2008 Danish embassy bombing in Islamabad, International reactions, Countries
China strongly condemns and firmly opposes any form of terrorism. Together with the international community including Denmark, China is committed to make consistent efforts for peace and stability in the world.


2008 Danish embassy bombing in Islamabad, International reactions, Countries
Sarkozy: "We were appalled to learn of the attack this morning outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. We offer our condolences and sympathy to the victims’ families and our solidarity and support to the Pakistani and Danish authorities. France reiterates its determination to combat extremism and terrorism alongside its Pakistani and European partners".


2008 Danmark Rundt
The 2008 Danmark Rundt was a men's road bicycle race held from 30 July to 3 August 2008. It was the 18th edition of the men's stage race, which was established in 1985. The race was won by Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang of Team Saxo Bank. Steve Cummings of Barloworld finished second by nine seconds with Tom Stamsnijder of Team Gerolsteiner third.


2008 Danmark Rundt, Final classifications
Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang won the race by nine seconds from Steve Cummings. Tom Stamsnijder was placed third.


2008 Danmark Rundt, Final classifications
The points winner was Matti Breschel with Kristoffer Gudmund Nielsen the winner of the mountains classification for best climber. Fuglsang also won the white jersey for the best young rider award and Martin Mortensen was awarded the fighters award for the race. Team CSC Saxo Bank won the overall team competition from Team Columbia with Team Gerolsteiner in third place.


2008 Dartmouth Big Green football team
The 2008 Dartmouth Big Green football team was an American football team that represented Dartmouth College during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Big Green finished last in the Ivy League.


2008 Dartmouth Big Green football team
In its fourth consecutive season under head coach Eugene "Buddy" Teevens (his ninth overall), the team compiled an 0–10 record and was outscored 343 to 129. Andrew Dete, Alex Rapp and Milan Williams were the team captains.


2008 Dartmouth Big Green football team
The Big Green's winless (0–7) conference record was the worst in the Ivy League standings. Dartmouth was outscored 223 to 77 by Ivy opponents.


2008 Dartmouth Big Green football team
Dartmouth played its home games at Memorial Field on the college campus in Hanover, New Hampshire.


2008 Daventry District Council election
Elections to Daventry District Council  in Northamptonshire, England were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2008 Daventry District Council election
No seats changed hands at the election with the Conservative Party winning 10 of the 12 seats up for election. The British National Party were pleased with the second place they achieved in Drayton ward feeling they could build on the performance but the other parties were happy that they had been defeated.


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The 2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the event known that year as the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, from 20 October through 26 October 2008.


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The singles field was led by ATP No. 2, Olympic doubles gold medalist, US Open, Estoril and Halle titlist, two-time Basel defending champion Roger Federer, Buenos Aires and Stockholm winner David Nalbandian, and Stuttgart, Kitzbühel, Los Angeles and Washington titlist Juan Martín del Potro. Also lined up were Delray Beach and Houston runner-up James Blake, Doha and Rome Masters finalist Stanislas Wawrinka, Igor Andreev, Tomáš Berdych and Mardy Fish.


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
First-seeded and defending champion Roger Federer won the singles title.


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Finals, Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi /  Mark Knowles defeated  Christopher Kas /  Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6–3, 6–3


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors – Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles won in the final 6–3, 6–3, against Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber.


2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors – Singles
First-seeded Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 6–4, against David Nalbandian.


2008 Davis Cup
The 2008 Davis Cup was the 97th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Sixteen teams participated in the World Group and more than one hundred others took part in different regional groups. The first matches were played on February 8–10. The final took place on November 21–23 at Estadio Polideportivo Islas Malvinas, Mar del Plata, Argentina, with Spain beating Argentina 3–1 to clinch their 3rd Davis Cup title.


2008 Davis Cup, World Group Play-offs
The eight losing teams in the World Group first round ties, and eight winners of the Group I second round ties entered the draw for the World Group Play-offs. Eight seeded teams, based on the Davis Cup rankings as of 14 April, were drawn against eight unseeded teams.


2008 Davis Cup Americas Zone
The Americas Zone is one of three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I
The Americas Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I
In the Americas Zone there are three different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2008 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone
The Asia/Oceania Zone is one of three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone, Group III
Top two teams advance to 1st-4th Play-off, bottom two teams advance to 5th-8th Play-off. Scores in italics carried over from pools.


2008 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I
The Asian and Oceanian Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I
In the Asian and Oceanian Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2008 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone
The Europe/Africa Zone is one of three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone, Group III, Venue 2
Note: Tie between Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lithuania, and Estonia (Pool B) broken on number of rubbers won. Tie between Andorra, Armenia, and Ghana (6th-8th) broken on number of rubbers won.


2008 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I
The European and African Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I
In the European and African Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2008 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II
The European and African Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2008.


2008 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II
In the European and African Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2008 Davis Cup World Group
The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2008. The first-round losers went into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, and the winners progress to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinalists were guaranteed a World Group spot for 2009.


2008 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs
The World Group Play-offs were the main play-offs of 2008 Davis Cup. Winners advanced to the World Group, and loser were relegated in the Zonal Regions I.


2008 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, Teams
Bold indicates team has qualified for the 2009 Davis Cup World Group.


2008 Daytona 500
The 2008 Daytona 500, the 50th annual running of the event, was held on February 17, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemorate the event, the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the race, was plated in gold instead of silver. In addition, the winning car was placed on display for one year at the Daytona 500 Experience attraction just outside Turn Four. Ryan Newman won the race, his only win in the 2008 season and his final win for team owner Roger Penske.


2008 Daytona 500, A number of firsts
The race was the first Daytona 500 win for Penske Racing and the first run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007 and became standard in 2008. Additionally, this was the first official race under the new Sprint Cup banner as the telecommunications giant replaces Nextel as the series sponsor after their 2005 merger. Ryan Newman's victory with the number 12 car in the Daytona 500 was the first time since Bobby Allison's #12 won the race in 1988, 20 years prior.


2008 Daytona 500, Television and radio coverage
The race was televised on FOX in the USA, with the telecast scheduled beginning at 2 p.m. EST. 1960 Daytona 500 winner Junior Johnson drove the pace car and the green flag was waved the honorary starter, seven-time race winner Richard Petty around 3:30 p.m. Radio coverage was handled by MRN Radio and started at about 2:30 EST. Trisha Yearwood performed the national anthem, followed by a flyover from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team. As many as 31 past champions of this race served as Grand Marshals for this historic event to deliver the command to start the engines.


2008 Daytona 500, Celebrity tickets for charity
To commemorate the golden running of "The Great American Race", Daytona International Speedway held a “Celebrity Tickets for Charity” competition. Those designs were whittled on daytona500.com by internet users down to the top ten choices.


2008 Daytona 500, Celebrity tickets for charity
Celebrities including Daytona 500 winners Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michael Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson and Mario Andretti, sitcom stars Jason Lee and Leah Remini, TV hosts Kelly Ripa (Live with Regis and Kelly), Jeff Foxworthy (Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?) and Carson Daly (Last Call with Carson Daly), NASCAR announcers Mike Joy from FOX and Dr. Jerry Punch from ESPN, wrestler Goldberg and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk submitted ticket designs.


2008 Daytona 500, Celebrity tickets for charity
A blue-ribbon panel made up of NASCAR's family selected the winner and announced it prior to the running of the Pepsi 400, with the ten finalists among Harvick (defending 2007 champion), Earnhardt, Jr. (2004 winner), Andretti (1967 winner) and Marvin Panch (1961 winner), Hawk, Joy, Katie Cole (the second of two designs), Foxworthy, and two children – 17-year-old Patrick McRae (for Jimmie Johnson, the 2006 winner) and seven-year-old Derek Wynne (for owner Rick Hendrick). Foxworthy was later declared the winner of the contest and his winning ticket artwork along with the others of all the celebrities were auctioned off to benefit the Jeff Gordon Foundation.


2008 Daytona 500, Purse
As befitting the official start of the NASCAR season, the posted awards (announced on January 28, 2008) was a record $18,689,238 (US), with the winning team and their driver taking home a minimum of $1,445,250.


2008 Daytona 500, Qualifying, Pole
As is the unique approach that is The Great American Race, qualifying, which was held on February 10, only the top two drivers (which will be the front row) were locked in, with Jimmie Johnson taking position one and Michael Waltrip sitting next to him. Also qualifying via the fastest speeds among the "Go or Go Home" entries were Joe Nemechek and David Reutimann.


2008 Daytona 500, Qualifying, Gatorade Duels
The remaining spots were determined by the top finishers excluding the front row drivers in two 150-mile (240 km) races called the Gatorade Duels, which were raced February 14, which filled the next 36 positions. The remaining spots were determined by exemptions and the fastest speeds and a champions provisional.


