Expect comedy, drama to rock the convention

Rocky Mountain News

Published August 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Yes, it's been a hundred years since a national Democratic convention rolled into Denver. But that doesn't mean the Rocky reporters covering the 2008 convention a century later don't have some ideas about potential high points or low moments, touching tributes or overblown hoopla, transcendent patriotism or cynical pandering, heartfelt odes to free speech or grubby exhibitionism. Here are their predictions:

The "most stalked" Obama in Denver won't be Sen. Barack Obama, but "Obama Girl," aka. Amber Lee Ettinger. Her video (I've Got a) Crush on Obama - in which the model sings lines like "You can Barack me tonight" while wearing chest-enhancing tank tops - became one of the most popular Internet videos when it debuted in 2007. Ettinger is renting a LoDo apartment during the convention and is said to be planning a few fundraisers, one of which could include a live performance of Crush on Obama.

The Dems will certainly take plenty of shots at President Bush during the convention, possibly letting the newly beatified Al Gore take the stage, shrug his shoulders and let Americans imagine what the country - not to mention the polar ice caps - might look like if the Democrats had ended up on the winning side in the Florida recount.

Stricter ethics rules will not stop lobbyists from partying hard in Denver. Superlawyer Steve Farber himself will attend 372 parties.

The biggest gamble might not be on the weather for Thursday night's open-air speech at Invesco Field. Beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday, a giant poker game will get under way at Coors Field, featuring star Ben Affleck. His wife, Obama supporter Jennifer Garner, might even show up.

Someone will hold a press conference announcing that a popular hip-hop act will play a free show without actually talking to said act. Oh, wait. Someone - OK, Glenn Spagnuolo of Re-create 68 Alliance - already did that. Spagnuolo, for the record, says he had a signed contract with Public Enemy.

The networks will compete for the best shot of the Colorado sun setting behind the Rocky Mountains as Obama takes the podium on the 50-yard line at Invesco Field Thursday night.

There will need to be some mighty good entertainment to keep those 75,000 Obama fans happy and interested after the doors open at 1 p.m. Thursday. Especially with no adult beverages being sold.

Most touching moment of the week: The video tribute to the ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is too ill to attend the convention. The senator, who was diagnosed in May with a malignant brain tumor, taped a five-minute video from his home on Cape Cod.

Quite possibly DNC week's biggest nightmare: Handing out the free tickets to Wednesday's reunion performance of Rage Against the Machine at the Denver Coliseum. Tent State University plans to draw names in a lottery for the 10,000 or so spots at the unlikely venue. Can you say "chaos"?

Offering a chance to camp out for a week in a LoDo loft on Craigslist for $20,000. Mostly, it didn't happen.

John Denver's Rocky Mountain High will be played at some point. Or several points.

Expect Democrats to use the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina to take shots at President Bush.

Former Denver Bronco Rod Smith will make public appearances on Obama's behalf during convention week and will be mentioned by either Obama or Ritter during their speeches at Invesco Field.

As the home delegation, Colorado will get better speakers for its morning gatherings than other states' delegations will. Some have even speculated that they might hear from the vice presidential nominee over eggs and coffee sometime during the week.

Obama will arrive in Denver late Wednesday, following a "battleground states" tour that starts today in Springfield, Ill., and will hit Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Montana before Colorado.

A talented orator, Obama will have the Invesco Field crowd on its feet Thursday night. But any bounce for the campaign will be minimized Friday, when Republican rival John McCain will announce his running mate - and celebrate his 72nd birthday - during a rally with 10,000 people in Dayton, Ohio.

Most political conventions are a who's who of important politicos and friends of the candidate. This convention will be known, at least on some small scale, for who isn't here. Among the likely no-shows:

* Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who suffered a broken ankle in a slip during a walk in the Lake Tahoe forest.

* Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a superdelegate who faces perjury and other charges stemming from a text-messaging sex scandal with an aide.

* One-time candidate John Edwards, who fell from grace after admitting to an affair with a campaign videographer.

* Rielle Hunter, the woman with whom Edwards had the affair.

* Tony Rezko, the Obama fundraiser who was found guilty of 16 counts of fraud, bribery and influence peddling.

* The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's one-time pastor whose sermons ignited a furor after they showed up on YouTube.

Republican heavyweights, in town to work at diluting the Democrats' message, will hammer away at Obama's lack of experience in elected office and with foreign policy issues - e.g., the Georgian/Russian conflict.

