Is 2008 the end of the conventions as we know them?

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There's an underlying rumble under the runups to both conventions - will these be the last conventions as we know them: 4 days, expenses over $100 million? It's a topic that really won't be addressed until next year, but the rumblings are there.

First, Obama's move to Invesco. What this is showing is that you can put on a convention with a week of preparations, not 6 weeks. Sure, you're only doing one night, but it's the most important night. Once the DNCC releases plans for their podiums in both places, we'll be able to see some of what was not done in Invesco. One thing there won't be in Invesco is all the wiring on the floor: For example, when we have the roll call on Wednesday, each state delegation chair will announce their votes on a microphone. That infrastructure won't be there on Thursday. Is all that infrastructure really necessary?

Here's what Howard Dean said last year:

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said Thursday the days of the $60 million political convention coronations are numbered and he's studying ways to make them more relevant to average people.
...
"We've got to change the way we do conventions in this country. I'm looking to try to make this a transitional convention, in the sense that the day of the $50-$60 million convention is coming to a close.

But the real question is, will any cities bid for the conventions in the future?

CQ wrote in 2006:

There are long lists of logistic requirements demanded by the parties, including a single convention venue that can accommodate thousands of delegates and party officials and many thousands more journalists who will cover the proceedings, and at least 20,000 hotel rooms and 2,000 suites for participants that are located within a reasonable commute to the arena. And this is on top of security measures and costs that have greatly escalated since the onset of the “9/11 era.”

It is not very surprising, therefore, that most cities take a deep breath and decide that it would better to watch the conventions from afar.

And I wrote:

One of these years, there won't be any cities that want to put up any money to host the convention, and the parties will have to raise a lot more money if they still want to have them.

Also, from the Wall Street Journal:

As Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul prepare to host this summer's national political conventions, there are mounting signs security costs and fund-raising headaches are causing cities to think twice about hosting such events.

The national conventions often are touted as signs of prestige as well as immediate boons to local economies. But the strains of putting on a grand show for the Democratic and Republican gatherings, where the presidential candidates are nominated, are becoming more evident this summer, especially as the host cities cope with post-9/11 security demands.

But will anything actually change? Here's the problem. As long as the convention planning is under the control of the national committees, things won't change - the national committees are unlikely to do anything different, and once plans are set in place, it's difficult to change them once a nominee is picked in the spring of the election year.

But when the Obama folks (assuming he wins, of course) are in control of planning for the next convention, they can impose a vision of what type of convention they would like to have. And given what they're doing this year, I would expect that the 2012 Democratic Convention may look very different than we're used to.

Update: Ed Kilgore writes on a similar subject, and reaches a similar conclusion. He ends:

As I write these words, I am preparing to work in the speech/script operation for my sixth consecutive Democratic Convention. After each of the last five, convention professionals invariably said to each other: "Well, that's the last time we'll do this kind of convention!" But this time, I think that may finally be true.

Open Thread - August

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What is McCain's latest "senior moment", what does Obama need to do to win in November or whatever else is on your mind.

And please be excellent to one another. We do not accept name calling or any attacks on our commenters. Any objectionable comments will be deleted. Try to be civil.

Thanks!

Previous Open Thread is here

The view from DemNotes

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All year I've been getting great stuff from DemNotes, the blog of Dan Slater, Colorado Democratic State Party First Vice Chair, and a vice-chair of the Denver Host Committee. Slater was instrumental in getting Denver's bid off the ground. Here are some of his thoughts on winning the convention:

This has not come easy. For well over a year now, we have been working hard to present Denver as the best choice, both politically and logistically.

In the Summer of 2005, during a Q&A session with Governor Dean, Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth urged Governor Dean to consider Denver as the site of the 2008 convention. Through the summer and fall, there was a lot of talk about what a great idea that would be in social circles around Colorado. I set up a meeting on October 14, 2005 with Mayor Hickenlooper and Councilwoman Wedgeworth. From that point forward, with the Mayor’s support and blessing, we shot out of the gate with a great group of Denver’s civic leaders committed to bringing the world to Denver in 2008.

Some of the “old guard” in the Democratic Party said we couldn’t do it. They said it was a waste of time to try. But we didn’t listen, and we fought hard, overcoming obstacle after obstacle to show America that we could do this.

