Four weeks from today, Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for president — in the heart of Denver. As we continue the countdown, we’re offering daily highlights of life in the Mile High City, can’t-miss sights and sounds: the very Best of Denver. Day 1: Confluence Park. Denver got…
The courtroom of U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger was packed on July 29 for the all-day trial over whether the Democratic National Convention security arrangements being planned by the city and the Secret Service pass the Constitutional smell test. The lawsuit was originally filed in May by the ACLU on…
Leticia Van de Putte: “We’ve got to put a tremendous effort into making sure that Colorado and Nevada and New Mexico shift totally for Barack Obama.” Leticia Van de Putte wears many hats in a state that’s known for some major headwear. As a Texas state senator, the chair of…
From Colorado Public Radio: Colorado Matters this morning aired a great interview with Kennedy adviser Ted Sorensen, who addressed the potential impact of Obama’s acceptance speech. Hear the interview — and Kennedy’s “New Frontier” speech — at kcfr.org…
It’s possible I’m getting swept up in DNC fever. As a journalist, I’m paying extra attention to it for sure. But as a Denver native whose father is an historian, I appreciate the pomp and spectacle the event will bring, as well as the ground-breaking significance of a black candidate,…
The Rocky Mountain News’s “Bet made on carbon offsets” article on Saturday started with this: “Thanks to a windmill that tolls day and night producing clean electricity, the tiny eastern plains outpost of Wray has landed in the center of the fast-moving, carbon-offset world.” When he read that, Brad Jones,…
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin:”Some of that healing and unification has started with Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama and their respective camps. The convention, however, has to advance that.” Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin might be Howard Dean’s most experienced choice among his three nominated co-chairs of the Democratic National Convention. She’s…
View large image West Virginia Total Number of Delegates: 39 Pledged: 28 Unpledged: 11 How to Recognize a West Virginia Delegate: If a Sasquatch sighting is ever confirmed, it will no doubt happen in West Virginia. There already are rumors circulating that the state’s governor, Joe Manchin III, is actually…
Note: Update below. The press advisory from Michael Huttner of ProgressNow Action identifies Carol Kreck, pictured above, as a “60-year-old librarian” — a description that’s technically accurate, but which plays on at least a couple of stereotypes, as noted in this More Messages blog about Kreck’s arrest outside a John…
Eighty grand. Obama on the mic. Think there might be a goosebump or two? While we waited for Howard Dean and other Democrats to finish their tour of Invesco Field at Mile High, standing under an incredibly blue sky on the green, green turf, several of us took off our…
The Secret Service has been in contact with officials from Elitch Gardens to possibly utilize the amusement park’s 300 foot observational tower as a security-watch post during the Democratic National Convention. “We still don’t know yet,” says Elitch spokesperson Megan Barber. “We’re still in discussions.” While she cannot go into…
Democratic National Convention, Unconventional Action, Denver, Jared Jacang Maher
Football season starts in two and half weeks with the Broncos’ first preseason game, on August 9 in Houston. From there, the team comes back to Denver for games against Dallas, on August 16, and Green Bay, on August 22 – a matchup that will have added media scrutiny depending…
Welcome to the Internet, where weirdness is as close as your mouse. Today’s example: The video clip below, which allows users to insert any name they’d like into a mock news story about swelling support for an unknown presidential candidate. Of course, I entered my name, which magically pops up…
Thus far, John McCain’s political ads have displayed unexpected subtlety — and a spot that’s been airing in these parts of late displays that quality again. The commercial is aimed at Latino voters, and twice over the course of its minute and five seconds, the camera lingers on Colorado Rep…
Brian Colón, chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party, knows a little something about elections in the West. So we asked his take on the Denver convention’s importance to the West, the Udall family dynasty, and the most famous political facial hair in the West. Westword (Joe Horton): What’s the…
Last week, the Republican National Committee offered a sneak peek of the “party boxes” that will be for sale at the convention in St. Paul. The boxes, which are 2”x3”, tops, look too small to include actual “party” items like noisemakers or hard liquor. Chances are that they’re just full…
Doonesbury took note today, July 22, of Barack Obama’s recent decision to move his planned acceptance speech from the Pepsi Center to Invesco Field at Mile High during the Democratic National Convention next month. And although Mayor Hickenlooper is likely still freaking out a little about logistics for the move…
“The Colorado Model,” an article in the July 21 Weekly Standard, gives coast-to-coast exposure to what its author, conservative Beltway Boy Fred Barnes, refers to as “an ambitious scheme” by well-heeled lefties to “crush Republicans” in the state. The tack “isn’t a secret,” Barnes writes, but “it hasn’t drawn much…
Playing host to the Democratic National Convention was supposed to bring Denver a gusher of national publicity, and it has — but a lot of it has been bad. Earlier this month, the New York Times smacked the DNC around in regard to rising costs. More recently, USA Today weighed…
View larger image Washington Total Number of Delegates: 97 Pledged: 78 Unpledged:19 How to Recognize a Washington Delegate: A smiling Washingtonian is more an indication of a nearby photographer than an invitation to friendship. Washingtonians will be extremely polite and helpful, but don’t expect to exchange personal information. As the…
As far as we know, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain hasn’t tried the computer-oriented products pimped by Colorado’s own John Scherer, the 2006 Westword profile subject known to late-night infomercial viewers as the Video Professor. But the folks behind a satirical YouTube clip understand that McCain can use all…
