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"Whenever he makes a LGBT reference, I get choked up," said Christopher Lines of Baltimore. "No other presidential candidate has done that. In '92 and '96, the candidates said to us 'quiet down, we'll get to you later.' But now, we're in the platform. Wow, that's huge."

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"I thought the speech was excellent," said Gwyneth Carpenter of Charlotte, North Carolina, who continued, "I have grandkids in California. My granddaughter tried out for the baseball team at her high school and because of budget cuts, they didn't have equipment. She had to bring her own mitt, bat and ball to try out. The schools are overcrowded, 20-some or 30 kids to a classroom." Accompanying a friend's son to a high school in Atlanta, she was saddened to see "a teacher run from one class to another because they were short a teacher that day." After those experiences, she was encouraged by Obama's statement that "no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school."

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"Fabulous," said Sally Meadows of Washington DC, about Obama's speech. "He answered questions that have been raised by people who are disappointed and who are on the other side."
"I care a lot about the environment," Meadows said. She mentioned Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's RNC acceptance speech line: "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family." Meadows said that Obama's mention of global warming is encouraging to her. "It's not a hoax. You can't be for families and the future if you don't acknowledge the potential devastation caused by global warming. It's like putting your head in the sand."

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President Obama's speech was "exactly what we needed to energize our base," said Edward C. "Ted" James, a state representative from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Part of his enjoyment stemmed from the diversity of people he sat next to during the speech: "To see so many Democrats who don't look like me: young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic. I sat next to a well-off woman from Raleigh, North Carolina, who would be in the position to pay more tax and was open to that. The energy and diversity in the arena all week is reflective of his [Obama's] support, what America really looks like."

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"I have epilepsy," said Heather Ross, a delegate from Austin, Texas. "If someone like me doesn't have medicine, they can die." She said Obama "talked about the stories that moved him to move forward with health care," noting that for her, health care reform removes the stress of acknowledging a pre-existing condition. "Before the health care reform there was a lot of exclusion for the people who need it most," but now they "can feel more comfortable talking about their disability. That makes them freer to be themselves. Freedom is what America's about."

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Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has more support among seniors than President Barack Obama. In our August 2012, NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Romney led Obama among seniors, aged 65 and older, 49 percent to 41 percent.

At the Democratic National Convention, senior citizens explained why they prefer Obama even as their peers favor Romney.

"They say people become more conservative as they get older," said Nan Riley, 81, above, of Marion County, Iowa, "but if you're liberal to start you don't get all the way."

Riley started out as a Rockefeller Republican, socially liberal and favoring balanced budgets: "I've been a Democrat since I went to a Republican caucus, I forget which year, but a woman nominated Pat Robertson for president, and she was serious about it. And I knew it wasn't my party anymore. And that's when the religious right started taking over the [Republican] party."

She said Medicare is a big concern for senior citizens, partly because "There's Alzheimer's around the corner for many of us, and that's more frightening than death. And it's an expensive disease, because you can't be on your own."

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"Barack Obama has done more than other presidents for veterans," said delegate Henry Hooper, 73, above, a former state commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States in Tennessee. A Green Beret who served in Vietnam, Hooper talked about the negative experiences some Vietnam veterans had after returning home from the war: "When we came home we were talked about, some were spit on, called baby killers. We don't want what happened to us to happen to any other vets, ever," adding that "the Democratic party is addressing entitlements, doing what's in the best interest of veterans."

As for why he thinks other people in his age group favor Romney, Hooper talked about waiting rooms: "Doctors' and dentists' offices all got FOX News on. So you sit there and listen to misinformation, things that are not true: that Obama's going to remove social security, Medicare, if he gets another term. I'm talking about middle class, people that have health insurance," via Medicare, and "the threat is that it's going to be taken away from them by Obama. They're using fear and emotional tactics to sway people who have not looked into the situation."

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William J. Bonner, 73, above, is a Democrat in Meridian, Idaho, where there aren't many. "You could fit all of us into a phone booth," said the retired attorney, who's also been a Navy officer, judge and social worker. An alternate delegate to the DNC, Bonner started in politics by working in Oklahoma for John F. Kennedy's campaign in 1960. "I think Democrats care for each other, communities and not discriminating on the basis of color, creed, religion or LGBT orientation. Republicans favor the economically advantaged."

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Carol Wigent, 69, and Cathy Vodak, 63, above, are step-sisters who grew up in Michigan. Vodak said a formative experience came in the late 1950s when their family came to depend on welfare: "My father lost his job in the auto industry because of Romney's father," when AMC president George Romney closed Hudson Motor. "We lost our house. I remember my mother not eating so we could have potatoes and applesauce," said Vodak.

"Every good thing: civil rights, social security, Medicare, came from Democrats," said Wigent, adding that she supports Obama's health care reform. "We have to pay for every sick person anyway when they end up in the emergency room."

