Politicians love to give speeches, and stemwinding oratory is an essential ingredient in any Democratic convention. Although none of the speakers here showed the rhetorical skill of a Jesse Jackson, many succeeded in stirring the delegates into a frenzy.

Some speakers mercifully limited their time on stage, but others tested the patience of even the most devoted listeners. The speeches themselves ranged from the pedestrian to the poetic, but all made essentially the same point: there are lots of problems in the world, and the best way to solve them is to defeat Republicans and elect Democrats.

Barbara Boxer supporters staged a rally as the Senator stepped to the lectern.

Political pundits like to read speeches the way a fortune-teller reads tea leaves. This happened during the weekend as reporters tried to get an early handle on the 1998 gubernatorial race. Inside the convention hall, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, who had already declared his candidacy, blasted the eventual Republican nominee, Dan Lungren. A few hours later, Sen. Dianne Feinstein was mobbed by reporters as she entered a luncheon for which she was the guest speaker. Asked if she were planning to run, she said she hadn't made up her mind. They reported that she probably would run. She didn't, of course, and Davis went on to handily defeat Lungren before running into his own problems.

Vermont Governor Howard Dean--virtually unknown at the time--gave a rousing speech.