Scoffing points: Think Dems took issue? Bingo!

Party faithful make game of McCain phrases

By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 5, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Denver Democrat Jon Taylor listened intently to John McCain's speech as the Arizona senator accepted the Republican presidential nomination Thursday night.

But only for certain words - like "better off" and "gates of hell" and "nukluar."

Taylor was one of about a dozen and a half of the party faithful who gathered at the Colorado Democratic state headquarters in Denver to eat pizza, watch the final night of the Republican National Convention and play "GOP Bingo."

The aim of the game was to check off boxes on a bingo sheet as Republican speakers hit on common political slogans.

Taylor already had used his red marker to check off "Straight Talk" and "Maverick" and "Drill here, drill now."

As McCain began his speech, Taylor was just two boxes away from "victory."

The camera briefly panned to McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"C'mon lady!" he shouted. "Say 'polar bears!' "

It was an interactive sort of night for the crowd, which peppered McCain's speech with comments on everything from protesters inside the convention hall to the color of Cindy McCain's dress.

"Isn't blue a Democratic color?" Andrew Carr said.

Brenda Bell Ennis sat behind him. Along with checking her bingo card, she jotted down phrases in the margins. She said they were phrases that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama had used much earlier in his campaign - words such as "share" and "community" and "come together."

"This is what Barack Obama has been saying all along," Ennis said. "To me, I think they are validating what Barack Obama has been saying."

For some, McCain's speech left them aggravated.

Last week, Nate Vanderschaaf, of Longmont, was a delegate who helped nominate Obama at the Democratic National Convention. When McCain talked about oil drilling, Vanderschaaf covered his eyes with one hand and shook his head. Then he held up three fingers.

That is the number of years it would take for the U.S. to roll out a fleet of electric and hybrid cars, said Vanderschaaf, who drives an electric one.

Then McCain talked about Palin's taking on the special interests.

"I've got Bingo!" Carr shouted, checking off the last box in a row of five phrases. For his prize, he was given a choice of a pair of flip-flops or a stuffed elephant.

He took the elephant, held up a small sign on a stick, and held his own little floor rally: "Obama! Obama! Obama!"

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