Hillary backers will make at least one minor stink inside the convention walls big enough to draw attention from a controversy-desperate press corps. Here's betting we'll hear at least one Jerry Brown-esque "We love Hillary" kind of chant breaking through the Pepsi Center din.

Hillary does and says all the right things - in eloquent fashion - to make way for Obama's nomination and bring her supporters into his camp. Going on out on a limb here: She won't convince them all.

Bill Clinton, burying all the bad press of the past several months, makes an impassioned speech on behalf of Obama and puts all the snarling behind him, disappointing critics eager to keeping beating on him. Secondary prediction: They keep beating on him anyway.

Each keynote address each night will mention Colorado, New Mexico or Nevada in some fashion.

Kanye West at the recording industry's soiree will draw the biggest crowd.

Tent State University's 11/2-mile walk from Cuernavaca Park to the Pepsi Center to bed down in the Freedom Cage each night ought to be a nice way to wind down after a day of studying and/or demonstrating. The promised toast in the morning is a nice touch.

Sunday morning in Civic Center Park offers an interesting mix: Tent State University and Re-create 68 activists plan to demonstrate against the war in Iraq. Coloradans Support the Troops will be at Pioneer Monument near the Capitol. Hope we can all just get along.

With temperatures forecast in the 80s and 90s, the city's temporary detention facility near 38th and Steele - affectionately known as Gitmo on the Platte - may be the place to be. The sheriff's department installed a $40,000 air conditioning system to blow through the chain link and keep things chill.

Watch for anything new on police officers' gadget belts. The city had $18 million to spend on new toys but has refused to say what it bought. We know it's not slime or goo guns to immobilize crowds of protesters or microwave devices to zap them into compliance. Maybe they have some mink-lined handcuffs.

The Minutemen Civil Defense Corps will be protesting immigration policy at Congress Park, 3 miles from the Pepsi Center, on Monday. Love them or hate them, they may be hard to hear over the noise of other groups protesting downtown.

The newly spruced-up Civic Center, which this week got the loving attention of the parks department, is bound to take a beating as thousands of out-of-towners take over every day the convention is in town.

Lineup of speakers

The Democratic Party's best and brightest will each take a turn sharing their views in the spotlight during the official convention events this week.

Monday

* MICHELLE OBAMA: The potential first lady addresses Democrats at the convention after a rocky summer. Republicans criticized her comment that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of the United States - a comment the candidate later said was an expression of her pride in high voter interest. Barack Obama called for opponents to "lay off my wife." She has worked to soften her image, talking about raising her two daughters. Barack Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and Michelle Obama's older brother, Craig Robinson, also will speak.

* HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: The nation's first female speaker of the House, Pelosi will join Michelle Obama in opening the convention. She has represented the San Francisco area in Congress since 1987. She has steered a divided House through an economic stimulus package and opposition to many of President Bush's initiatives. But she has failed to achieve a top goal: halting U.S. combat in Iraq, drawing criticism from liberal activists.

* SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY: The ailing Massachusetts senator is the subject of a five-minute recorded tribute. The film will be introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy.

* FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: The Nobel Peace Prize winner from Georgia was an early Obama supporter. Carter lost his 1980 re-election bid to Ronald Reagan.

* SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL: The Missouri Democrat was the first woman in the Senate to endorse Obama, just after he lost New Hampshire's primary to Hillary Clinton, a politically risky move at the time.

* REP. JESSE JACKSON JR.: The son of the civil rights activist has represented the Chicago area since a special election in 1995 and is a national co-chairman of Obama's presidential campaign. Party leaders say Jackson's speech will "tell Barack Obama's life story."

* FORMER REP. LEE HAMILTON: Now president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Hamilton is a prominent Obama supporter from Indiana. He retired from Congress in 1999 after more than 30 years. He was a top Democrat on the 9/11 Commission and co-chairman of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. His April endorsement helped Obama answer Hillary Clinton's question: "Who do you want to answer the phone at 3 a.m.?"

* NANCY KEENAN: The president of NARAL Pro-Choice America angered some female voters in May by endorsing Obama, even though Clinton was still in the race.

* JERRY KELLMAN: The Chicago native hired Obama in the early 1980s as a community organizer for Chicago's Developing Communities Project and is often cited as his mentor.

* TOM BALANOFF: The president of the Illinois Service Employees International Union burnishes Obama's labor credentials.

* REG WEAVER: The leader of the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association. The group did not endorse Obama until June.

* RANDI WEINGARTEN: The president of the American Federation of Teachers, which endorsed Clinton but now backs Obama. Not all educators are happy with Obama, who favors performance-based merit pay for individual public school teachers.