Dan's been a great friend to this blog, providing encouragement and lots of links. I just want to specifically congratulate him on this great accomplishment, and look forward to Denver putting on a great convention. Not that I won't comment on things here or there...

Two Senators and Denver's bid

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George Merritt of the Denver Post notes how two Colorado Senators bookended Denver's bid to host the 2008 Democratic Convention:

[the] idea was then aided by one current and one former U.S. senator from Colorado who, unbeknownst to each other, both influenced Dean's choice.

Dean saw the possibilities of holding the convention in the West thanks to a memo from former Sen. Gary Hart, but then Denver nearly lost the convention more than once. It finally took the efforts of current Sen. Ken Salazar to save the bid.

"I think the host committee, particularly with the help of Ken Salazar, really rallied up between the time Dean postponed his decision and now," said Mike Stratton, a member of the DNC presidential primary commission. "Denver was probably going down. But they really, really rallied up, they got questions answered, raised more money, got commitments for money."

More on the Hart memo, also from the Post:

For nearly 25 years, Gary Hart has pushed Democrats to switch their political focus from regaining the South to winning the West. Perhaps, then, it's fitting that the former senator received some of the credit for the Democratic National Convention's landing in Denver.

Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Hart's paper on how the Democrats might go about capturing the West - and therefore the White House - made a difference in choosing Denver over New York.

"I have long believed that the essence of a Democratic victory goes through the West," Dean said. "If we are going to have a national party, we are going to have to have Westerners to vote Democratic again on a reliable basis."
...
"This is structural change. It could influence the presidential pick," Hart said Thursday. "Every candidate in both parties will have to address Western issues, which aren't race and cultural. They are resource issues, like energy development and property rights."

Hart says he gave his Western strategy paper to Dean in 2005 - through Colorado Democratic Party chairwoman Pat Waak - but he and Dean couldn't agree on the exact date.

The last paragraph of Hart's memo, which can be found here, says:

The national Democratic Party should look Westward. The South will return to the Democratic Party only when economic downturn requires it. Meanwhile, the West provides the Democratic Party's greatest opportunity and represents its greatest future. National Party leaders must develop a plan to win the West in the early twenty-first century or risk settling into minority status for many years to come.

I started this blog with a picture of Gary Hart from the 1984 convention. Sounds like Denver's bid started with Hart also.

It was New York's for the taking...

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Interesting article from Newsday, saying that New York could have had the convention if any of the bigwigs had even tried to get it:

In the end, New York's political potentates weren't willing to dig for the gold necessary to keep the 2008 Democratic convention from migrating to the Rockies. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean announced Thursday that the August 2008 convention would be held in Denver, despite the Mile High City's dearth of hotel rooms and surfeit of union troubles.

Neither Mayor Michael Bloomberg nor New York's marquee Democrats, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, were willing to lead the $100-million fundraising campaign needed to attract the convention. "There was no meaningful effort by Bloomberg or Clinton or anyone else to get this," said one national Democratic operative close to the negotiations, requesting anonymity. "It was New York's for the taking, but no one stepped forward."

As I've been noting, both Bloomberg and Clinton had a vested interest in the convention not coming to New York. Well, they got what they wanted.

New York reaction

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Some notes from the New York newspapers. From the Times:

It's not exactly a "New York: Drop Dead" kind of moment, but the Democratic National Committee has decided to hold the party's 2008 nominating convention in Denver, according to Democrats familiar with the decision, heading West in rejecting a bid from New York to hold it there.

New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today that he was "sorry" the Democrats didn't choose New York, and that he wished Denver "all the best," according to Diane Cardwell, The Times's City Hall bureau chief. "I think that raising money for conventions is getting harder for cities and this city had a particular problem," Mr. Bloomberg said, adding that he felt the onus for fundraising would fall on him. He said he believed Mr. Dean took into account the fundraising issues in deciding on Denver.

And from Newsday:

Even though New York City lost to Denver in the competition to host the 2008 Democratic presidential convention, there was talk of celebratory toasts and a Rocky Mountain high at City Hall.

That is because New York officials were not particularly excited about putting on the Democratic gala. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had spent months dialing down enthusiasm about the bid, despite initial efforts to entice the party into holding the convention in New York.

