Democratic convention schedule

Schedule for the Democratic National Convention:

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THURSDAY

Theme: “Change You Can Believe In”

Barack Obama accepts the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN HOWARD DEAN: The former Vermont governor went from an also-ran in the 2004 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination to leading the party itself. Elected chairman in 2005, Dean has pushed a 50-state strategy for the 2008 campaign in which the Democrats would not concede any state to the GOP.

COLORADO GOV. BILL RITTER JR.: A former Denver district attorney, Ritter was the first Democratic governor to serve with a Democratic majority in the Colorado General Assembly in 50 years. A centrist, Ritter pushed for his party to hold its national convention in Colorado, which Democrats think they can put in Barack Obama’s column in November.

COLORADO REP. ED PERLMUTTER: The freshman congressman won his suburban Denver seat in 2006, an election that gave Colorado Democrats dominance in state politics, controlling the statehouse, the legislature, a Senate seat and four of seven House seats. Perlmutter is a lawyer and former state Senate leader.

COLORADO REP. JOHN SALAZAR: A moderate, Salazar was elected to the House in 2004 after serving one term in the state legislature. His brother, former state Attorney General Ken Salazar, won a U.S. Senate seat the same year. Besides his political duties, the congressman runs the family’s 2,500-acre potato farm; he uses a private plane to get across the sprawling San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.

COLORADO REP. DIANA DEGETTE: Elected in 1996 to replace retiring Rep. Pat Schroeder, DeGette has followed in the footsteps of her predecessor by focusing on issues critical to working families and women’s rights. The former state legislator has faced little serious re-election opposition in strongly Democratic Denver. She was named chief deputy Democratic floor whip in 2005.

COLORADO REP. MARK UDALL: Elected to the House in 1996, Udall has one of Congress’ more notable political pedigrees. He is the son of former Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona, a candidate for president in 1976. His uncle, Stewart Udall, was interior secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He and his cousin, Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., are candidates for open Senate seats this year, and his speech provided a chance to showcase his campaign.

VIRGINIA GOV. TIM KAINE: The former Richmond city councilman and mayor was elected governor in 2005. A personal bond with Obama helped to make him a finalist for running mate this year. He is expected to continue pushing Obama’s candidacy in Virginia in a bid to deliver the state for the Democratic ticket for the first time since 1964.

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE: The party’s nominee in 2000 came within a few hundred votes of winning the presidency. His worldwide campaign to warn of the dangers of global warming led to an Oscar-winning documentary and a Nobel Peace Prize.

SEN. DICK DURBIN OF ILLINOIS: A close colleague of Obama’s as well as a fellow Illinois senator, Durbin will introduce a film highlighting the presidential candidate’s life and career. Durbin is the Senate’s Democratic whip, the party’s No. 2 position.