* LISA MADIGAN: Illinois' attorney general has been mentioned as a candidate to replace Obama in the U.S. Senate if he wins the presidency.

* DAN HYNES: Illinois' comptroller, who is also mentioned as possible Obama successor in the Senate.

* ALEXI GIANNOULIAS: The Illinois treasurer was backed by Obama, an endorsement that helped the banking heir win his seat. In return, Giannoulias helped Obama win support among Greek voters in the Chicago area.

* MIGUEL DEL VALLE: Chicago's city clerk rounds out Monday's group of Illinois officials talking up the candidate from their home state.

* JOHN HICKENLOOPER: Democrats salute host city Denver with a speaking slot for the city's Democratic mayor.

TUESDAY

* SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Democratic leaders hope the long-awaited prime-time speech by Barack Obama's chief rival during the bruising primary campaign will solidify party support for the nominee. But even as they hand Clinton a plum speaking spot, party leaders will be keeping one eye outside the convention hall for possible actions by her fervent supporters.

* FORMER GOV. MARK WARNER: Virginia's former governor and current Senate candidate is considered a rising Democratic star because of his success in a former GOP stronghold. He occupies the keynote speaker slot that propelled Obama four years ago.

* SEN. PATRICK LEAHY: The Vermont senator and prominent Obama backer called on Clinton to leave the race in March.

* SEN. BOB CASEY JR.: The Pennsylvania senator got Obama's attention when he endorsed him just days before Pennsylvania's Democratic primary in March, a contest won handily by Clinton. His late father, ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey was kept off the speakers list at the 1992 convention because of his opposition to abortion.

* GOV. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Kansas' governor is a favorite for Democrats after winning election as governor twice in solid GOP country. She is the daughter of former Ohio Gov. John J. Gilligan, and thus they became the first father/daughter governor pair in the U.S.

* REP. STENY HOYER: The Maryland lawmaker was elected House majority leader last year even though Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

* SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR: In 2006, she became the first woman elected to the Senate from Minnesota.

* GOV. JOE MANCHIN: West Virginia's chief executive leads the Democratic Governors Association.

* GOV. CHET CULVER: Iowa's governor, the son of former U.S. Rep. and U.S. Sen. John Culver, was born in Washington, D.C., during his father's first term in the House.

* REP. RAHM EMANUEL: The Illinois Democrat is one of the Democrats' top strategists. An Obama supporter, he was a top aide in the Clinton administration.

* REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: A skilled fundraiser, Van Hollen heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

* REP. NYDIA VELÃ?ZQUEZ: A New Yorker, Velazquez became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress in 1992.

* REP. LINDA SANCHEZ: The Californian, a former labor organizer, is half of the chamber's first sister duo. Her sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, is also from California.

* REP. TAMMY BALDWIN: The Wisconsin Democrat is the only openly lesbian member of Congress.

* ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON: Norton is the District of Columbia's longtime nonvoting delegate to the House.

* REP. MIKE HONDA: The Californian leads the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and spent his early childhood with his family in a Colorado internment camp during WWII.

* REP. XAVIER BECERRA: Becerra, of Los Angeles, is a strong supporter of gun control.

* GOV. JIM DOYLE: Wisconsin's governor worked as a Peace Corps teacher in Tunisia, earned a Harvard law degree, then moved to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Ariz., where he worked as an attorney in a federal legal services office.

* GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER: Montana's governor keeps a rifle in his office, often wears boots and is seen as the kind of Democrat who can appeal to white men.

* GOV. DEVAL PATRICK: Massachusetts' successor as governor to Republican Mitt Romney.

* GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO: The Democratic governor from John McCain's home state of Arizona had been frequently mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick.

* GOV. ED RENDELL: Pennsylvania's governor and the former mayor of Philadelphia.

* GOV. TED STRICKLAND: Like Rendell, Ohio's governor first backed Clinton.

* GOV. DAVID PATERSON: New York's first black governor was a Clinton supporter before joining Obama's bandwagon.

* MANNY DIAZ: The mayor of Miami, a lawyer born in Cuba, was the attorney for the Miami family of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a heated international custody battle in 2000.

* FEDERICO PENA: Former Denver mayor and secretary of energy and transportation under President Clinton, Pena joined Obama's campaign last fall.

* JOHN CHIANG: The California controller frequently clashes with California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

* JOHN SWEENEY: The president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization.

* ANNA BURGER: The chairwoman of Change to Win, made up of seven unions.