The billionaire mayor's explanation for the change of heart last fall was that he no longer believed the city could raise the money because he had taken on some hefty fundraising committments that would tie up time and fundraising sources.

When asked for his reaction to the decision Democrats had been mulling for months, Bloomberg was polite, but hardly dejected.

"We are disappointed," Bloomberg said. "But as I had pointed out a number of times, these conventions have gotten very expensive."

AP misses the main labor issue

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In the main AP article today on Denver's convention win, the AP makes a significant mistake:

In the end, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean enlisted the help of labor leaders in Washington, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. A compromise was negotiated to staff the Pepsi Center entirely with union labor for the duration of the convention, effectively taking the last major obstacle off the table.

The decision to staff the Pepsi Center with union labor was made a while ago, and was not the major obstacle. The problem was that the head of the union which was to provide that union labor would not sign a no-strike pledge, which is usually a requirement for a convention bid. How did the DNC resolve this? They didn't. They decided to give Denver the convention anyway, and put off the issue. If for some reason Taylor actually decides to strike, or even threaten one, this whole thing could blow up. I'll be watching this closely.

Denver reaction

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Here are some items from Denver newspaper coverage:

Denver Post:

"The initial euphoria and excitement was joined by anxiety about how much work we have to do," said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. ... Democrats had to weigh the city's maturity against its political potential in making the choice. In the months-long campaign for the convention, Denver was often a sentimental favorite, but the practicality of holding a large convention in a city of about 550,000 people created skepticism.

Questions about whether Denver officials could convince party leaders that the Denver community could raise the necessary millions of dollars and provide thousands of hotel rooms lingered throughout.

CBS4:

It all started when City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth attended a local reception for Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Comittee. During a question and answer session, Wedgeworth raised her hand and Dean called on her.

"And I just said, Governor Dean we have hosted the Pope, we have hosted world leaders and the NBA All-Star game," recalled Wedgeworth. "I think we can do the Democratic convention. What do you think?

DENVER

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Denver will be the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The Hotline has the news:

The labor pains were hard, but the DNC finally has its 2008 convention city locked down: Denver
A Democrat who was briefed said that chairman Howard Dean made the final decision yesterday, weeks later than planned. DNC comm. dir. Karen Finney declined to confirm the choice.

Congratulations to Denver. An excellent choice!

From the DNC Press Release:

"I am delighted to announce that the city of Denver will host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. I congratulate Governor Ritter, Mayor Hickenlooper, Senator Salzar and the members of the Denver Host Committee for assembling an outstanding bid that demonstrates the community's commitment to organizing a first-rate national convention that will put our nominee on the path to victory in 2008.

"There is no question that the West is important to the future of the Democratic Party. The recent Democratic gains in the West exemplify the principle that when we show up and ask for people's votes and talk about
what we stand for, we can win in any part of the country. Additionally, we have a number of strong Democratic leaders in the West who will be a part of showcasing the vision of Democratic leadership for America as we introduce the next Democratic President in the Rocky Mountains.

"New York is a wonderful city but in the end, it was the strength of Denver's bid that made it the best choice. From the state-of-the-art facilities to the commitment of community leaders to hosting an outstanding
event, Mayor Hickenlooper and the host committee made clear that the Denver convention will be a great one. We thank the team for its hard-work during this process and look forward to working with them over the next year and a half to put on the best Democratic convention in history."

"I would like to thank Mayor Bloomberg, the members of the New York Host Committee, and the rest of the team who organized New York City's bid to host the convention. Together, they made this an enormously difficult decision. I know how hard they worked, and appreciate all of their efforts."

Rumor: Announcement Thursday. Reality: Not likely

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There's a rumor going around that the convention site will be announced later today (Thursday). But others think this is unlikely, as it would step on new Colorado Governor Bill Ritter's first week, as he was inaugurated on Tuesday and has his first state-of-the-state speech today. Now, if the winner was going to be New York, Bill Ritter's activities wouldn't matter too much, now would it?

Update: Guess those rumors were pretty solid!