2008 Daytona 500, Qualifying, Gatorade Duels, Results of the Duels
NOTE: Race #2 was extended four laps due to green-white-checker finish rule.


2008 Daytona 500, Race
In the beginning of the race, Jimmie Johnson and Michael Waltrip started on the front row. For the first 151 laps, there were only two caution flags, both thrown for debris. Jeff Gordon went to the garage after leading a few laps due to a broken suspension. On lap 161, David Ragan tried to block Matt Kenseth but brought out the 3rd caution when Ragan squeezed Kenseth into the wall. The next caution flew on lap 176, when Johnson spun out on the backstretch, and Martin Truex Jr. spun because of the shuffle in the field.


2008 Daytona 500, Race
Clint Bowyer led the next two laps, but was shuffled through the field and was eventually spun by Juan Pablo Montoya, bringing out the 5th caution. However, he did not have any damage from the crash. The biggest crash occurred on lap 189 when Kevin Harvick knocked Dave Blaney into the wall, collecting Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Casey Mears, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil, and Carl Edwards. Mears did not pit and wound up 4th in the field despite minor damage. On lap 195, Jeff Burton worked his way up to first.


2008 Daytona 500, Race
Mears tried to block Tony Stewart, who went with Burton, but turned himself into the wall, bringing out another caution. Burton had a fuel problem on the restart, resulting in Stewart passing him on the outside, bringing Ryan Newman, Kurt and Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson. Stewart led the next two laps. On the last lap, Ky. Busch jumped to the inside, bringing Stewart with him. Newman was on the outside now. It was a shootout going into the final turn between Newman, Stewart, and the Busch Brothers. Ky. Busch jumped to the inside of Stewart, but Ku. Busch pushed Newman, allowing him to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500.


2008 Daytona 500, Race, Results
(W) – Denotes former race winner. (R) – Denotes rookie.


2008 Daytona 500, Race, Results
Average Speed: 152.672 mph (245.702 km/h)Margin of Victory: .092 secondsTime of Race: Three hours, 16 minutes and 30 secondsLead Changes: 42 among 17 driversCautions: Seven for 23 laps


2008 Daytona 500, Race, Results
* — On Wednesday, February 20, NASCAR docked Robby Gordon and his self-owned team both 100 owner and driver points for violations during the first day of inspections back on February 8, including an illegal nose cover. His crew chief, Frank Kerr, was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six races starting at California, and was placed on probation until 12/31/08 as a result. An appeal, heard on March 5, the points penalties and the Kerr suspension were overturned, however, the fine was increased to $150,000,


2008 Dehiwala train bombing
The 2008 Dehiwala train bombing was a bombing of a commuter train, running from Colombo to Panadura on May 26, 2008, in Dehiwala, Sri Lanka, a suburb of Colombo. The bombing killed 9 people and injured at least 67. The Sri Lankan military blames the LTTE for the attack.


2008 Dehiwala train bombing
WSWS claims that it is possible that the attack was carried out by the LTTE in retaliation to a bomb blast targeting a van on May 23 in LTTE controlled area, which they (the LTTE) claimed to be carried out by the Sri Lankan military.


2008 Dehiwala train bombing
June 4, 2008 a bomb exploded between the railway tracks hit by packed commuter train at 0710 local time between the Dehiwala and Wellawatte railway stations on the same rail line, injured at least 24 civilians.


2008 Dehradun Municipal Corporation election
The 2008 Dehradun Municipal Corporation election was a municipal election to the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, which governs Dehradun, the largest city in Uttarakhand.


2008 Dehradun Municipal Corporation election
Vinod Chamoli of the Bharatiya Janata Party was elected mayor. The BJP won 28 of the 60 seats, and the Indian National Congress won 24.


2008 Delaware Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Delaware Democratic presidential primary was held on Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008, and had a total of 15 delegates at stake. The winner in each of Delaware's subdivisions was awarded those subdivisions' delegates, totaling 10. Another five delegates were awarded to the statewide winner, Barack Obama. The 15 delegates represented Delaware at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Eight other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.


2008 Delaware Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Barack Obama's win in the Delaware Democratic Primary can be traced to a number of factors. According to the exit polls, 64 percent of voters in the Delaware Democratic Primary were Caucasian and they favored Clinton by a margin of 56-40 compared to the 28 percent of African American voters who backed Obama by a margin of 86-9. Obama won all age groups except senior citizens ages 65 and over who strongly backed Clinton by a margin of 56-38.


2008 Delaware Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Obama also won middle class and more affluent voters making over $30,000 while Clinton won lower middle class and less affluent voters making less than $30,000. Obama also won higher-educated voters (college graduates 60-35; postgraduate studies 66-32) while high school graduates backed Clinton 51-44; both candidates evenly split voters who had some college and/or an associate degree 47-47. Registered Democrats favored Obama 54-42 while Independents also backed him by a margin of 50-44; he also won all ideological groups. Regarding religion, Obama won all major denominations except Roman Catholics who backed Clinton with a 60-35 margin – Obama won Protestants 51-47, other Christians 71-24, and atheists/agnostics 60-35.


2008 Delaware Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Obama performed best in New Castle County, the most populous and urban part of the state which contains Wilmington as well as a large population of African Americans, which he won by a 56.49-39.69 margin of victory. He also narrowly won neighboring Kent County to the south, which contains the state capital of Dover, with 51.76 percent of the vote. Clinton won Sussex County in Southern Delaware, the more rural and conservative part of the state, with 52.73 percent of the vote.


2008 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team
The 2008 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). K. C. Keeler served as head coach for the seventh season. Keeler twice brought the Blue Hens to the FCS championship game, and won in 2003. In 2007, the team lost in the final to Appalachian State. The 2008 season proved to be one of Delaware's worst seasons in its 117-year history. It was the only year that the Blue Hens have lost eight games.


2008 Delaware House of Representatives election
An election was held on November 4, 2008 to elect all 41 members to Delaware's House of Representatives. The election coincided with the elections for other offices, including U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state governor and state senate. The primary election was held on September 9, 2008.


2008 Delaware House of Representatives election
Democrats regained control of the House after 24 years after gaining seven seats, winning 25 seats compared to 16 seats for the Republicans.


2008 Delaware House of Representatives election
Democratic Representative Dianna Williams (District 6) announced immediately after the election that she would be resigning. A special election was held on December 20, 2008 to fill the seat at which Tom Kovach gained the seat for the Republicans.


2008 Delaware House of Representatives election, Results, District
Results of the 2008 Delaware House of Representatives election by district:


2008 Delaware Republican presidential primary
The 2008 Delaware Republican presidential primary was held on February 5 (Super Tuesday). A total of 18 delegates were selected. The Delaware Republican Party rallied behind John McCain, and  was the declared winner of the primary election after successfully taking all three Delaware counties. McCain was followed by Mitt Romney in second and then by Mike Huckabee in third.


2008 Delaware Republican presidential primary, Candidates
Candidates Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, and Tom Tancredo had dropped out of the presidential race before the Delaware primary.


2008 Delaware Republican presidential primary, Analysis
McCain was the expected favorite in the 2008 primary among the Republican candidates; his campaign was led by Delaware's only House representative, Rep. Michael N. Castle.


2008 Delaware Republican presidential primary, Analysis
In Delaware, 27,412 of the 102, 455 registered Republicans voted in the election, resulting in a 26.76 percent turn-out rate.


2008 Delaware State Hornets football team
The 2008 Delaware State Hornets football team represented Delaware State University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Al Lavan and played their home games at Alumni Stadium. They and finished the season with a record of 5–6 overall and 5–3 in MEAC play, tying for second place.


2008 Delaware gubernatorial election
The 2008 Delaware gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the United States presidential election. Democratic state Treasurer Jack Markell defeated Republican William Swain Lee in a landslide, succeeding incumbent Ruth Ann Minner, also a Democrat, who was prevented from running for a third term.


2008 Delaware gubernatorial election
As of 2008, Democrats had controlled the Delaware governorship for 16 years. In an upset, state Treasurer Jack Markell defeated Lieutenant Governor John Carney by 51 to 49% for the Democratic nomination on September 9. The Republican nominee was former state Superior Court Judge William Swain "Bill" Lee, defeating airline pilot Michael Protrack. Lee was the Republican nominee for governor in 2004, and lost to Minner by a narrow margin.


