Courier Lee News Service political reporter Ed Tibbetts is in Denver, Colo., covering the Democratic National Convention this week.

DENVER, Colo. - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the Iowa delegation Wednesday and huddled with Reps. Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, to talk about her upcoming trip to Iowa.

A few days ago, it was announced Pelosi would come to the state Sept. 8 to tour parts of the state struck by disaster. Braley said, Secret Service willing, the idea is that she'll go to Des Moines, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. He said he also hoped that she could get to Parkersburg, the site of a devastating tornado.

The Iowa congressional delegation has been pushing for additional disaster aid, and the tour is aimed at bringing home the point.

Otherwise, the speaker talked about the importance of health care for kids and said John McCain stood by President Bush too often on such issues.

Pelosi mingled with Iowans and posed for a few pictures, but she left without talking to reporters.

Shawn Johnson to lead pledge at DNC tonight

The Obama campaign confirmed Wednesday that Shawn Johnson, the 16-year-old Des Moines girl who won a gold medal and three silvers in gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics, will be at the Democratic National Convention here today to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at Invesco Field.

Roll call

Iowa cast 48 votes for Barack Obama and 9 for Hillary Clinton. Jake Krapfl, an Iraq War veteran dressed in his combat boots, announced the result.

Here's the text of Iowa's announcement:

"Thank you, madam chair. My name is Jacob Krapfl. I'm a veteran and having proudly served two tours in Iraq, I came here today in the same combat boots I wore in Baghdad to honor the brave men and women in uniform. Tonight, I represent the great state of Iowa where it all started for Barack Obama.

Back on a cold winter's night in January, Iowa planted the seeds for a new field of dreams for America with Barack Obama's campaign for change. And now it is an honor and my distinct privilege to announce that the Iowa delegation is united for change with 48 votes for Barack Obama and nine votes for Hillary Clinton."

'We feel good about Iowa'

Jim Messina, the chief of staff of Barack Obama's campaign, laid out an assessment of where things stand, when he spoke to the Iowa delegation.

So far, he said, the campaign figures Obama is winning in states with 200 electoral votes, with McCain leading in states with 137. There are 18 battleground states with 199 electoral votes. One is Iowa.

"We believe today we carry Iowa. We feel pretty good about Iowa. We need a lot of help here, but we feel great about it."

Incidentally, Messina breathed a little insight to just how sophisticated these campaigns are. He said the campaign has four doctoral-level statisticians working in the Chicago office. The campaign is micro-targeting voters all over the country, something the Republicans have done successfully.

Memories

In this city, where the entire machinery of the Democratic Party is aimed at promoting Barack Obama, it's hard to believe the Illinois senator had a hard time even getting into the party's convention in Los Angeles eight years ago.

Yet, that's the story that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told the Iowa delegation Wednesday morning. Durbin was a guest speaker at the state's daily breakfast meeting.

Durbin said Obama, a state senator then, could barely get inside the convention hall in L.A. He wasn't a delegate. In fact, he said he had a hard time even getting a car from the airport to drive downtown.

Eventually, he got into a skybox, Durbin said, but didn't even last the whole week of the convention.

"He packed up and left before Thursday. He'd run out of money, heading back to Chicago to his family," Durbin said.

This time he's skipped the first part. But he'll be here today to accept his party's nomination for president.

Times sure have changed.

Special guest

When Sen. Joe Biden spoke to the convention Wednesday night, an Iowan was sitting with his family. Marshall Clemons, 37, of Cedar Rapids, spent a day working with Biden at Harding Middle School there.

Biden took up the challenge by Clemons' unions, SEIU, to spend a day with an average working person. SEIU issued the challenge to all the candidates.

Biden worked on a boiler and the heating and air conditioning system. "He caught on real quick," Clemons said.

Biden then had dinner with Clemons' family. Since then, they've talked a few times and, when Biden got the veep nod from Barack Obama, Clemons headed out here.

About noon Wednesday, he was invited to sit with Biden's family. "My feet haven't touched the ground," he said.

Biden is pretty well known as a regular guy. He goes back to Delaware each night after work on Amtrak, he talks to big shots and working people alike.

And Iowans will appreciate this: Clemons said their dinner last year was chicken and corn on the cob. "Oddly enough, he picks his teeth just like the rest of us," Clemons said.