I got to the CDA pretty damn tired after a long night with Hermione and was in need of some good ol' pampering. I'll be the first to say that the DNC doesn't have much money, but when I saw the fake cascades (see Geoff's post) in the Washington Court Hotel, I was ready for my share of political spoils.

I walked up to the press table and asked for my press credential, expecting a sweet badge or card or something, and then I get it.

It exceeded my wildest expectations.
I never could have dreamed up such a pass.

It was a sticker, resembling that of a "Hi, My name is" sticker, just without that phrase. And in the space, in alternating blue and red letters read "CDA Press Credential".

A bit underwhelmed by my credential, I doublecheck that the breakfasts are at the caucuses downstairs.

Indeed they were, but those caucuses were closed to press.
"Oh!" I said, "What is open to the press?"
"Just Hillary Clinton's and Howard Dean's speeches", she replied, "but you'll have to view them from an overflow room".

"To hell with that!" I thought, and went outside to begin blogging my whining complaints, only to discover, we didn't have access to wireless, that is, unless we wanted to pay a dollar a minute.

As fellow CPer Geoff and I are bemoaning our circumstances, I discover another press person, yet he didn't have the crayon-etched credential, but a full-fledged pass, with various logos and a nice metal band to wear around the neck.

It turned out that press did get legitimate creds, but bloggers got the psychedelic stickers. "Second-class press!" I bellowed, only to be interrupted by a friend who told me that the bathrooms were only accessible by hotel patron key cards. Who did these Dems think they were?

It was not a pretty start.