DENVER -- If there was any doubt Monday what the theme for Florida's delegation to the Democratic National Convention would be, it was dispelled by 8:30 a.m.That's when Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took the stage to address the 211 delegates, their guests and the media covering them."I was the national chair for Hillary Clinton. As someone who worked hard for her, no matter who you voted for, we have a responsibility to the party to come together and unite," Villaraigosa said.The concept of a delegation unified behind Barack Obama, in spite of the fact that most delegates were originally pledged to support Clinton, was repeated throughout the breakfast gathering.Clinton delegates at the meeting, some still smarting from the primary defeat, tried their best to embrace the duality."I'm disappointed. I was hoping she was going to be the running mate," said Chris Lomas, a Clinton delegate from Oviedo in Seminole County.U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Broward County is another Clinton supporter who says she -- and Clinton -- are behind Obama now. "It was tough, only because it was so emotional for me," Wasserman Schultz said of accepting Clinton's loss in the primary battle.She predicted Floridians will accept Obama, who didn't campaign in Florida before the January primary, once he campaigns there in earnest. "When the people of my district meet him personally, they will support him" she said.Meeting later with reporters, Villaraigosa said Bill Clinton will join his wife in supporting Obama's campaign. "I know Bill Clinton. He is fully on board."Former Florida Rep. Cindy Lerner of Miami was passionate about Clinton's campaign. She even traveled to New Hampshire, "in four feet of snow," to work on her campaign there.Losing was difficult, she admits. Seeing her candidate passed by as Obama's running mate didn't make things any easier."I'm disappointed she was not chosen as the vice president. I think he needed her."Lerner takes consolation in the fact that Clinton supporters like her will get a chance to vote for her in the role call of states Wednesday evening. Clinton has released her delegates, meaning they're free to vote for whomever they choose.Some, like Chuck Mohlke of Naples, will vote for Obama because Clinton herself now supports him.But others, like Lerner, want to register a vote for Clinton as a tribute to what she achieved. Obama can secure the support of women by adopting the issues Clinton champions, Lerner said."I would like to see the (Obama) campaign and his administration take a more proactive role in acknowledging what women like me experience frequently in the business and political world and that's the lack of equality and blatant sexism. That's what Hillary encountered."Lerner believes any apparent division in the party is largely a creation of the media. Multiple candidates ran and received votes. It's only natural that should be reflected at the convention, she said."There are some in the media that want to characterize it as a lack of unity. We will have an opportunity to have our say. We want to have our say, then come together." Lerner said.(E-mail Brent Batten, a political columnist for the Naples Daily News in Florida, at bebatten(at)naplesnews.com)
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