Al Gore

The fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, with a theme of "Change You Can Believe In."

The final day's events will take place at INVESCO Field at Mile High, where over 70,000 people are expected to attend.

Featured speakers will include Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), former Vermont Gov. and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean (D), New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), former Vice President Al Gore (D) and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D).

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the Democratic presidential nominee, is scheduled to address the convention at 10 p.m. EST.

The full schedule is below.

On Winning, Life Inside Congress & Lessons From Bill Clinton

U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington)

On Saturday, July 19, U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington) traveled to Austin, Texas to finally speak in person with those who were among the first to listen to her and a message that would oust an entrenched incumbent less than two years later.

Edwards was the keynote speaker at ‘Netroots Nation,’ a gathering formerly known as YearlyKos, based off the popular progressive blog, DailyKos.com. Netroots Nation is an annual gathering of the left-of-center online political community and attracts a ‘who’s who’ of Democratic politics. Former Vice President Al Gore and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also addressed the gathering in person, while U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) addressed the conference by a taped message.

But few Party leaders have the stature Edwards maintains in that community. Like 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean and 2006 U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont before her, she became an online icon for her ability to channel the power of the Internet into boots-on-the-ground action.

First District candidate Frank Kratovil meets with young Democrats in TowsonSpeaking before the Baltimore County Young Democrats in Towson this evening, congressional candidate and State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) said his opponent in Maryland's First Congressional District, state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville), was "divisive" and would be "one of the most conservative people in Congress."

Kratovil said he expected the Harris campaign would continue to attempt to link him to Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

"He says I would vote straight party line because that's what he does," Kratovil said of Harris. "He votes straight party line."

"I'll vote the way I think is appropriate," Kratovil said.

Check out the winner and runner-ups for this week's Cartoon Caption Contest.

Care to come up with a caption for this cartoon? Click more for the rules and prizes!

As Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis this morning, representatives from the state’s Democratic and Republican parties were eager to discuss McCain’s chances of winning Maryland in November.

While Al Gore and John Kerry carried the state by a 15-point average in the last two election cycles, John Flynn, the executive director of the Maryland Republican Party, said this year’s presumptive GOP nominee has a “very good chance” of emerging victorious in the Free State.

“He has a connection to Maryland,” Flynn said, referring to the four years McCain spent as a student at the Naval Academy from 1954-1958.

“He prepared to serve his country in Maryland,” Flynn added.

Calling the senator a “tested leader,” Flynn said McCain’s “appeal with Independents and some Democrats” would make him “competitive” in Maryland.

David Paulson, the communications director of the Maryland Democratic Party, strongly disagreed, saying, “Maryland does not want four more years of George Bush through John W. McCain.”

Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele at Sen. John McCain's speech this morning in Annapolis
ANNAPOLIS- Speaking today before a sparse crowd of media, staff, and supporters, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) recounted his days as a young student at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Acknowledging that his “four years at the Naval Academy were not notable for exemplary virtue or academic achievement but, rather, for the impressive catalogue of demerits I managed to accumulate,” McCain said Annapolis “holds a special place in my life.”

The state capital was where the senator’s military career began more than five decades ago; he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958.

The main contenders in the First District primary are unloading their legislative clips in the run-up to Feb. 12.