Denver labor leader not facing reality

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I'm sorry, but you can't believe how amusing I find it that Jim Taylor, the local Denver labor leader who is holding up Denver's bid to host the 2008 Democratic Convention, is at this extremely late date trying to get Denver to switch its proposed site from the non-union Pepsi Center (but which will have union staff during the convention) to the union Colorado Convention Center:

"The big spaces there could work," said Jim Taylor of Local 7 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
...
The last Democratic convention to be held at a convention center was in 1984 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Debbie Willhite, director of the Denver 2008 host committee, said problems with that convention led the Democrats to insist on holding the gathering in a large arena.

"A basketball arena already has tiered levels and suites," said Willhite. "Otherwise, it's cost prohibitive to put all the structures in."

You have to build the seating bowl, as well as the skyboxes/suites, used in a convention both for media and VIPs. They have to be totally created in a convention center. I was at the Moscone Center during construction of the seating bowl and suites - it's a lot of extra work that is just wasted money at a time when both cities are scrounging for funds. The Denver Post has more on the problems:

Democratic National Committee bid specifications called for at least 650,000 gross square feet of space, and seating with unobstructed views for 18,000 people. The convention center's largest space, the exhibit hall, has 584,000 gross square feet.
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The convention center already is booked during the weeks surrounding the DNC event. To accommodate its complicated setup and tear-down, the convention center would have to displace eight groups worth a total of $150 million in business, including the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association expo.

I was going to write a detailed post back in the spring about how convention centers were no longer feasible for use as sites for political conventions, but after Orlando dropped out, there didn't seem to be a need for it. In any case, Denver and the DNC need to figure out how to get this all resolved, and I think they will.

Novak: New York was selected, leaked, and pulled back

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Now Robert Novak has a history of not always getting things right, but he does have a new and interesting take on last weeks events:

Denver lacks sufficient hotel facilities, a suitable arena and labor union support, not to mention adequate financing. But when New York was leaked as the site, the reaction was so negative that Dean delayed a decision. Party members complained that it would be the fourth out of the last nine Democratic conventions scheduled for New York. Backers of Hillary Clinton don't want her nominated in her place of residence. George H.W. Bush and John Kerry lost elections when nominated in their respective hometowns of Houston and Boston.

First, nowhere else was there any mention that New York was selected, the choice leaked, and a negative reaction received. When you think about it, it makes no sense. Dean knows exactly how everyone feels about the sites, and knows that a large majority of Democrats want the convention in Denver. The scenario Novak paints just doesn't hold together.

But second, and much more interesting, is his thesis that Clinton backers don't want the convention in New York. Publicly, of course, Clinton is backing New York. But I wrote in November, and the Rocky Mountain News followed up earlier this month, that Clinton would be better situated with a Denver convention. And now Novak just makes the statement without caveat that the Clinton team wants Denver? Welcome to the bandwagon, Novak!

And finally, Novak didn't go back far enough on the hometown conventions. Here at 2008 Democratic Convention Watch, I cover these things months before the MSM get to them, and from my post back in March, there have been 4 home-town conventions in the last 60 years, and all 4 candidates lost:

Stevenson: '52, '56 - Chicago
Bush: '92 - Houston
Kerry: '04 - Boston

There were also two conventions at the opponents home site, and both times the candidates won: Eisenhower in 1952 in Chicago, and Kennedy in LA in 1960.

Looking back at 1988

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Kerri Rebresh over at Colorado Confidential has a look back at the site selection for the 1988 Democratic Convention. After the GOP chose New Orleans, Houston and Atlanta were the final two, and the DNC chose Atlanta for political reasons not unlike the arguments for Denver in 2008.

For more on the 2004 site selection, see my post here, and Democracy in Action's overview here.

Update: Her take on 1996 is now up. Interestingly, she mentions that it was originally proposed that the final night of the 1996 GOP convention be held outdoors at the baseball stadium. At one point, a similar proposal may have been part of Denver's bid this year, although I wrote in March that I thought it made no sense.

Update: 1992 and 2000 are now available

Does the delay help either side?

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Does the delay in the announcement of the host of the 2008 Democratic Convention help either city? Most reports think the delay works to Denver's advantage:

Denver was granted critical time to settle an 11th hour labor beef that could sink its 2008 Democratic National Convention bid when Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean announced today that he'll delay picking whether Denver or New York City host the event until after New Years.
...
While some state party officials saw Dean's deadline reprieve on the decision that was expected to be made this week as an early Christmas present for Denver, DNC officials weren't commenting further.

and

The Democratic National Committee's decision this week to wait until the new year to decide where to hold the party's 2008 national convention is good news for Western Dems who want the convention to be held in Denver. So says Mike Stratton, a Colorado political consultant, lobbyist and political adviser for Gov. Bill Richardson.

but from the New York Daily News:

I may be wrong in seeing the hand of Chuck in delaying the Democrats' convention selection decision until next year, but it is probably good for the New York bid.

