Now Denver's only $11 million short

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Two days ago Denver was reported to be up to $15 million behind its fundraising goals for the 2008 Democratic Convention. Today: $11 million short. Progress? Not enough to give it even a whiff of positive spin:

The Denver Host Committee continues to lag in its convention fund-raising efforts, missing a Monday goal of raising $40.6 million, falling short by almost $11 million. The committee reported raising $29 million at the close of business on Monday, a disappointing showing for a committee that had promised to have more in the bank by now. - NY Times

Some of the problems have nothing to do with the late-decided primary:

Rick Ridder, a Denver-based Democratic strategist who has helped the city's convention efforts, said the shortfall is a significant concern.

"Without a doubt, there was tentativeness on the part of a lot of major companies because they didn't know who the nominee was going to be," Ridder said. "And frankly, Denver is not a major corporate center. Many of the corporations who contributed to Boston (site of the party's 2004 convention) just haven't seen advantages to coming here." - AP

But Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper certainly isn't giving up. He was in Kansas City recently:

He had less than an hour to be at The Capital Grille to meet with five high-powered movers and shakers and either extract money from them for the Democratic National Convention or get them to hook him up with other potential donors. The clock was already ticking. This trip - the last fundraising effort before the Denver 2008 Host Committee hits its Monday deadline to raise $40.6 million - would be quick. Essentially 24 hours of meetings stacked upon meetings stacked upon meeting.

And the outcome?

"They liked me. This was a successful evening. They're all going to work for our success. One guy will write a check," Hickenlooper said. "I don't know yet, but he gave me his card and said, 'Send me your information and I'll write you a check.' So whether that's $25,000 or $50,000 - he's a fairly small restaurant owner - so I don't know if it will be really big dollars, maybe $5,000 or $10,000."

$10.99 million to go...