* CECILE RICHARDS: President of Planned Parenthood of America, she is a daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, who scored one of the most memorable lines of the Democrats' 1988 convention when she joked that the first President Bush was "born with a silver foot in his mouth."

* LILLY LEDBETTER: One of the few non-politicians to speak at the convention, Ledbetter sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., saying she was paid less than her male counterparts. A jury sided with her, but the Supreme Court said she waited too long to sue. Party leaders hope her appearance shores up Democratic support among women, though Democrats said Ledbetter will not endorse any candidate outright.

* SEN. BARBARA BOXER: One of the Senate's most liberal members, she remained neutral until Obama secured the nomination.

* SEN. MARY LANDRIEU: The Louisiana second-term senator is considered among the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election this year.

* SEN. MARIA CANTWELL: The Washington senator was first elected to the Senate in 2000.

* SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN: Arkansas' senior senator is among the chamber's most conservative Democrats.

* SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW: Michigan's first female senator hugged Sen. Clinton when she returned to the Senate after ending her presidential bid.

WEDNESDAY

* FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: One of Wednesday's most anticipated speeches. Party leaders hope the ex-president, who had some harsh words for Obama during the primaries, strikes a harmonious tone.

* SEN. JOHN KERRY: The party's 2004 nominee for president.

* SEN. HARRY REID: The Senate majority leader from Nevada is a gold miner's son.

* GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: New Mexico's governor was among the first Democrats to bow out of this year's presidential race. He is a former congressman, energy secretary in the Clinton administration and state lawmaker.

* SEN. EVAN BAYH: Indiana senator and former governor, Bayh was an early supporter of the war in Iraq.

* SEN. JOE BIDEN: Delaware's senior senator ran for president 20 years ago and again this year, dropping out after a disappointing showing in Iowa.

* REP. JAMES CLYBURN: A South Carolinian, Clyburn is the Democratic whip in the House.

* SEN. JACK REED: A military veteran and a defense expert from Rhode Island, Reed traveled with Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan.

* SEN. KEN SALAZAR: Colorado's freshman senator knows that Colorado and the West are crucial for a Democratic victory in November.

* RICHARD DALEY: Chicago's five-term mayor and Obama have had a rocky relationship.

* FORMER SEN. TOM DASCHLE: The one-time Senate majority leader from South Dakota is a close adviser to Obama.

* SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER: First elected to the Senate from West Virginia in 1984, Rockefeller is the only Democrat in that family's long political dynasty.

* REP. PATRICK MURPHY: The 34-year-old Pennsylvanian is an Iraq War veteran and a Bronze Star recipient.

* REP. ROBERT WEXLER: The Florida lawmaker is a chief surrogate for Obama before Jewish audiences.

* SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: From New York and one of the Senate's top-ranked Democrats, he wrote a book last year arguing that Democrats could do a better job winning over middle-class voters.

* JEANNE SHAHEEN: New Hampshire's former governor.

* REP. TOM UDALL: The New Mexican is another hope for Democrats to pick up a seat in the Senate. He is running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pete Domenici. His cousin, Mark Udall, is running for the Senate in Colorado.

* REP. TOM ALLEN: Maine's five-term congressman is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

* JEFF MERKLEY: Merkley, speaker of the Oregon House and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, orchestrated a Democratic takeover of the Oregon House two years ago.

THURSDAY

* ELBRA WEDGEWORTH: The president of the Denver convention host committee, she grew up the youngest of six children in public housing in the Curtis Park neighborhood and went on to become Denver City Council president.

* GOV. BILL RITTER: Colorado's first-term Democratic governor, he had been Denver's District Attorney.

* FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE: Vice president from 1993 to 2001 under Bill Clinton, he lost to George W. Bush in 2000. Gore was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

* SEN. BARACK OBAMA: The star attraction, under the stars at Invesco Field at Mile High stadium.

• August 23, 2008

  10:36 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  JJBoxer1 writes:

  Well since the deal came out about Sen McCain and his housing problem, the rightwing decided to attack Sen Obama about Rezko, well maybe we should be checking into Sen McCain and the Frank Keating deals, what kind of deals did John McCain get from Frank Keating, one we know is that John and Cindy invested money into a shoping mall with Frank Keating, and also realistate deals between John and Frank, the rightwing say Sen Obama is dealing with a criminal in Tony Rezko, well what do they call Frank Keating, he was sent to prison so what do the rightwing call him GOD.

• August 23, 2008

  6:30 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  destry71 writes:

  Here is a great prediction market dealing with DNC - http://www.hubdub.com/m14247/Who_will...

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