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LORNA BENSON: It's all things considered on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Lorna Benson. The Democratic National Convention opened today in Los Angeles. Several Minnesotans will play prominent roles in the opening session, including State Auditor Judi Dutcher, who left the Republicans for the DFL last winter.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale is also in California. This morning, he spoke during a breakfast with Minnesota delegates. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo joins us now from Los Angeles.

Michael, what was Mondale's message to the delegation?

MICHAEL KHOO: Well, Lorna, he focused on the Democratic Party's history, especially regarding race relations and singling out the 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

He says that was the year that the Democrats finally responded to and came on board the civil rights movement. But he says, Republicans never truly followed suit and took that step. Now, of course, a couple of weeks ago in Philadelphia, the GOP convention featured a fairly extensive array of women and minorities, speaking at the podium.

They even had an openly gay congressmen addressed the convention. But Mondale says that the Democrats commitment to diversity and openness runs much deeper than that.

WALTER MONDALE: Our party, when the nation looks at it tonight, will see not a colorized convention like, the one that happened in Philadelphia, an all white--

[APPLAUSE]

--which is an all-white convention using Hollywood techniques of colorization. We don't have to colorize our convention. It is real. It represents our country.

[APPLAUSE]

MICHAEL KHOO: State DFL officials are quick to point out that nearly a quarter of Minnesota's delegates represent ethnic minorities. And Mondale says that that provides more inclusive representation.

LORNA BENSON: And yet, the Republican nominee, Texas Governor George W. Bush, has been openly courting people of color.

MICHAEL KHOO: Well, that's true. And he often speaks in Spanish when he's addressing Latino audiences. He spoke this year to the NAACP, something that Bob Dole did not do in 1996. But Mondale says Bush has, at the same time, tipped his hand in the opposite direction.

WALTER MONDALE: Mr. Bush couldn't bring himself to call for the pulling down of the confederate flag, went to the Bob Jones Institution, identifying with a person who's known as a racial bigot and as anti-Catholic.

MICHAEL KHOO: Mondale says he doesn't want to imply that one party is or isn't racist, but he says that Republicans have, historically, sent signals with these racial overtones. And he implies that it's a difficult legacy for them to erase.

LORNA BENSON: Mondale spoke to the Minnesota delegates during breakfast. Who else addressed the group?

MICHAEL KHOO: Well, there are quite a few speakers of note, actually. The Transportation Secretary, Rodney Slater, spoke. Also, Ed Rendell, who is the chair of the Democratic National Committee, addressed Minnesota delegates. He's also the former mayor of Philadelphia and played some role at the Republican convention out there wearing, she said, two hats.

They gave brief pep talks to the delegates. And then we're followed by some Minnesota Congressman, second district Congressman David Minge, Jim Oberstar from the eighth district, and also Bruce Vento, who's stepping down from his fourth district seat to fight lung cancer.

Vento said it was important that all the delegates come back from Los Angeles energized and ready to fight for the Democratic ticket.

BRUCE VENTO: Coming out of this convention, we have to move forward and put the type of electricity into this campaign that's lacking in Minnesota. And you're the delegates and alternates in the heart and soul of this DFL party that are going to have to do it.

So let's do our cheering. But let's get back home into our precincts and have the type of winning combination that will make certain for the next four years, we're governed by reason and not falsehood.

MICHAEL KHOO: And that will certainly not be the last call to battle that we hear out here in Los Angeles. Well, before the night's out, I'm sure we're going to hear more from First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will speak. And afterwards, she'll introduce President Clinton, who will round out today's events.

LORNA BENSON: All right. Thanks for the update, Michael.

MICHAEL KHOO: Thank you.