2008 Delaware gubernatorial election
The race received more attention with the potential elevation of U.S. Senator Joe Biden as Barack Obama's choice as his Vice President of the United States. Election of a Republican governor would assist the party by proxy gaining an additional seat in the US Senate. Senator Biden resigned his seat in the United States Senate on January 15, 2009, and Ted Kaufman was appointed by Governor Minner to the vacant seat. Kaufman had previously served as Senator Biden's Chief of Staff during his tenure in the United States Senate.


2008 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 2008 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the Delaware gubernatorial election. Democratic nominee and Delaware State Insurance Commissioner Matthew Denn was elected lieutenant governor over Republican nominee and former State Senator Charlie Copeland in a landslide, succeeding incumbent John Carney, also a Democrat, who instead opted to run for governor.


2008 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election, Candidates, Blue Enigma Party
Cullen withdrew from the race on September 29, but still appeared on the ballot.


2008 Delhi Legislative Assembly election
The Delhi state assembly elections 2008, which were held on 29 November 2008 for Legislative Assembly of Delhi, led to the formation of Sheila Dikshit's government of Indian National Congress.


2008 Delhi bombing
The 27 September 2008 Delhi bombing in India's second largest metropolis left three people dead and twenty-three more injured, on an infamous Saturday. The explosion occurred at 14:15 IST, in Mehrauli's Electronic market called Sarai. Initially, there were reports of two persons, including a thirteen-year-old boy, named Santosh being killed in the attack. However, the next day the death toll rose to three. About 23 others were injured and were treated at AIIMS and Fortis Hospital. The bombing took place exactly two weeks after the five serial blasts in Delhi on 13 September 2008.


2008 Delhi bombing, The blast
Eyewitnesses reported that the blast took place after two men in black dress and wearing helmets and riding a motorcycle dropped a tiffin box in which the bomb was placed. A thirteen-year-old boy named Santosh, who was running an errand for his uncle, to fetch a crate of eggs, picked up the box in an attempt to return it to the bikers, but they refused and fled. People nearby witnessed smoke coming out of the box and advised the boy to get away, but it was too late. The resulting explosion killed the boy and injured 18 others.


2008 Delhi bombing, The blast
Santosh's mother Rekha was inconsolable. The locals of Ward No.8, shopkeepers by profession, could not contain their anger at the poor security arrangements and investigation, in spite of the five horrific blasts which had taken place on 13 September 2008, in four places in Delhi. The Washington Post reported that seven of them were in critical condition. The police said that the blast was similar to those near IIT Delhi and Lado Sarai in January and February respectively this year.


2008 Delhi bombing, Aftermath and reaction
The Chief Minister of Delhi declared a compensation of Rs. 500,000 to the kin of the dead and Rs. 50,000 plus all costs of treatment to those injured. The blast was condemned by several Indian politicians including Pranab Mukherjee and Lal Krishna Advani. Main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accused the government of India of being soft on terror. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "The Government is determined to wean out the culprits."


2008 Delhi bombing, Aftermath and reaction
The series of attacks across major Indian cities since May 2008 reportedly created a sense of fear and insecurity among India's populace. According to a survey held by CNN-IBN and Hindustan Times, 81% of urban Indians felt scared after the recent surge in terror attacks. Of those who were surveyed, 90% said that India needed much stronger laws to tackle terrorism, while the remainder said India did not need any such tougher laws.


2008 Delhi bombing, Aftermath and reaction
The Hindu reported that usually crowded shopping areas in Delhi bore a deserted look during the weekend as a consequence of the blast. According to the Indian Express, shopkeepers had kept away from the flower market in Mehrauli, the blast site.


2008 Delhi bombing, Aftermath and reaction
Following the blast, the security arrangements for the Australian cricket team, currently on a tour of India, was tightened. Cricket Australia was reported to be reviewing security arrangements in Delhi where it is scheduled to play a test match against Indian cricket team in late October 2008. However, in a statement Cricket Australia said that the test match in Delhi will go ahead as per schedule.


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
According to the Hindu, two men on a motorcycle wearing black shirts, jeans and helmets planted the bomb. Investigating authorities revealed that ammonium nitrate, sulphur and potassium were used to cause the low-intensity blast.


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
A team of National Security Guards was deployed to assist the investigating authorities. Delhi Police had detained five persons at the Indira Gandhi International Airport whom they suspected of having a role in the blast. According to Hindustan Times, the police also selected several Bangladeshis for interrogation. NDTV said that there was a possibility that the attack was not carried out by the Indian Mujahideen, which claimed responsibility for the serial attacks in Delhi two weeks before, since the bomb which went off in Mehrauli was quite different.


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
Police in Faridabad had identified and held the man who sold the SIM card to the terrorists from which the attackers had made a call to media agencies threatening another terror strike moments before the blast. The police also detained the person whose cell phone was used to make the call. The police across NCR had increased patrolling at various access points. The Deputy Commissioner of Police for Delhi, Alok Kumar, said, "The evidence collected so far indicates that the bomb had no timer or detonator and it was low-intensity.


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
We do not think it was linked to the Indian Mujahideen or any other terror group. In the recent past, in the stretch between the IP flyover and the Andheria road-junction in Mehrauli, there have been instances when bike-borne youths have dropped bombs in crowded streets." The Indian Express revealed that the bomb was quite similar to those made by Abdul Karim Tunda, an alleged terrorist who has been linked to several prior terrorist attacks in India.


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
The police also reported that they had received a call before the blasts saying, "Save Delhi, there will be blast!"


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
Unlike the Mehrauli and Malegaon blasts investigations, police in Delhi have ruled out Hindu groups as having perpetrated the blasts, a move drawing increasing polarisation as a result of the aforementioned investigation. The groups had been "under the scanner." The police cited their ruling out of the Hindu groups as the "signature (type) of the explosive used in Mehrauli was different from those used in Modasa and Malegaon." He did add that while "Low-intensity explosives were used in [all] three places... they were not identical.


2008 Delhi bombing, Investigation
The timer mechanism used in Mehrauli was different from the one used in Malegaon/Modasa that indicates the former was the handiwork of a separate outfit. In Mehrauli, the bomb was timed by its acidic contents, while in Malegaon/Modasa the bomb was set off by a timer based on the batteries of the bikes used to plant them."


2008 Delhi bombings
The 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings were a series of five synchronised bomb blasts that took place within a span of few minutes on Saturday, 13 September 2008 at various locations in Delhi, India. The first bomb exploded at 18:07 IST, and four other blasts followed in succession, with at least 20 people killed and over 90 injured.


2008 Delhi bombings, Background
Three bomb attacks had already occurred the same year in India. The first of these was on 13 May in Jaipur. The series of nine blasts over a span of 15 minutes claimed 63 lives, and injured 216. The second series of nine bomb blasts took place on 25 July in Bangalore, and claimed 2 lives, while injuring 20. The next day, on 26 July in Ahmedabad, a spurt of 21 blasts killed 56 people and injured over 200.


2008 Delhi bombings, Background
The Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the Jaipur bombings through an email sent to Indian media and declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of United States' policies, most notably the war in Afghanistan. The Times of India has reported that either the banned organisation Students Islamic Movement of India or the militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba could be behind the blasts in Bangalore. Similar to the Jaipur case, after the Ahmedabad blasts, several TV channels reported that they received e-mails from the Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility for the terror attacks.


2008 Delhi bombings, Background
Police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, but allege that local Muslims are given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
Five blasts took place within a span of 31 minutes from 18:07 to 18:38 IST (12:37 to 13:08 UTC) in busy markets or commercial localities. Four bombs were defused.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
The first blast took place at 18:07 at Ghaffar market (a municipal market along a stretch of Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh) in which at least 20 people were injured. They were rushed to nearby RML hospital. The explosive was kept near a car, and resulted in a cylinder blast in an auto rickshaw, which was subsequently thrown up several feet into the air.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
Immediately after, two explosions took place in Connaught Place in which at least 10 people were injured. Police and witnesses said that the bombs went off in dustbins in and around Connaught Place, a shopping and dining area popular with tourists and locals in the centre of the city. The first of these blasts occurred on Barakhamba Road, near Nirmal Tower and Gopal Das Bhavan at 18:34. A minute later, the second bomb exploded in the newly constructed Central Park in the centre of the Connaught Place roundabout, built above one of the main stations of the Delhi Metro. An eyewitness reportedly saw two men place the bomb in a dustbin at Central Park.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
Subsequently, two explosions rocked M-Block market in Greater Kailash-I at 18:37 and 18:38 – the first near the popular Prince Paan Corner, and the other near a Levi's store. The latter damaged 10 shops.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
Preliminary examination of the blast site said that low intensity ammonium nitrate tied to integrated circuits with timer devices had been used in almost all the serial blasts.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
Four bombs were also defused – the first one at India Gate, the second outside Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, the third in Connaught Place, and the fourth on Parliament Street.


