David Walter Banks

Politically Unconventional

Coverage of the 2008 National Political Conventions and the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Obama paraphanalia could be found in storefront windows such as this one throughout downtown Denver, Colorado.
   
An estimated 7,000 protesters followed the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) during a march which started at the Denver Coliseum after a Rage Against the Machine concert and led all the way to the Pepsi Center where a near-violent standoff between police and protesters was narrowly avoided. The march was led by the IVAW who made the simple demand to deliver a letter they wrote to the Democratic Party opposing the war in Iraq. The conflict was finally diffused when police allowed a member of IVAW to cross police lines to deliver their letter which demanded immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq; reparations for the human and structural damages Iraq has suffered, and stopping the corporate pillaging of Iraq so that their people can control their own lives and future; and full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women.
   
Police dressed in riot gear stand guard at the St. Paul, Minnesota State Capitol Building before a protest march which ended in mass arrests and tear gass on the final day of the Republican National Convention.
     
  
A protesters in St. Paul, Minnesota shows his red and blistered body before seeking medical attention after a clash with police which ended in broken windows, a pepper sprayed crowd and show of force by police during the first day of the Republican National Convention.
   
Chloe Osborne plays in front of a replica of the Oval Office at The Presidential Experience, a 40,000 square foot temporary tent full of Presidential memorabilia, which is open to the public during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
   
Visitors walk out of The Presidential Experience, a 40,000 square foot temporary tent full of Presidential memorabilia, which is open to the public during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
     
  
Republican National Convention attendees outside the gates of the Xcel Energy Center on the third night of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul Minnesota.
   
Sarah Palin, Republican nominee for the Vice President of the United States of America, addresses the crowd at the Xcel Energy Center during the third night of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul Minnesota.
   
An attendee of the Republican National Convention salutes as the National Anthem is sung before the crowd in the Xcel Energy Center during the third night of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul Minnesota.
     
  
The crowd waits in the late evening sun for Barack Obama to deliver his acceptance speech as the Democratic Party's canidate for the President of the United States of America to over 70,000 people at Invesco Stadium on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
   
Barack Obama delivers his acceptance speech as the Democratic Party's canidate for the President of the United States of America to over 70,000 people at Invesco Stadium on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
   
An attendee of the Republican National Convention eats a sandwich on the convention floor after John McCain addressed the crowd in the Xcel Energy Center acceting his nomination as Republican candidate for the President of the United States of America in St. Paul, Minnesota.
     
  
A large installation of the famed image of Barack Obama by artist Shepard Fairey sits on a wall on 14th Street near the intersection of U Street in Washington D.C., on the day before the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. Obama memorabilia is found throughout the city on walls, windows, and sold by vendors on the streets, especially Fairey's iconic image.
   
Attendees on The National Mall near The Washington Monument for the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.
   
Ducks walk through the McPherson Square Metro Station after the We Are One: Inaugural Opening Ceremony at The Lincoln Memorial.
     
  
Attendees of the We Are One: Inaugural Opening Ceremony at The Lincoln Memorial take photos with a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama next to The Reflecting Pool.
   
Seagulls flock to the mass amounts of trash left over after the We Are One: Inaugural Opening Ceremony at The Lincoln Memorial.