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"Look, you don't like Barack Obama. Think of him like old age: what's the alternative?" That's what Trudy L. Mason, 70, above, says to senior citizens she knows, mostly Democrats, who are thinking about not voting in the coming election. A state committeewoman from the Upper East Side of New York City, Mason says: "It's about the economy. There are a lot of seniors who worry about their financial state. Their finances have suffered so that it's not just about Medicare. It's their life savings. What will we have left for our kids?"

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"People will automatically assume I support Romney," said Robert Cooper, 28, below, who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A recent graduate from law school who lives in Washington, D.C., Cooper said he feels government should offer the kind of safety net that members of his church enjoy.

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"I consider myself a centrist, but am more comfortable in the Democratic party. I feel there's a big-tent approach, helping those who are disadvantaged. If you look at economics, Mormons take good care of themselves. We give 10 percent of our income to the church, in addition to a monthly donation. So a lot of Mormons say that's not the role of government, but not everyone has that support structure. That's one of the roles of government, to help those who don't have that support structure. A lot of people don't have what we have."

Cooper made a point to visit the first national meeting of Mormon Democrats, held on Tuesday in Charlotte during the Democratic National Convention, "Because this is something important for people to know, that there is political diversity in the Mormon Church."

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"My faith is the reason why I'm a Democrat," said Kaitlyn Janis, above, of South Jordan, Utah, adding "Christ is the example we follow. The Democratic party embraces values I try to emulate: charity, caring for poor and needy, equal opportunities for education. Health care is a big one, ensuring that everyone can live a good life."

Only 17 percent of Mormons are Democrats, according to Justin Daniels, a delegate from Utah. Janis said: "We are definitely few and far between. It's cool that Romney's in this high position and bringing attention to our church. But I don't share his ideals for the future and for our country."

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"There are people who are serious Mormons, and who take politics seriously, and who support the [current] president," said Lane Van Tassell, above, a retired professor of political science at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. "Government can be a solution," he said, referring to President Ronald Reagan's statement that government is the problem.

"Faith brings us to a sense of values: a fair society is important, a society that eliminates barriers to discrimination. We find support for those values in the Democratic party."

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R.C. Johnson, above, from Casper, Wyo., while not a member of the LDS Church, came to the meeting of LDS Democrats to learn more about how people of that faith have connected with the Democratic party. "There's a Mormon Democrat, Chris Henrichsen, running for US Congress from Wyoming," she said, "and being here is about being informed." As the county chair for Natrona County Democrats, she wants to build a bridge to Wyoming Mormons, many of whom are Republicans: "I want to be able to articulate a lot better the LDS-Democrat connection."

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Above, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who belongs to the LDS Church, speaks to the first national meeting of LDS Democrats on Tuesday in Charlotte. Reid mentioned that several presidential candidates in the United States have been Mormons, starting with Joseph Smith, the founder and first president of the LDS Church, who ran in 1844 with "a very progressive" platform.

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Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images

People pray during the 'Charlotte 714' prayer service at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Sept. 2, in Charlotte, N.C. The group gathered to celebrate and reinforce Christian values during the week of the Democratic National Convention.

The Democratic National Convention opens Tuesday in Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena. President Barack Obama will be nominated for a new term on Wednesday. He will deliver his acceptance speech Thursday night at the outdoor Bank of America Stadium.

The convention starts less than a week after Republicans gathered in Tampa, Fla., to nominate Mitt Romney as the party's presidential candidate.

-- Reported by NBC News staff

Read the full story.

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Occupy protesters demonstrate in front of the Bank of America headquarters before the start of the DNC, Sept. 2, in Charlotte, N.C. Image shot on an iPhone.

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Protesters demonstrate in front of the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on April 6, urging for government spending cut. Republican US House Speaker John Boehner told US President Barack Obama he was "hopeful" that talks on sweeping spending cuts would reach a deal to avert a partial government shutdown at week's end. Boehner reiterated that the House's goal is to prevent a government shutdown and make real cuts in spending, which the Speaker has argued is necessary to support private-sector job creation and boost confidence in the nation's economy." US lawmakers and the White House are racing to make a midnight Friday deadline to have an agreement on legislation funding government operations through October 1, failing which key federal agencies will shut down.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, accompanied by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 6, after meeting to work on a budget deal and avoid a government shutdown.

Evan Vucci / AP

Visitors gather in the main entrance of the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, Wednesday, April 6. The White House warns of a temporary cutoff in pay for troops in war zones if the budget impasse brings a partial government shutdown. The IRS wouldn't be able to process some tax refunds, and there also could be a holdup in mortgage applications and small business loans. National parks and museums would be closed, too.

 NBC's Nomenico Montanaro says:

"The president isn't leading," House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) charged, noting first that he liked the president personally and that they "get along well."

He criticized the president for not implementing any of his own fiscal commission's recommendations in his budget.

And he upped the ante, saying House Republicans were prepared to go forward with a bold one-week continuing resolution that would cut a whopping $12 billion in spending but continue to fund the Pentagon through September.

Read the rest of Montanaro's story in First Read.