2008 Delhi bombings, Details
On the evening of 13 September 2008, IBN reported at least 30 deaths and over 100 injured. AFP reported that "Indian police (New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat) said Sunday that 20 people were killed and close to 100 injured."


2008 Delhi bombings, Response, Police and security
Security was tightened across the national capital, with police personnel fanning out to railway and Metro stations, hospitals, bus terminals, the airport and other sensitive points like cinema halls, shopping malls and religious places. Barricades were put up on most city roads to check traffic. Several major markets, including the Sarojini Nagar market, which was targeted in the previous Diwali-eve blasts in 2005, were shut down and evacuated. Cyber-café owners were asked to keep a tab on customers.


2008 Delhi bombings, Response, Police and security
A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) spokesperson state that "security has already been strengthened and frisking and checking of the commuters have been stepped up. The Metro is under constant vigil". He added that extra personnel had been pressed into service to keep an eye on commuters.


2008 Delhi bombings, Response, Press confusion
The confusion in the aftermath of the blasts was evident in the press reports immediately following. The general consensus was that the blasts had claimed 18 lives. However, there was some disparity, with CNN claiming as low as 15, to NDTV claiming as high as 30.


2008 Delhi bombings, Response, Press confusion
Even after some time had passed, the numbers of people killed and injured reported by various sources varied. At the lower end, The New York Times in 2011 reported the death toll as "more than 20 people", and The Hindu noted that number of deaths as "at least 25". Meanwhile, a 2010 report by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies indicates 26 dead and 100 injured, and a 2009 article by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses claims 30 dead and nearly 90 injured. In 2018, NDTV was still reporting 30 dead and 100 injured, but The Times of India was putting the number of injuries at 135.


2008 Delhi bombings, Response, Press confusion
There was also some controversy over blast sites and the sites where bombs were defused, most notably Zee News reporting a bomb being defused at Central Park, while the Outlook Magazine stated that the park itself was a bomb site.


2008 Delhi bombings, Responsibility
The Islamist "Indian Mujahideen" sent an e-mail to all major TV channels, informing them of the blasts just after the first one occurred. In the case of the bomb blasts in Jaipur, and Ahmedabad, e-mails were sent before the blasts.


2008 Delhi bombings, Responsibility
Indian Mujahideen strikes back once more. Within 5 minutes from now... This time with the Message of Death, dreadfully terrorising you for your sins. And thus our promise will be fulfilled. Inshallah... Do whatever you want and stop us if you can.


2008 Delhi bombings, Responsibility
The email was sent from Arbi Hindi. The email threatened nine blasts. A 13-page attached document depicts photographs of the previous blasts under the caption "our jihad". The Delhi blasts are, according to the email, a direct reaction to the raids carried on and after the Ahmedabad blasts, and "harassments imposed by your (Indian) ATS and the police on the innocent Muslims". The document also mentions Amarnath dispute, violence against Christians in Orissa, Babri Masjid demolition and Gujarat riots.


2008 Delhi bombings, Responsibility
The email was traced to Chembur, an eastern suburb of Mumbai. Mumbai's anti-Terrorism squad (ATS) confirmed that WiFi of the owner firm "Kamran Power" was hacked and used for sending the mail.


2008 Delhi bombings, Responsibility
Reports claim that the Indian Mujahideen called this operation "Operation B-A-D", encompassing the Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi Bombings. Intelligence officials had intercepted a call made "from the across the border" claiming "Operation BAD is successful", after the Ahmedabad blasts, which the Gujarat police that interpreted as Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, though the dates and specific places were not known.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
Two persons were detained from Connaught Place area soon after the blasts. Delhi Police said an 11-year-old boy had claimed to have seen the perpetrators; he informed police that the suspects, clad in black kurta-pyjamas, were seen placing bags in a dustbin. The Delhi Police soon, within three hours of the blast, arrested another person who the police suspect to be the mastermind of the blast.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
Preliminary investigation by police reveal Indian Mujahideen-SIMI cell led by Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqir, having information technology background from Mumbai, to be involved. Another person named Qayamuddin is also under investigation. Four more people have also been detained and questioned.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
In the morning of 19 September, the Batla House encounter took place, in which Delhi Police shot down two persons, thought to be suspects, hiding in L-18 block of Jamia Nagar, Delhi. Two others suspects were arrested while one managed to escape. Bashir alias Atif, believed to be the mastermind was one of the two killed. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was injured in the encounter, died in a hospital. He was credited with helping to have killed 35 terror suspects, 85 arrests and also the winner of 75-odd encounters, 150 medals and seven gallantry awards. Later, the intelligence team said that the arrested allegedly had links with Dubai and further questioned if they had any link with Dawood Ibrahim.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
On 23 September, the police arrested five more people from Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh. All five are suspected to be part of the Indian Mujahadeen's think tank. The men were:


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
On 4 October they were sent by the judicial Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to 12 days' policy custody.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
The crime branch has claimed that these are the operatives who had introduced themselves as Pakistanis to perpetrators of 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. After the 2006 bombings, police had claimed that a group of SIMI terrorists along with five Pakistan nationals had planted bombs in seven trains.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
On 11 November, the Madhya Pradesh Anti- Terror Squad (ATS) arrested Qayamuddin Kapadia, a top-ranking member of SIMI and a key conspirator and executor of the Ahmedabad attack. Police claimed that Kapadia admitted his involvement in the Ahmedabad blasts, and that he, along with Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer of Mumbai and Riaz Bhatkal of Karnataka, collaborated with the SIMI cell led by Atif to carry out the Delhi blasts. Atif was later killed in an encounter with Delhi Police.


2008 Delhi bombings, Investigation
In January 2018, Delhi police arrested Qureshi after a gun battle.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The 2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Florida, United States, from February 11 through February 17, 2008.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The field was headlined by ATP No. 12, 2007 Davis Cup champion and Australian Open quarterfinalist James Blake, 2007 U.S. Open quarterfinalist Tommy Haas, and 2007 Cincinnati Masters quarterfinalist Sam Querrey. Other top seeds competing were 2007 Tokyo quarterfinalist Dudi Sela, Auckland quarterfinalist Florian Mayer, Vincent Spadea, Victor Hănescu and Mardy Fish.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
In winning the tournament Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in nearly sixteen years to win an ATP Tour event. Shuzo Matsuoka, the last one to do so, against Todd Woodbridge at the 1992 Seoul Open, used to coach Nishikori.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
Max Mirnyi /  Jamie Murray defeated  Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan, 6–4, 3–6, [10–6]


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Doubles
Hugo Armando and Xavier Malisse were the defending champions, but lost in the first round to Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Doubles
Max Mirnyi and Jamie Murray won in the final 6–4, 3–6, [10–6], against Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Singles
Xavier Malisse was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Bobby Reynolds.


2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships – Singles
Kei Nishikori won in the final 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, against James Blake.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires
The 2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires were a series of wildfires in the Delta del Paraná islands located mainly in Entre Ríos, Argentina. It was an unprecedented event that covered major cities as Buenos Aires and Rosario in smoke, affecting the health of millions of people. The first fires were detected on 13 April 2008, and lasted until April 25 – 26, when rain extinguished most of them. Buenos Aires was heavily affected between April 15 and April 20.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires
Intentional fires started in April 2008, following the purpose of burning grasslands to adapt the De la Plata Basin wetlands land for a livestock grazing use. However, the drought that this area was experiencing that year turned this fires unmanageable, hitting 172,974 acres (70,000 ha).


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires
The cloud of smoke that followed the fires caused the worst air pollution in Argentinean history, reaching even Montevideo, Uruguay and forcing airport and highway closures. A significant increase in ocular symptoms and bulbar conjunctival hyperemia, as well as  tear film instability was also proven.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires
The fires happened again in 2020, with the 2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Location
The fires were located in the Paraná Delta islands, part of the Río de la Plata Basin, which ranges from the Entre Ríos to Buenos Aires provinces in Argentina, comprising over 380,000 ha.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Context
In many areas of the world, including Argentina, burning grasslands is a historical procedure to renew the grass. In Argentina, the increase of the soybean price caused the mainland farms (with a better soil) to switch from the more traditional livestock raising activity to soybean farming, displacing the cattle to the less-suitable lands of the Delta islands (its cattleheads raised from 160,000 in 1997 to 1,500,000 in 2007).