While I agree that the delay gives Denver time to resolve its outstanding issues, I think the fact that there had to be a delay at all was not good for Denver. I think it's clear that Dean wants to give the convention to Denver, but that fact that he couldn't do it this week, even though Denver has had all summer and fall to work on these issues, was not a good sign for Denver. Denver's best chance to get the convention may have been this week. Denver may still get the convention, but I think New York's chances increase with every passing day, even if Bloomberg no longer wants it.

Decision delayed until January

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The DNC announced they would delay their decision on a site for the 2008 Democratic National Convention until January:

“Because of the holiday week and at the request of both cities, we will announce the convention city in early January,” spokeswoman Stacie Paxton said.

The delay is actually giving a little relief to Denver’s advocates, as a quicker DNC decision might have boded better for New York City. That is because Denver has been buffeted of late with public comments casting some doubts about the city’s viability as a convention contender.

After weeks of bouyantly promoting Denver as the front-runner to host the 2008 Democratic convention, that city’s boosters have hit a snag with organized labor — one that has depressed their hopes that Colorado’s capital will be able to outbid New York City as the convention site. Debbie Willhite, executive director of the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, told the Denver Post that the city’s efforts to attract the convention had been dealt a blow when Jim Taylor, the head of the local stagehands union, declined to sign a “no strike” agreement with the national Democratic Party.

Taylor took issue with the convention’s main location, the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver. Taylor said his union regards the arena, home to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, as a non-unionized venue.

But Willhite was quoted as saying the union’s resistance to the no-strike pledge is “probably a deal breaker” for the DNC, the organization that will choose the site for the Aug.25-28, 2008 convention site. Though the party is closely allied with the organized labor movement, Democratic officials have less than fond memories of a labor dispute between Boston officials and the local police union that complicated preparations for the party’s 2004 convention in that city. Union officials did not drop their threat to picket the Democratic convention site until that June, when prospective nominee John Kerry refused to cross a police picket line to attend a Boston meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

And although the Times surprisingly doesn't mention it, New York's bid also has it's problems:

Party officials have been negotiating for months with host committees for New York and Denver, but a series of problems with Denver's bid — and a significant cooling of interest from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — led Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to seek more time to make a decision.

While New York's host committee has pledged to raise the money necessary to hold the convention, Bloomberg said Tuesday that the fundraising would be significantly more difficult than he once believed.

"The city can't go on the hook for a convention unless they're reasonably sure they can raise the money," he said, noting that New York had financed the 2004 convention entirely through private fundraising."We'd like conventions to come here and spend money and be a net positive for this city, so while it was in the last case because we financed it all privately, I'm not sure we could do that again," he said.

If Bloomberg has been a Democrat, I wonder if he would be so concerned about raising money for the Democratic Convention.

Daily Kos poll

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Kos has his latest, and final, poll on where the Democrats should hold their 2008 convention. With over 10,700 votes as of 9:00 PM EST:

Denver: 89%
New York: 11%

Previous results:

July 14 (2064 votes):

Denver: 61%
Minneapolis: 26%
New York: 11%

May 25 (8033 votes):

New Orleans: 35%
Denver: 33%
Minneapolis: 23%
New York: 7%

Where does Hillary really want the convention?

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I wrote just before Thanksgiving that while Hillary Clinton publicly supported New York to host the 2008 Democratic Convention, a Denver (i.e., non-New York) convention would better help her to highlight her midwestern and southern roots, assuming she gets the nomination, of course. The Rocky Mountain News looks at this further:

If Denver wins the Democratic National Convention over New York City, the potential presidential nominee with the most to gain from a Denver confab is likely one of the people lobbying against it: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, of New York.

A decision on which city will host the 2008 convention could come this week, and politicians such as Clinton and Sen. Ken Salazar, D- Colo., have been pushing for their home states.

