After last night's amazing speech, I'm jealous. Alaska, you can have Bill Ritter. Can we have Sarah Palin? Then I thought, in a few months she has a very good chance of being our vice-president. I'll settle for that. Interestingly, the Denver Post reports today about Gov. Ritter's lackluster speaking performance at last week's Democratic National Convention. A broken teleprompter appears to have been part of his problem. It seems Sarah Palin faced the same teleprompter problems, but went on unfazed to deliver a homerun. Could the same be said of Bill Ritter - or for that matter, Barack Obama - when they're off teleprompter? Broken teleprompter or not, I like this take from Michael at Best Destiny:But let me just leave this first … [Read more...]
Yippee… Barack Obama May Get “Modest” Bounce in Polls from DNC
It's normal for a major national political convention to give its nominee a "bounce" in the polls, so it's too early to reach any conclusions. After all, the Obamessiah has yet to give his rock star speech at Invesco Field, which may cause the knees of middle America to swoon. But so far, Rasmussen's daily tracking poll has yet to pick up on the signs of major Joe(Biden)-mentum. No, wait, that's not fair ... Today's results show "hints of a modest convention bounce building for Barack Obama". Obama broke the tie with John McCain to forge a one-point national lead - still, not that compelling after last week saw the Democrat candidate with a consistent three-to-four point lead. And after three days of fawning media coverage of the … [Read more...]
A Different Kind of DNC “Protest” West of the Downtown Denver Action
So much for all the DNC-related action happening in downtown Denver. On my drive to work this morning I spotted this unmistakable display on Table Mountain between Arvada and Golden, displayed here in a photograph taken by a friend: 9News apparently was on the scene, as well:The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and Open Space Rangers struck a deal with the protestors allowing them to take a break before hiking back up the mountain and removing the sign. The group behind the sign was not immediately known but roughly 50 anti-abortion protestors are in the area. My friend who took the picture said she was told the sign was constructed from 2,500 bed sheets, and that students from Maranatha Christian Center did the hard work … [Read more...]
Opining on Apathy in Recent State Employee Union Elections
Over at the Denver Daily News, my op-ed on the recent union elections in state government is up. The piece begins:Some pundits and hopeful partisans speculate that our upcoming national election may see less apathy among younger voters. Coloradans might also wonder about the apathy among their state employees.> Forty-nine percent of Americans between 18 and 29 voted in the 2004 national election, a slight rise from previous showings. While at least one candidate has made more appeals to the youth on the bases of "hope" and "change," it's unclear whether the trend will continue. Overshadowed recent news in our own backyard shows even greater voter apathy outside the sphere of electoral politics. When faced this year with deciding on … [Read more...]
Peoples Press Collective Scooping DNC
If you are interested in following events in and around the Democratic National Convention, you should be checking in regularly with the grassroots media coverage of the Peoples Press Collective. A lot of photos and video are up from the weekend's protests, with more exciting coverage to follow today as the DNC actually kicks off. … [Read more...]
Seriously … Joe Biden?
Update: Another Colorado blogger added to the list below Barack Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate ... seriously? When I first heard the news late last night, it sounded too good to be true. My first reaction was that Obama must have made the pick from an insecurity about Obama's personal and political weaknesses. Example? There's no way Biden's long-winded, incoherent ramblings could upstage the Obamessiah's cultish appeal at this week's Democratic National Convention. Beyond the DNC, what does Barack Obama have to look forward to in having Joe Biden as a running mate? What do we really know about Biden? Here's a quick rundown from Colorado bloggers: … [Read more...]
Exclusive Video: DNC Scrubs Free Speech from Pepsi Center Sidewalk
Bringing the Democratic National Convention to town means not only cleaning up the homeless off the streets but also cleaning up any vestiges of apparently offensive speech. One of the capable Peoples Press Collective video journalists caught it on video in front of the Pepsi Center today: "Obama, stop abortion!" ... "Stand for life" - All getting washed away. I doubt there will be any debate inside the Pepsi Center about the Democratic Party's abortion platform. Free speech can be a matter of convenience sometimes. … [Read more...]
Sneak Peek at the DNC Podium: Introducing … ObamaTron!
The Denver Post this morning gives a sneak peek of the Democratic National Convention podium inside the Pepsi Center (H/T Complete Colorado). My first reactions to what the podium looks like: An acid trip back to the 1970s (can you imagine Jimmy Carter giving a speech there opening night)? The set of a cheesy Fox TV reality show (Bill Clinton might just fit in onstage)? ... Or how about the movie Tron? Whatever it is, the podium may be another piece of the poor planning that may threaten a Barack Obama post-Convention bounce. Or maybe he can just get bounce from a Lightbike ride... The DNC craziness has just barely begun. Keep up with coverage you won't find anywhere else at the Peoples Press Collective. … [Read more...]
Barack Obama Needs a DNC Bounce, But Poor Planning May Interfere
Barack Obama really, really, really needs a bounce from the Democratic National Convention. First, nationally, as political guru Michael Barone points out:Realclearpolitics.com yesterday had John McCain ahead of Barack Obama by 274 to 264 electoral votes, counting leaners. RCP has Obama carrying just two Bush '04 states, Iowa and New Mexico, with 12 electoral votes. McCain's lead in two other Bush '04 states, Virginia and Colorado, with 20 electoral votes is microscopic, but then so is Obama's lead in New Hampshire, with four electoral votes. Showcasing Jimmy Carter on the opening night of the DNC is not a good way to separate Barack Obama from the obvious comparison with the malaise president or to generate a national bounce. And … [Read more...]
Peoples Press Collective: Grassroots Coverage of the DNC in Denver
For more of the latest coverage of Denver's Democratic National Convention (Mon, Aug. 25 - Thur, Aug. 28), bookmark the Peoples Press Collective (PPC). My boss Jon Caldara explains on his blog:They are a team of Colorado bloggers who will be armed to the teeth with point and shoot cameras, video cameras, and live streaming cell phones to document all the shenanigans, beat downs, hippie love-fests, and wacky protests going down in the streets. Basically anything the mainstream media won’t be around for, they will. Some pretty big time Colorado bloggers like the Rocky Mountain Right, Rossputin, Slapstick Politics, and Drunkablog have already signed on. They’ve got some cool features on their site like a quick 1 minute DNC preview video, a … [Read more...]