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Context
However, the rancher's controlled fires (which are not as frequent during autumn -April on the summer hemisphere- as they are in Spring) are not the only weighting factor of this disaster. A mix of unusual drought and winds contributed to the big scale of the uncontrolled fires.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Context
Meanwhile, the government of Argentina was on a fierce confrontation against the rural sector, which lasted about 129 days.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
The fires were first detected on April 13, 2008 in a lower scale, and worsening from April 15, 2008 The National Agricultural Technology Institute registered 570 fires and a 172,974 acres (70,000 ha) affected area.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
By April 14, three fires had burnt 10,000 ha and 200 firemen were working to extinguish them.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
On April 17, then-president Cristina Kirchner made its first public appearance since the fires started, criticizing the irresponsibility behind the fires and saying they reminded her of the 1991 Hudson vulcano eruption. The Environment Secretary requested the public to report fires, to speed up the investigation. That same day, several accidents related to the smoke in highways caused several deaths.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
On April 19, Buenos Aires was experiencing eight times more Carbon dioxide than usual (17 ppm), and a twelve times higher amount of ashes in the air. A yellow alert was raised on hospitals (the number of consultations for trouble breathing were 30% higher than normal, 300 people had to be hospitalized), a Subway line was closed, the Buenos Aires city airport closed, and several schools suspended classes. Pharmacies ran out of face masks in a day. Meanwhile, in Zarate (Buenos Aires province), over 200 firemen were trying to extinguish over 300 fires.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
The Ministry of Interior, Florencio Randazzo, raised criminal charges to 160 ranchers.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
On April 20, the president made a helicopter flight over the fires, calling the 297 active ones at that date as intentional. Three suspects were arrested for questioning, along with other six persons of interest.


2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires, Chronology
By April 22, highway crashes caused by the fires' smoke had led to 9 deaths and 40 injured people.


2008 Democratic National Convention
The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convention was held in Denver, Colorado, from August 25 to 28, 2008, at the Pepsi Center. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois gave his acceptance speech on August 28 at Invesco Field in what the party called an "Open Convention". Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Obama became the party's first nonwhite nominee, and nominee of African descent, for president. Senator Joe Biden from Delaware was nominated for vice president.


2008 Democratic National Convention
Obama officially received the nomination for president on August 27, when his former opponent, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, interrupted the official roll call to move that Obama be selected by acclamation. U.S. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware accepted the nomination for vice president on the same night. Obama accepted his nomination the following night in a speech at Invesco Field before a record-setting crowd of 84,000 people in attendance.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Leadership
Howard Dean presided over the political party in his capacity as Chair of the Democratic National Convention. From the national committee, Leah D. Daughtry served as chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi served as permanent Chair of the convention. Sharing in her responsibilities in the convention were three co-chairmen: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Texas State Senator Leticia R. Van de Putte, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Schedule
Choosing to hold the convention the day after the Beijing Olympic Games concluded, the Democratic Party convened in Denver in the last week of August, a week before the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The decision was made, according to the party, to "maximize momentum for our Democratic ticket in the final months of the Presidential election". Customarily, the party of the incumbent president holds its convention after the opposing party has held their meeting.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Schedule
The Democratic National Committee presented themes for each day of the convention. The August 25 theme was "One Nation". The August 26 theme was "Renewing America's Promise" while its August 27 theme was "Securing America's Future". The August 28 theme highlights Obama's campaign motto, "Change We Can Believe In". Featured speakers crafted their messages to the theme of the day.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Early party division
With close delegate counts for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, there was early speculation of the first brokered convention in decades. Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean sought to avoid such a circumstance.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Early party division
In addition to the possibility of a brokered convention, a dispute over seating delegates from Florida and Michigan led some to compare the year's convention with the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which ended in a divided party and unhappiness over the outcome. This speculation ended when Obama was declared the presumptive nominee on June 3, 2008, and Clinton officially announced later that week that she was suspending her campaign and was fully endorsing Obama.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Rules
On February 2, 2007, the Democratic Party published "Call for the 2008 Democratic National Convention," the rules governing the convention. There were 3,409.5 pledged delegates, those committed to vote for a particular candidate, selected by primary voters and caucus participants. There were about 823.5 unpledged delegates, those free to vote for any candidate, colloquially known as superdelegates, for a total of about 4,233 delegates, requiring 2,117 votes to constitute a majority of the convention. The superdelegates consisted of DNC members, Democratic Congress members and Governors, and other prominent Democrats.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Rules
The pledged delegates were allocated among the states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to two main criteria: 1) proportion of votes each state gave the candidate in the last three Presidential elections; and 2) percentage of votes each state has in the Electoral College. Fixed numbers of delegates were allocated for American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and Democrats Abroad. Under the party's Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, delegates were awarded through proportional representation with a minimum threshold of 15% of votes in a state or congressional district to receive delegates. The delegate population must reflect the state's ethnic distribution, and at least 50% of the delegates must be women.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Results of delegate voting
Along with presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama, former opponent Hillary Clinton's name was also placed in nomination for president. The Los Angeles Times noted that this has occurred before: Jerry Brown's name was entered into the roll call after losing to Bill Clinton in 1992; Jesse Jackson and Gary Hart also had their names added after losing to Walter F. Mondale in 1984; while Jackson's name was also entered into the roll call after losing to Michael Dukakis in 1988. In 1980, Senator Ted Kennedy's name was entered into the roll call after losing to Jimmy Carter.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Results of delegate voting
In addition, Clinton became only the fourth woman to have her name placed in nomination for president at a major party convention. (U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was placed in nomination at the 1964 Republican National Convention, and U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm of New York was placed in nomination at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. In 1976, anti-abortionist Ellen McCormack had her name placed in nomination along with Mo Udall, Jimmy Carter and Jerry Brown.) Clinton would have her name placed in nomination for president once more, in 2016, along with Bernie Sanders.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Results of delegate voting, President
Part way through the roll call (the New Mexico delegation first yielded to the Illinois delegation, who then yielded to the New York delegation), Senator Clinton of New York stated, "Madame Secretary, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the roll call vote. All votes cast by the delegates will be counted, and that I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States." This was done and the verbal roll call vote was halted. Earlier the same day, Clinton had released her delegates, allowing them to vote for Obama. Along with the verbal roll call, a paper ballot was taken. The results were 3,188.5 for Obama and 1,010.5 for Clinton. There are an additional 219 votes that were not cast.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Site selection
In late November 2005, 35 locations were invited by the DNC to bid for the right to host the 2008 convention: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, St. Louis, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Site selection
Eleven cities originally accepted the invitation to bid for the convention in January 2006: Anaheim, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis–St. Paul, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Antonio. A formal request for proposal was mailed to participating cities on February 27 and the deadline for cities to respond was May 19, 2006.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Site selection
Only three cities submitted final proposals to host the convention: Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and New York. New Orleans had submitted an initial bid, but on July 12, the city dropped out. The cities were visited by a 10-member Technical Advisory Committee in June 2006. On September 27, the Republicans announced they would have their 2008 convention in St. Paul, removing it from consideration and leaving only Denver and New York as potential hosts.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Site selection
Despite hard lobbying by New York party boosters, then-Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg dealt the campaign a major blow when he announced the city lacked the financial means to support a convention. Denver was chosen as the host on January 11, 2007, as Democrats looked to make gains in the "Purple West" states of Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Preparations
The work to prepare Pepsi Center for the Democratic National Convention was expected to cost $15 million. In addition, a 220,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) temporary building to be used by the media was built near Pepsi Center.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Preparations
Convention organizers, including the Democratic National Convention Committee and the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, expected 50,000 attendees, out of which 5,000 were delegates and 15,000 media personnel. However, they anticipated 75,000 people coming to watch Obama accept the nomination on Thursday.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Labor issues
The head of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local No. 7, Jim Taylor, refused to sign a no-strike agreement for the convention. Pepsi Center normally uses nonunion labor, but used Taylor's union during the convention, and Taylor wants Pepsi Center to use his union for all events.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Security measures
Denver Police bear riot gear during the 2008 Democratic National Convention


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Security measures
A "decontamination tent" was maintained by security in front of INVESCO field, where Obama spoke on the last day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Security measures
Denver Police patrol the "LoDo" (Lower Downtown) district during the convention


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Security measures
As with past political conventions since 2000, the Democratic National Convention was designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).