Ironically, many analysts say that of the leading contenders, Clinton might get the biggest boost from a Denver convention. To win, a Democratic presidential nominee must reach out beyond the party's base in the Northeast and on the West Coast. That's especially true for a senator from New York.

Political analyst Jennifer Duffy, of The Cook Political Report, said that Clinton can't count on any big boost from a hometown convention in New York City. She noted that Sen. John Kerry, of Massachusetts, was nominated in Boston, a choice that made it easier for his opponents to paint him as an out-of-touch "Massachusetts liberal."

"My gut tells me (that) going to Denver is better for her," Duffy said of Clinton, and she said the same logic applies to virtually every other top-tier Democratic presidential contender. "If any Democrat, including her, is going to win the presidency, they've got to win a state that Bush won last time, and there are a number of potential battlegrounds in the West, including Colorado."

Meanwhile, Clinton is a known entity in New York, and going there "sort of gives the perception this is the same Democratic Party we always see," Duffy said. "They're trying to put a new face on it."

Clinton is the only one of the major Democratic candidates to come from the Northeast, so she would have the most to gain, but it's been clear all year that the Democrats would not gain anything from holding the convention in New York, and that any Democratic candidate would be better off with the convention in Denver.

DNC: No decision yet

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CQ.com reports that Dean and the DNC are still thinking about where to hold the 2008 Democratic Convention:

Democrats with 2008 on their minds will have to wait a bit longer to learn whether their party will hold its presidential nominating convention in Denver or in New York City. While a site selection announcement was widely expected to have been made by now, DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said Wednesday that “a final decision has not been made.”

But LaVera added that party officials likely are not going to put that decision off much longer, stating that the choice of which city will host the convention — to be held Aug. 25-28 in 2008 — is likely to come before Jan. 1.

There's no way to read anything into the delay, so we just continue to wait.

The waiting game

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The Rocky Mountain News summarizes where we are:

Denver boosters are buzzing with anticipation as a decision on whether the city will win the 2008 Democratic National Convention is expected this week. The bids have been filed and the two finalists, Denver and New York City, are fine-tuning their master contracts, which must be approved before the Democrats' presidential nomination bash is awarded.

Democratic National Committee officials met with city leaders in the Big Apple on Monday to negotiate draft contract language - just as they did with Denver officials last week - according to a DNC official who spoke on the condition he not be named.

Ultimately, DNC Chairman Howard Dean will choose between Denver and New York after reviewing reports by the party's convention assessment panel.

"The chairman, who is very detail- oriented, has stayed abreast of information as it's developed," said Denver 2008 Host Committee Executive Director Debbie Willhite as she and three colleagues kept polishing contract details at their 12th-story downtown Denver office Monday. "So, I don't think he'll have to go over that much more information."

Despite the pins-and-needles waiting, Denver backers remained confident that they've done everything possible in their David-vs.-Goliath battle with New York, which has held six national conventions. Denver's lone previous convention was the 1908 Democratic Party gathering that nominated William Jennings Bryan.

"This has been very intense. There has been a lot of preparation," said Willhite, perched at her desk in front of a "Whiners" sign with a red slash through it. "We have fulfilled every criteria, we've met every deadline and we have proven that Denver has the capacity and the enthusiasm and the leadership to do this."

While New York has been less public in lobbying the DNC than Denver, Willhite said, "I'm sure both senators (Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chuck Schumer) and the governor-elect (Eliot Spitzer) are all weighing in."

Willhite, a veteran Democratic strategist who helped run presidential candidate Bill Clinton's successful bid at the 1992 New York convention, said at that time "it was important to show the country that an Arkansas governor could command Madison Square Garden in the city of New York."

But given the recent wave of Democratic election victories in Colorado and the West, Willhite said, a Denver convention would send a powerful "message of where the party's growing and going" in the battle to reclaim the American heartland.

That last comment about Bill Clinton and New York doesn't quite ring true, given that New York was chosen when Clinton was just one of the "seven dwarfs". And I still think that Hillary Clinton is smart enough not to lobby too heavily for New York.

CBS4 in Denver adds:

If Denver loses the bid, many observers said to just follow the money. "It will be a signal that maybe Denver has not quite yet arrived and that the money offers, the monetary offers to the party out of New York were just too compelling," said Eric Sondermann, political analyst.

