John F. Kennedy

DENVER--Secretary of State Bill Bradbury warned Oregon’s Democratic delegates that he would probably get emotional Thursday night when he witnessed the first African American man accept the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.

Ted SorensenThe Kennedy presence at the Democratic National Committee Convention persisted this evening as Ted Sorensen, a special counselort to President John F. Kennedy, took the dais shortly after 5:30 p.m.

"In my more than 50 years of national Democratic conventions," the famous speechwriter said, "this is one of the most important."

Sorensen has seen a number of conventions. He became a top adviser to John Kennedy shortly after he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952. He was with Kennedy at the 1956 Democratic National Convention during the unsuccessful bid for the vice presidential nomination.

State Democratic Committee spokesman Richard McGrath: Politicker photo 

DENVER - The appearance at the Democratic National Convention last night of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) had more than a few of the members of New Jersey’s delegation swallowing hard and wiping away tears.

One was Richard McGrath, spokesman of the State Democratic Committee, who watched Kennedy’s short, but almost full-circle speech in the Spotted Dog bar in the basement of the Inverness Hotel.

It was a little personal for the Democratic Party operative, who shared his family’s own Kennedy story.

"My dad grew up in the same congressional district as Kennedy, only on the other side of the tracks," said McGrath.

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