2008 Democratic National Convention, Venue, Security measures
The Denver Police Department doubled in size to 3,000 officers for the DNC, and by including other police from 52 neighboring law enforcement agencies. Police were equipped with riot gear in preparation for unorganized protests. Throughout the event, a total of 152 arrests were made for offenses related to the convention.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Monday, August 25
The theme for the day was "One Nation," with Michelle Obama as the "headline prime-time speaker." She was introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson. In her speech, she explained how her husband embraced the "One Nation" idea:


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Monday, August 25
See, that's why Barack's running: to end the war in Iraq responsibly...... to build an economy that lifts every family, to make sure health care is available for every American, and to make sure that every single child in this nation has a world-class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as president of the United States of America. He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has, by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Monday, August 25
You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party, if any, you belong to. See, that's just not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us – our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future – he knows that that thread is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Monday, August 25
Also, Maya Soetoro-Ng spoke briefly on growing up with her older brother Barack Obama, and brought an AAPI presence to the stage for the first time. The Work to Come: A Tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy, directed and produced by Mark Herzog and Chris Cowen in association with Ken Burns, was introduced by Kennedy's niece, Caroline Kennedy. Consistent with the theme of the evening, Former Republican congressman Jim Leach gave his public endorsement of Barack Obama. His speech was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin, a fellow Iowan. Senator Kennedy was not expected to attend the convention due to his illness, but nevertheless made a surprise appearance and speech in the evening. A video about former President Jimmy Carter's humanitarian work was also shown, followed by a brief appearance by the president himself.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Tuesday, August 26
The theme for the day was "Renewing America's Promise." Senator Barbara Mikulski was one of several elected women Democrats selected to speak that evening. Senator Hillary Clinton was the headline prime-time speaker. In her speech, with former President Bill Clinton watching, Hillary declared, "We are on the same team."


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Tuesday, August 26
Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner delivered the keynote address which included references to new job creation:


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Tuesday, August 26
That's a story worth rewriting all across America. With the rightleadership, we can once again achieve a standard of living that isimproved – and not diminished – in each generation. We can once again makeAmerica a beacon for science and technology and discovery. Ladies and gentlemen, we know how to do it. The American people are ready.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Tuesday, August 26
And Barack Obama and Joe Biden will get it done.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Tuesday, August 26
Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich, who had also run as a presidential candidate in the 2008 Democratic Party primaries, gave a spirited speech structured around the refrain "Wake up America!" The speech levies trenchant criticism of the perceived abuses of power of the George W. Bush administration, attacks the corporate control of the American political and economic systems and rallies for a program of universal health coverage, universal higher education, tax reform, trade policy reform, energy regulation, civil liberties and de-militarization. At the end of the speech, Kucinich endorses Barack Obama and Joe Biden for president and vice-president. His words electrified the audience who began delivering a standing ovation midway through the speech and continued cheering past its closure.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
The theme for the day was "Securing America's Future". It featured a speech by Joe Biden, the Vice Presidential candidate. Before his speech he was introduced by his oldest son Beau Biden, Delaware's Attorney General.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
In that speech Beau talked about how his father would tuck him and his siblings into bed each night after returning home, how he refused invitations to cocktail parties in DC because he did not want to miss his granddaughter (Beau's daughter) Natalie's birthday. He remembered the accident that killed his mother and sister and how his father took the Senate oath at his and his brother's bedside. Several years later his father remarried "their Mom Jill" and their family was rebuilt.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
In the end Beau, whose Delaware National Guard unit where he is Captain was to be deployed to Iraq, said that while his father was always there for him, his duties that fall would prevent him from being there for his Dad. Thus he asked his family and everyone else to be there in November for his father and to be there for Barack Obama and make this country better again.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
Joe Biden, in his speech, contrasted the two presidential candidates:


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
You know, you can learn a lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him, seeing how he reacts under pressure. You learn about the strength of his mind. But even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart. I watched how Barack touched people, how he inspired them. And I realized he had tapped into the oldest belief in America: We don't have to accept the situation we cannot bear; we have the power to change it. And change it – and changing it is exactly what Barack Obama will do.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
That's what he'll do for this country. You know, John McCain is my friend. And I know you hear that phrase used all the time in politics. I mean it. John McCain is my friend. We've traveled the world together. It's a friendship that goes beyond politics. And the personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
But I profoundly – I profoundly disagree with the direction John wants to take this country, from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Amtrak to veterans. John thinks that, during the Bush years, quote, "We've made great economic progress." I think it's been abysmal. And in the Senate, John has voted with President Bush 95 percent. And that is very hard to believe.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
Other speakers included former president Bill Clinton, 2004 presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (MA), and Sen. Evan Bayh (IN). In his remarks, Clinton assessed Obama's readiness to be president:


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and to restore American leadership in the world. And here's what I have to say about that. Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job. Now, he has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful president needs.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
His policies on the economy, on taxes, on health care, on energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives. He has shown – he has shown a clear grasp of foreign policy and national security challenges and a firm commitment to rebuild our badly strained military. His family heritage and his life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation in an ever more interdependent world. The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park. With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, instincts, and insight, America will have the national security leadership we need.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Wednesday, August 27
After Joe Biden spoke, his first address as Vice Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama made a surprise appearance praising the convention.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Thursday, August 28
The convention moved to  Invesco Field at Mile High, with a DNCC record crowd of more than 84,000 people in attendance. Speakers included former Vice President Al Gore, Governor of Virginia  Tim Kaine, Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, and the evening culminated in Barack Obama's acceptance speech. More than 38 million people across 10 U.S. cable and broadcast TV networks tuned in to watch.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Principal speakers, Thursday, August 28
In his speech, Obama said, "Our government should work for us, not against us. It should ensure opportunity, not for just those with the most money and influence, but for every American who is willing to work. That's the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise and fall as one nation, the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. That's the promise we need to keep, that's the change we need right now." The speech was well received, one news source calling it "The wrap-up to the party convention blended old-fashioned speechmaking, Hollywood-quality stagecraft and innovative, Internet age politics."


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan
The Florida and Michigan legislatures moved forward their primaries to January 2008, in contravention of party rules and were stripped of their delegates. The Clinton campaign with others initially opposed their seating, stating they acknowledged that the delegates from neither Michigan nor Florida would count. However, after winning the Florida and Michigan primaries, Senator Clinton spoke in favor of seating the states' delegates (despite Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and John Edwards having removed their names from the Michigan primary ballot).


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan
DNC Chair Howard Dean asked Florida and Michigan to submit a new plan for a process to choose the delegates, such as holding primaries again, or let the matter be referred to the Credentials Committee. In May 2008, the rules committee agreed to let their delegates have half a vote each. In August 2008, Senator Barack Obama, the party's presumptive nominee, asked the credentials committee to let the two states have full voting rights at the convention. The credentials committee met on August 24, the day before the convention began, and voted to restore full voting rights to Florida and Michigan.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Use of municipal fuel by convention planners
From March through July, convention planners were provided subsidized and untaxed fuel from municipal government gas pumps at a price less than retail fuel available to ordinary citizens, reportedly without a signed contract. After the practice became public at a meeting with city council members, only convention planners' buses were allowed to refuel at city facilities.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Lawsuit by protesters
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of 12 organizations who planned to protest at the Democratic Convention, requesting that the Secret Service and Denver officials release information about procedures concerning protesting times and the Demonstration Zone. In a June 12 release, a parade route and Demonstration Zone were announced. The Demonstration Zone will be in Parking Lot A of Pepsi Center. Some groups, including two groups opposing abortion chose to delay filing suit after it was announced that their applications for permits are being processed. In an amended complaint, the ACLU and interested advocacy groups have filed suit against the Secret Service and the city and county of Denver, questioning the constitutionality of the restrictions. The lawsuit failed and the ACLU did not appeal.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Demonstration zone
The official demonstration zone was unused on Monday afternoon, as the convention opened. The 47,000-square-foot (4,400 m2) fenced area was 700 feet (210 m) from Pepsi Center and delegates could pass from 8 to 200 feet (61 m) from it.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Gitmo on the Platte
Gitmo on the Platte, was the colloquial name for the "Temporary Arrestee Processing Center," Denver, CO set up to hold mass-arrested protesters during the 2008 Democratic National Convention which was held at the Pepsi Center in Denver from August 25 to August 28, 2008. It was so-named in reference to the conditions at Guantanamo Bay detention camp (aka "Gitmo") and the processing center's location near the South Platte River.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Gitmo on the Platte
Per the Denver Police Department, and unlike "Gitmo," the facility was set up to allow those arrested to be processed and released in a more timely manner than they would if they were to be transferred to the Denver County Jail.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Suspected assassination plot
On August 24, three men were arrested in the Denver, Colorado area on drugs and weapons charges. Following the arrests of Shawn Robert Adolf, Tharin Robert Gartrell and Nathan Johnson, a possible plot to assassinate Senator Obama surfaced. Authorities later said they had determined the trio posed no credible danger to Obama; U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said, "We're absolutely confident that the meth heads were not a true threat to the candidate, the Democratic National Convention or the people of Colorado."


