Buck Humphrey commemorates granddad's civil rights influence

The grainy film shown on the giant screens at Rochester's Mayo Civic Center opened a window on another convention in another time. But the speaker on the podium and the person on the screen shared the same name: Hubert Humphrey.

Hubert (Buck) Humphrey IV, namesake of Minnesota's most famous political leader, introduced a short film featuring his grandfather speaking 60 years ago at the 1948 Democratic National Convention.

At that steamy Philadelphia meeting, the elder Humphrey -- then the 37-year-old mayor of Minneapolis, looking thin and passionate -- helped spark a walkout of Southern Democrats by eloquently insisting on a strong civil rights plank in the party platform.

"To those who say we are rushing the issue of human rights, I say to them, we are 172 years late," Humphrey said.

Despite a four-way race that fall, President Harry Truman edged out Republican Thomas Dewey of New York.

Buck Humphrey told delegates his grandfather's speech began a 60-year journey that culminated this week with the victory celebrated by Barack Obama, the first African-American to be nominated for president by a major party.

"If pushed hard enough, America will rise to the challenge." Buck Humphrey said.

Al Franken is widely thought to be the odds-on favorite to secure the DFL endorsement today, but McNellis has other ideas. Franken has name recognition and fundraising advantages, but McNellis says Nelson-Pallmeyer shines in the kind of one-on-one politics that wins over delegates.

"We're feeling very optimistic about the race tomorrow," she said Friday.

Should they lose, both Nelson-Pallmeyer and Franken have pledged not to challenge the endorsed candidate in the fall primary.

Clinton supporter now in Obama's camp In another sign that the Barack Obama train has left the station, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner was photographed alongside a life-size cutout of the now-presumptive Democratic presidential candidate outside the convention hall Friday afternoon.

Gaertner is the Minnesota co-chair for Hillary Clinton and had a booth at the DFL convention touting her own 2010 gubernatorial bid.

"She is actively supporting Hillary as a vice presidential candidate," he said.

DFLers show energy efficiency on trip down As DFL delegates descended on Rochester, some differences were apparent from last weekend, when Republicans ventured to the Mayo Civic Center, beginning with the drive down from the Twin Cities. On Friday, there were so many Priuses heading south you'd have thought Toyota was about to invade Iowa.

Gas prices and energy independence were major topics last week and will be again with the DFLers. But last week, some of the biggest cheers came after mentions of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and increasing efforts at domestic energy production, such as nuclear and drilling off the coasts. Odds are pretty good that won't be happening this weekend.