursday at his party's convention.

The Briefing Room will liveblog tonight's convention session at Invesco Field in Denver, starting with former Vice President Al Gore's speech. Obama will speak after 10 p.m.

Obama burst on to the national political scene with his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. Read more...

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), speaking at Invesco Field Thursday night in Denver, introduced several "everyday Americans" to share their stories with the crowd.

Biden, the recently announced Democratic VP candidate, drew loud cheers from the audience.

The first speaker, a member of the Teamsters International Union from Michigan, told the crowd he believes Obama can help America's struggling economy.

Below are Barack Obama's prepared remarks. They were just e-mailed to reporters about an hour before he's scheduled to take the stage at Invesco Field Thursday. The speech is called "The American Promise."

Here is one of the main themes of the speech. It likens John McCain to President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and calls for an end to Republican policies.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land

The Republican Party has swayed John McCain away from his previous stances on energy and climate change, former Vice President Al Gore alleged today in his speech at Invesco Field in Denver.

"In spite of John McCain's previous record of open-mindedness," Gore said, "He has allowed his party to browbeat him" on the issue.

McCain has placed too much emphasis on a cap-and-trade system, which enforces mandatory caps on pollutants and allows companies to trade credits for emitting them, Gore said.

The solution, Gore said, is to invest heavily in clean energies like wind and solar power.

About two hours before Barack Obama is set to give his highly anticipated speech, its unclear whether he'll be playing to a full house.

Most if not all of the good seats are taken, but rows and rows of seats in the 500 level remain empty.

If they don't fill, painfully long lines may be to blame.

- Ian Swanson

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) indicated he was open to a post in a future Barack Obama administration.

"I want to be helpful in any way I can, but it's way too early to make predictions on any role I will play," said Daschle.

The senior Democrat was speaking at a luncheon being held in Denver during the convention for his recent book, titled "Critical: What We Can Do About the American Health-Care Crisis."

Talk has swirled around Daschle during Obama's campaign; he was considered a potential vice presidential candidate. An early endorser of the Illinois senator, Daschle has been a senior advisor to Obama as well as a frequent televison surrogate.

The South Dakota Democrat has worked on resolving the healthcare crisis in and out of office and is a potential Labor, Health and Human Services Secretary for Obama. Daschle has high hopes for the passage of universal healthcare if Obama makes it to the White House.

"It really depends on who gets elected. If Barack Obama gets elected, it is better than a 50-50 chance. If he doesn't get elected, it drops way below 50-50," said Daschle.

-Kevin Bogardus