they are moving 50 people every 20 seconds through at this point. I counted twice and averaged.
RAY CHARLES and RONALD REAGAN
When Republicans met in Dallas in 1984 to re-crown Ronald Reagan for his second term as President, Democrats sneered that his "New Morning for America" sales pitch fed the rich, starved the poor, abolished hard-won civil rights and excluded blacks altogether.
Looking out over the sea of smiling, pink, prosperous faces in the huge, packed Dallas auditorium it wasn't difficult to believe they were right.
Only one thing spoiled the story.
A famous black man, with his trademark sunglasses, was led on stage, and he sat down at a piano.
Ray Charles then brought the proceedings to a sensationally emotional close - the floor a tumult of waving American flags - with his bluesy version of the hymn, America The Beautiful.
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
The verses, written by Katherine Lee Bates in 1911, are uplifting to the point of delirium: they speak of 'amber waves of grain;' 'purple mountain majesties' and 'alabaster cities;' of nobleness and human souls which 'wax fair as earth and sea.'
For those who were there, it was a gut-wrenchingly emotional experience.
Ray Charles's marvellously expressive voice caressed Bates's limpid lyrics. America The Beautiful never sounded so beautiful.
It seemed as if he was conveying all the pain about being poor, black and blind - and what might be done about folks so afflicted - to the richest and most influential people in America.
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!