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Arrest of an ABC News reporter
A reporter from ABC News was arrested as he was photographing a meeting of Democratic senators and VIP donors. The reporter, Asa Eslocker, was arrested by the Denver police and charged with trespassing, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. The charges were dismissed by the Denver city attorney.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Abortion protest sign
On August 26, 2008, a group of anti-abortion activists from American Right to Life Action constructed a sign on Table Mountain outside Denver, overlooking the convention. The sign, made of 2400 sheets, read "Destroys / uNborn / Children" in three rows; it was lined up so that "DNC" appeared vertically in a different color. Later that day, the protesters were asked by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department to remove the sign. No citations were issued, though the group did violate two open space regulations of not applying for a special activity permit and going into a restricted and closed area that is considered sensitive to wildlife.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Website
Microsoft was chosen as the web content provider for the convention web site, along with Vertigo Software as the developer. The video application developed was based on Microsoft's Silverlight platform and provided high-definition video streams. The choice of technology that required proprietary software from a company with a history of antitrust problems was criticized for both the exclusion of competing platforms by way of Silverlight's proprietary video codec and for requiring visitors to install the software when visiting the site.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Controversies, Website
Although Moonlight is a cross-platform alternative that attempts to be compatible with Silverlight, as of the time of the convention it did not support features found in version 2 which were required. In contrast, the web site for the 2008 Republican National Convention used Adobe Flash streams provided through Ustream. TV and YouTube which are viewable with several applications including the free software cross-platform clone Gnash.


2008 Democratic National Convention, Depiction in media
Ava DuVernay was commissioned by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture to create a film which debuted at the museum's opening on September 24, 2016. This film, August 28: A Day in the Life of a People, tells of six significant events in African-American history that happened on the same date, August 28. The 22-minute film stars Lupita Nyong'o, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Angela Bassett, Michael Ealy, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland and Glynn Turman. Events depicted include, among other things, the night Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the convention.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election
The Democratic Party leadership election was held on 14 December 2008 for the 30-member 8th Central Committee of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, including chairman and two vice-chairman posts. Incumbent Chairman Albert Ho re-elected uncontestedly, while Sin Chung-kai and Emily Lau defeated Andrew Cheng as the two Vice-Chairmen.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Eligibility
The Central Committee was elected by the party congress. All public office holders, including the members of the Legislative Council and District Councils, are eligible to vote in the party congress. Every 30 members can also elect a delegate who holds one vote in the congress.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Overview
The Democratic Party formally merged with the Frontier in November 2008. The Convenor of the Frontier, Emily Lau Wai-hing contested for the Vice-Chair post with incumbent Vice-Chairman Sin Chung-kai as Albert Ho's cabinet, while Albert Ho sought for re-election for his second term. Another incumbent Vice-Chairman said he would give up his post to Emily Lau, in order to show spirit of solidarity and cooperation between the merged parties.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Overview
Reformist legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo decided to run for the Vice-Chairman post on 26 November, stating that he would like to lead the party with Albert Ho and Emily Lau.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Results
Albert Ho was re-elected Chairman with 93% confident votes. Emily Lau and Sin Chung-kai were elected with 228 and 205 votes respectively, while Andrew Cheng got 132 votes. Cheng expected his loss to the Mainstreamers, admitting his political ideas not being accepted by the majority was the cause of the failure. 10 of the 27 Central Committee members were newcomers, 4 of them were former members of the Frontier. Only Yam Kai-bong in the Reformist faction was elected, Michael Yung Ming-chau and Kwan Wing-yip were both defeated.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Results
Being the first Chairwoman of the party, Emily Lau said she hope to help strengthening the democratic movement, to see universal suffrage being implemented as soon as possible, and to take back party members' Home Return Permits. She also said her demand for dialogue with the central government remained unchanged.


2008 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Results
The elected members of the 8th Central Committee are listed as following:


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates
This article is an annotated list of candidates associated with the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2008 United States presidential election.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Nominee
Barack Obama, born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Senator from Illinois. A draft Obama movement began with his well-received 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event favored by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa Caucus. Obama formally announced his candidacy on February 10, 2007.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Nominee
On June 7, 2008, Obama became the Democratic presumptive presidential nominee when Clinton dropped out of the race. He had 2,025 delegates and was certain to reach the 2,118 delegates required to win the Democratic nomination. By the time of the convention, Obama had 1766.5 elected pledged delegates and the votes of 463 superdelegates.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Nominee
Obama received the official Democratic presidential nomination from the Party's delegates at its 2008 National Convention in Denver, Colorado, held in August.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Nominee
On November 4, Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States with 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes. He assumed office on January 20, 2009 and is the first African American U.S. President.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Joe Biden, born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a former U.S. Senator from Delaware who was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, although he ceased active campaigning in 1987, before the first primaries. Biden first hinted that he might run in 2008 in a December 8, 2004, radio interview with host Don Imus, saying: "I'm going to proceed as if I'm going to run." Biden had repeatedly stated his intention to run, and did so as early as March 21, 2006.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Biden's Federal Leadership PAC is "Unite Our States", which tracks Biden's public appearances and policy positions. On January 7, 2007, when asked by Tim Russert on Meet the Press, "Are you running for president?" he responded, "I am running for president." He also said he planned to create an exploratory committee by the end of the month. On January 31, 2007, he officially signed the papers with the FEC to run for president. He dropped out of the race on January 3, 2008 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucus.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
On June 22, Biden endorsed Barack Obama, and he was chosen on August 23, 2008 as Obama's running mate.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
On November 4, the Obama - Biden ticket defeated John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin to win the presidential election. Thus, Biden was elected as the 47th Vice President of the United States. He assumed the office of the vice presidency on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Years later, Biden would run another presidential campaign for the 2020 presidential election in which he defeated incumbent president Donald J. Trump. He was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Hillary Clinton, born October 26, 1947 in Illinois, is a former U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady of the United States. Clinton announced the formation of her exploratory committee on January 20, 2007, with a post on her website. She delivered several speeches intended to reach out to moderates, according to analysts. She also held fundraising meetings, including meeting with women from Massachusetts, a key constituency of potential rival and 2004 nominee John Kerry; however, these activities were consistent with the lead up to a campaign for re-election to her Senate seat in 2006.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Clinton announced on January 20, 2007, that she would run in 2008 (the same day she announced the formation of an exploratory committee). The clear front-runner, she was widely expected to clinch the nomination early, but as of June 3, 2008, she had 1,923 delegates, 231 behind Barack Obama and 195 short of the 2,118 required to win the Democratic nomination. She withdrew from the race and endorsed Barack Obama, as the presumptive nominee, on June 7.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Clinton was nominated and subsequently assumed the office of Secretary of State in the Obama administration.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Christopher Dodd, born May 27, 1944 in Willimantic, Connecticut, is a five-term U.S. Senator from that state. Dodd was reported to be a likely contender for the Democratic Vice President slot on John Kerry's ticket in 2004. In May 2006, Dodd said he has "decided to do all the things that are necessary to prepare to seek the presidency in 2008", including hiring staff, raising money and traveling around the country in the next few months to enlist support. On January 11, 2007, Dodd announced his presidential candidacy on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show with Don Imus. As a result of unpromising results in the Iowa Caucus on January 3, 2008, Dodd dropped out of the race for the presidency, and endorsed Barack Obama.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
John Edwards, born June 10, 1953 in South Carolina, is a former U.S. Senator from North Carolina. As a 2004 presidential candidate, Edwards was famed for his populist message in his "Two Americas" speech and also for his optimistic, positive attitude. This was evidenced by his refusal to attack his opponents. In the primaries, Sen. Edwards had strong come-from-behind showings in the crucial states of Iowa, Oklahoma, Virginia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Georgia. On February 5, 2005, Edwards spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's fundraising dinner. On August 18, 2005, Edwards traveled to Waterloo, Iowa, to deliver an address to the Iowa AFL-CIO, a potential key supporter in the Iowa caucuses. On December 26, 2006, Edwards formally announced his candidacy. On January 30, 2008, Edwards withdrew from the race, and endorsed Barack Obama.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel, born May 13, 1930 in Massachusetts, is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981. Born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts to French-Canadian immigrant parents, Gravel served in the United States Army in West Germany and graduated from Columbia University. He moved to Alaska in the late 1950s, becoming a real estate developer and entering politics. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963 to 1966 and became its Speaker of the House. Gravel was elected to the United States Senate in 1968.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
He declared his candidacy for the presidency in a speech to the National Press Club on April 17, 2006. On March 25, 2008, Gravel withdrew from the race, and switched his party affiliation to the Libertarian Party. He refused to endorse either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president, but endorsed Green Party candidate Jesse Johnson. Gravel then ran for the Libertarian party nomination for president, but lost the nomination to former Republican Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Dennis Kucinich, born October 8, 1946, in Cleveland, Ohio, is a Congressman for Ohio, former Mayor of Cleveland, and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. Dennis Kucinich is known by many as "The Peace Candidate", having received the 2003 Gandhi Peace Award. Kucinich opposed the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act. Under Kucinich's plan, United Nations peace-keepers would go to Iraq if the Iraqi citizens desire their presence. The Congressman re-introduced legislation to create a United States Department of Peace via HR 808 on February 5, 2007. He is currently campaigning to end the war in Iraq by cutting off funding.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
He is in support of peaceful diplomatic relations with Iran, and all nations. Kucinich has received many awards praising his courage and work for peace. On December 12, 2006, Kucinich announced his candidacy at an event at Cleveland's City Hall. He withdrew from the race on January 24, 2008. On August 26, he endorsed the Obama-Biden ticket.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew during the primary elections
Bill Richardson, born November 15, 1947 in Pasadena, California, is Governor of New Mexico, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of Energy and former Representative for New Mexico. After reportedly informing party leaders in February 2005 of his intention to run for president, on December 7, 2006, Richardson said "I am running" during his response to a prospective question about the 2008 presidential election by Fox News, but he later retracted the decision and said he would make an official decision by January. On May 21, 2007, he officially declared his candidacy. On January 9, 2008 he withdrew from the race and went on to endorse Barack Obama.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Evan Bayh, born December 26, 1955, Indiana, former two-term Governor and a two-term U.S. Senator from that state. In February 2005, Bayh renamed his Federal Leadership PAC the All America PAC and hired a new veteran staff with experience on the 2004 campaigns of John Kerry and Wesley Clark for President and Tom Daschle for senate. On December 1, 2006, he announced he was running for president and formed a presidential exploratory committee. He announced on December 16, 2006 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for President, and then endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton. After Clinton withdrew from the race, Bayh endorsed Senator Barack Obama.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Tom Vilsack, born December 13, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a former Governor of Iowa and Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. Many suspected Vilsack was high on the list of potential running mates for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. In 2005, Vilsack established Heartland PAC, a political action committee aimed at electing Democratic Governors and other statewide candidates. Unlike the PACs of potential candidates, Heartland PAC is not a federal PAC and can not contribute to federal candidates. He filed papers with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to run for president on November 9, 2006. He dropped out of the race on February 23, 2007 citing fundraising woes. He subsequently endorsed Hillary Clinton. After Clinton had withdrew from the race, Vilsack threw his support behind Barack Obama.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Withdrew before primary elections
Vilsack was nominated and subsequently assumed the office of Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Other candidates
The following people filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC):


