Convention Coverage Roundup

Schweitzer, Steers, and Street Action

By Richard Martin, 8-27-08

Brian Schweitzer: studmuffin. That was the conclusion of plenty of online commentators after last night’s rousing speech at the DNC.

“I’d like to declare Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer the MVP of Tuesday night,” eclipsing even Hillary Clinton’s impassioned plea for party unity, writes Dayo Olapade on The New Republic’s political blog, “The Plank.” Wowing the assembled partisans, Schweitzer “could well be the Barack Obama of 2008,” Olopade added.

Below, a quick survey of other coverage as DNC 2008 moves into its third evening:

-- The Republican-leaning convention coverage of Associated Press Washington Bureau chief Ron Fournier – who briefly considered joining the McCain campaign earlier this year, and whose smarmy email exchanges with Bush Administration official Karl Rove sparked outcry as well – has not only fueled a letter-writing campaign from lefty activist group MoveOn, but has also raised eyebrows in other mainstream media outlets.

“Given Fournier’s recent history one would like to think he’d take steps to bolster his journalistic credibility and objectivity,” writes Steve Benen on The Washington Monthly’s “Political Animal” blog. “He is, regrettably, doing the exact opposite.”

-- Given the heavy police presence in downtown Denver this week, some kind of confrontation was almost inevitable. Put a bunch of guys armed with machine guns, four-foot truncheons, and plastic handcuffs on the street with not much to do, and you’re going to get some action. That happened on Tuesday, as “A police officer was videotaped … shoving a CodePink protester hard to the ground without any apparent sign of provocation,” the Rocky Mountain News reports. Minutes later, while speaking with reporters nearby, the protester, Alicia Forrest, 24, was arrested – again on tape.

-- Possibly catching onto convention coattails, Democrat Betsy Markey has an excellent shot at unseating Republican firebrand Marilyn Musgrave, according to a new poll. “Democratic challenger Betsy Markey has a seven-point lead over Rep. Marilyn Musgrave,” reports the Daily Coloradoan, “driven largely by negative views of the Republican incumbent among independents and moderates.”

-- The key to the White House this year may run not through Ohio or Florida but the Hispanic communities of the West, according to Democratic Latino activists. Hispanic voters in the swing states of Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico “will help deliver the White House to Democratic candidate Barack Obama, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson predicted Tuesday” at a DNC event, the Grand Junction Sentinel reported.

Targeting those voters, Obama will invest $20 million to reach out to the Hispanic population of the West, said Eliseo Roques, vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s Hispanic Caucus, at a press conference following the luncheon.

-- And if the political beauty pageant in Denver begins to pall, you can always head down to Pueblo for a cow-and-pony show of another kind: the Colorado State Fair runs through Sept. 1. “Attendance totaled 147,735 for the first four days of the fair,” reports the Rocky, about the same as last year despite high gas prices, tornadoes that have ripped through the area in recent days, and, oh yeah, that Democratic shindig happening up the road.

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