The Host Committee also sees the state's Mountain Time zone as an advantage to deadline-weary reporters who would come along with a projected $150 million in convention business. "By 11:00 Prime Time in the east, its 9 here," Willhite said. "Media gets to go out to dinner, they get to socialize, and they loved it in L.A. for that reason."

It's been clear for a while that money is Denver's biggest obstacle, although New York supposedly had money problems itself. And even though the time difference really makes no difference to the DNC, if the convention goes to Denver, the media should be happy. (And as I noted in September and way back in February, the media will be cranky when they get to St. Paul on Labor Day).

How to bid for a convention: Loudly or Quietly

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As I touched on last week, Denver and New York are pursuing their bids to host the 2008 Democratic Convention in very different ways, Denver being very upfront and public, and New York doing their stuff mostly behind the scenes. The Denver Post expands on the topic:

The two cities bidding to host the Democratic National Convention have done so with styles that could not be more different.

Denver officials, conscious of the fact that their city is an unknown entity for the Democrats, have made a highly public effort to push Denver's strength as a burgeoning Democratic base and counter concerns about fundraising and lodging issues.

New York, which has hosted five party conventions since Denver hosted its only one in 1908, has remained quietly suave and debonair as Denver scrambles to woo the Democratic suitor.

"Denver's got a larger sales job to do," New York Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said. "New York, from an accommodations standpoint, has an easier job to do."

With a decision from Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean due in just a day or two, Denver officials readily agree with Sheinkopf, comparing their effort to a David-and-Goliath kind of struggle. "We've had to show a little more leg," said Debbie Willhite, the executive director of Denver's host committee. "We're a little bit of an unknown quantity for the Democrats."

The difference is tangible. When Dean called Bill Ritter last month to congratulate the Democrat on being elected governor of Colorado, Ritter took the opportunity to lobby for the 2008 party convention. "We all understand what a big economic boon it would be not just for the city, but for the entire state," Ritter said. Estimates, which are in dispute, suggest metro Denver could feel a $160 million economic impact from the 35,000 delegates and reporters descending on the city.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has been actively campaigning for the convention for months, vowing to push governors of eight states around Colorado to raise money for a "Western convention."

It's a little different in New York. Like Colorado, New York has a Democratic governor-elect, Eliot Spitzer. But when asked by a reporter last week what he was doing for New York's bid, a spokeswoman referred calls to Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "As you know, Eliot was just elected, so this has been the governor and the mayor's work," Spitzer spokeswoman Christina Anderson said. Several calls to the offices of Pataki and Bloomberg were not returned.

Bloomberg did travel to Chicago this summer to host a reception for Democratic state delegates in hopes of winning the convention. And both of New York's Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, have at least lobbied for the convention. But those public efforts are a whisper compared with Denver's megaphone.

Since Denver became one of three finalists for the convention (Minneapolis won the GOP convention and is no longer in contention for the Democrats), city officials have successfully helped push for the first union hotel in the city in decades. Hickenlooper championed the idea of a regional convention, tapping the enthusiasm of states all across the Rocky Mountain West.

Sen. Ken Salazar's office recruited Western Democratic senators to endorse Denver's effort. And the host committee has taken every opportunity to allay concerns about the region's ability to supply the necessary $55 million and 18,000 hotel rooms.

The effort is reflected in media coverage. New York's four major newspapers mentioned bids for the next Democratic convention a combined 15 times from June 4 to Dec. 4. Three of those mentions were in stories about the changing political landscape of the West.

In that time, The Denver Post alone published 42 articles or editorials mentioning the bid.

This difference has been fun to watch all year long. Check out these quotes from a post in October:

From Denver:

"The momentum is building every day, not only locally and regionally but nationally," said Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, president of the Denver 2008 Host Committee. "People are saying, 'Denver, Denver, Denver,' " she said.

and

Debbie Willhite, executive director of Denver's host committee, was on business Thursday in Washington, D.C., and said the buzz there about Denver is "extraordinarily positive. The stars are lining up because Denver has a strong bid and people want to come there," she said in a telephone interview.

New York responds in a written statement:

"New York City has a proven track record of hosting world-class mega events, and we look forward to working with the Democratic National Committee should they pick New York as their city."

And that low-key, understated statement from New York was one of the rare times all year that a spokesman from New York has said anything.