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Declined to run for party nomination
The release of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 increased Gore's popularity among progressives. After it was nominated for an Academy Award, Donna Brazile, Gore's campaign chairwoman from the 2000 campaign stated during a speech on January 31, 2007, at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that, "Wait till Oscar night, I tell people: 'I'm dating. I haven't fallen in love yet.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Declined to run for party nomination
On Oscar night, if Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord knows.'" The meaning of these remarks became clearer when on award night, while in attendance and acting as a presenter for an award, Gore began a speech that seemed to be leading up to an announcement that he would run for president. However, background music drowned him out and he was escorted offstage, implying it was a rehearsed gag.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Declined to run for party nomination
A nationwide Gallup poll of 485 Democrats and Democratic leaners in mid-November 2007 showed Gore receiving 17% of the votes in a hypothetical Democratic primary, second to Hillary Clinton, tied with Barack Obama, and ahead of John Edwards.


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Declined to run for party nomination
A previous 29 June 2007 article in The Guardian cited a poll conducted "in New Hampshire by 7News and Suffolk University" that found that if Gore "were to seek the Democratic nomination, 29% of Mrs. Clinton's backers would switch their support to him ... when defections from other candidates are factored in, the man who controversially lost to Mr. Bush in the 2000 Election takes command of the field, with 32% support."


2008 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Declined to run for party nomination
An even earlier April 2007 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll of 504 registered Democrats in New Jersey showed Gore receiving 12% of the votes in a hypothetical Democratic primary, in third place behind Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. However, all of the polls which indicated that Al Gore would not be the leading Democratic candidate were all conducted before his Nobel Prize. The US has never had a presidential candidate who has already won a Nobel Prize. On June 16, Gore endorsed Barack Obama.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums
Debates took place prior to and during the 2008 Democratic primaries. The debates began on April 26, 2007, in Orangeburg, South Carolina.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Election 2008
The 2008 United States presidential election was November 4, 2008. The debates, campaigns, primaries, and conventions occurred several months before Election Day. The new president and vice president were sworn on January 20, 2009. It was the first presidential election lacking incumbents since 1952, and was projected to be the largest and most expensive election in U.S. history.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, 2008 Democratic candidates
Already, eight Democrats had formally filed papers with the Federal Election Commission, making them formal candidates for the Democratic Nomination and the Presidency. The candidates who attracted the most media attention included Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Other candidates included Dennis Kucinich, who withdrew, and Mike Gravel, before he defected to the Libertarian Party. Tom Vilsack, one of the earliest candidates to announce a campaign for president, withdrew before participating in any debates. Christopher Dodd and Joe Biden dropped out of the race following the Iowa caucuses, and Bill Richardson dropped out after the New Hampshire primary.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debate table
Key:  P  denotes candidate participated in debate;  N  denotes candidate was not invited;  A  denotes candidate absent but was invited;  O  denotes candidate was out of the race.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, April 26, 2007 – Orangeburg, South Carolina, South Carolina State University
The first Democratic debate was in the evening of April 26, 2007, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, at South Carolina State University. State party chairman Joe Erwin said that he chose South Carolina State because it is a historically black college, noting that African-Americans have been the "most loyal" Democrats in the state. The debate was 90 minutes, with a 60-second time limit for answers, and no opening or closing statements. It was broadcast via cable television and online video streaming by MSNBC. The debate was moderated by Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, April 26, 2007 – Orangeburg, South Carolina, South Carolina State University
The Iraq War was the major topic of the discussion, and all of the candidates strongly criticized President George W. Bush. Although, some public fanfare occurred initially, pundits considered the debate unspectacular, and no single "breakout" candidate was identified.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, April 26, 2007 – Orangeburg, South Carolina, South Carolina State University
A poll of 403 South Carolinians who watched the debate indicated a belief that Obama won the debate, with support of 31% compared to Clinton's 24%. However, journalists Tom Baldwin, of The Times, and Ewen MacAskill, of The Guardian, both reported that Clinton appeared to retain her frontrunner status. Political pundits such as Chris Matthews, Howard Fineman, Keith Olbermann and Joe Scarborough declared Clinton the most "presidential", stating that her appearance and answers were: succinct, within the time limit, unambiguous and thorough.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, April 26, 2007 – Orangeburg, South Carolina, South Carolina State University
The opinions of pundits varied in regard to the third-polled candidate, Former Senator John Edwards (D-NC), with some asserting that his performance was weak and not akin to the energetic performance that he portrayed during his first election campaign in 2003.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, June 3, 2007 - CNN 7:00pm EDT - Goffstown, New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College
WMUR-TV, CNN and the New Hampshire Union Leader hosted both Democratic and Republican debates in the Manchester, New Hampshire area, at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown. The Democratic debate was Sunday, June 3, started at 7 p.m. EDT, was commercial free and lasted two hours. The moderator was Wolf Blitzer, host of Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer and The Situation Room. Blitzer was joined by Tom Fahey of the New Hampshire Union Leader and Scott Spradling from the local television station WMUR.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, June 3, 2007 - CNN 7:00pm EDT - Goffstown, New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College
The first half of the debate was a directed question-and-answer session, with candidates questioned while standing at the podiums, as in the first debate, responding to questions from Fahey and Spradling. Participating candidates were Obama, Edwards, Clinton, Kucinich, Gravel, Dodd, Richardson and R. Biden, Jr.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, June 3, 2007 - CNN 7:00pm EDT - Goffstown, New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College
For the second half of the debate, the candidates sat in chairs while New Hampshire live audience members—mostly undecided Democratic and independent voters—asked questions that were then deflected by Blitzer to specific candidates.


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, June 3, 2007 - CNN 7:00pm EDT - Goffstown, New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College
Clinton, Obama, and Richardson after the June 3, 2007 debate


2008 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, June 28, 2007 - PBS - Washington, D.C., Howard University
PBS held and televised a debate at Howard University, a historically black college. The moderator was Tavis Smiley and all eight candidates discussed a range of topics, including education, poverty, unemployment, racial discrimination, and health in the black community.