As campaign nears close, shift from rhetoric to work

Isaac Wolf, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 28, 2008 at 7:27 a.m.
Updated August 28, 2008 at 7:27 a.m.

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INVESCO FIELD -- Leading into Barack Obama's keynote address, visitors to Invesco will be asked to participate in a registration drive on "steroids."

Obama staffers this morning discussed the importance of the location of the Democratic nominee's speech tonight, painting the junior senator from Illinois as an agent of "bottom up" change -- while describing the Republican convention next week as a tired event staged before lobbyists.

Ahead of tonight's Obama speech, visitors to Invesco -- including the tens of thousands of Colorado residents with seats at the stadium -- will be asked to reach out, sending text messages, make calls and send postcards. Obama staff will lead campaigning workshops at Invesco and Black Eyed Peas musician and online Obama supporter will.i.am will address the convention.

To motivate voters in Colorado -- a swing state locked in a close race -- Team Obama is emphasizing the importance of the state in the electoral map, saying that John McCain's chances of victory in November are slim without it.

"Colorado is probably one of the most important states," Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said.

Another Obama spokesman, Jenny Backus, put it more bluntly: "If John McCain doesn't win here, we win the presidency," she said.

Rousing rhetoric, but is it true?

Obama outreach tonight will not be limited to Denver: The speech will be viewed at thousands of Obama house parties nationwide, team Obama reports.

But Obama's speech isn't done: He spends today putting "finishing touches" on the highly anticipated talk, which will be "more workmanlike, a very direct conversation with the American people about the choice we face this election," Obama spokesman Anita Dunn said.

The speech will be different, but it'll also be the same. "It'll be consistent with what he has done throughout this campaign," she said.

They're also downplaying expectations of a significant convention bounce.

"At the end of the day, we have consistently said that we don't expect a large bounce from this convention," Dunn said.

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