If you happened to watch the Democratic National Convention a few weeks ago on Wednesday, Aug. 27, then you probably caught John Hutson at the podium.  

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, the opening line of his speech will: “I’m here today because I have a confession to make to all of you. For my entire adult life, I was a registered republican.” 

It elicited some boo’s from the packed house to say the least.

 And yet Hutson, a retired rear admiral and dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H., said he knew that was the line that would capture everyone’s attention. It worked.

 “At that point they really started paying attention,” Hutson said on a recent afternoon in his office at the law center. “At that point, I had them.”

Hutson, who appeared after Bill Clinton and John Kerry and a few minutes before Joe Biden, said it wasn’t until the Friday before the convention that the Democratic Party even approached him about speaking.

 “It was an incredibly interesting experience. I felt very honored to have been asked,” he said.

 He used his 3-minute allotted window (which spilled over to about 5 minutes) to describe his growing disillusionment with the Republican Party over the past few years. He said the “grand old party” isn’t so grand anymore, it’s just old.

 “I switched (my party affiliation) at the primary because I wanted to support Barack Obama,” he said. “I think he is head and shoulders above John McCain.”

 The difference between the two parties was clearly illustrated by the different tones of conventions, he said.

 “The democratic convention – and I know this sound corny and very campaign-y – but it represents the future,” he said. “The people there were enthusiastic about the future. The republican convention, despite talking about change, represented holding onto the past.”

 Never having attended a political convention, Hutson said he was struck by the level of organization that went into pre-convention planning and security measures (he said he was required to hold onto his arena pass, his hall pass and his podium pass at all times) as well as the semi-panicked mood of organizers backstage.

 “Behind stage it was kind of pandemonium,” he said. “Pretty hectic to say the least.”

 That energy level back stage, spilled out into the crowd –especially during Obama’s Thursday night acceptance speech at Invesco Field. Hutson said it was incredible.

 “You could light up New York city with the energy in that stadium,” he said.

 To listen to Hutson’s 5-minute speech in its entirety, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLl5H4LR-xw