Democratic National Convention in Denver

Obama Accepts Nomination, Pays Service to Western Issues

Sen. Barack Obama accepted the nomination for Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States before a packed stadium at the Invesco Field in Denver on the final day of his party's national convention. (Click the link to see the whole speech.)

He told Americans not to be afraid of ambitious dreams. His grandfather, after taking him to see the astronauts after their splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, told him: "Americans, we can do everything, if we put our minds to it."

Analysis: This Year’s Election a Win-Win for Montana

The presidential election this year is a win-win for Montana, said Bob Brown of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula.

Both candidates will enter the presidency with some knowledge of western issues, and maybe with Montana on their minds, said Brown, a Republican and former Montana Secretary of State, early Thursday.

Trick-or-Vote

Monsters on Denver’s Walking Mall, Groaning about Votes

Among the regular sights in the political zone around the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week are zombies, vampires and other ghoulish creatures.

They're part of a growing youth campaign to get you to vote.

"Get off your hind end!"

Montana’s Schweitzer Talks Energy, Brings Energy to DNC

In a speech that started slow, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer got the packed house at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on its feet and screaming during the prime-time speeches Tuesday night.

"We need all of you to stand up," Schweitzer hollered. "Colorado, stand up! Florida, stand up! Pennsylvania, get off your hind end! In the cheap seats, stand up!"

Montana at the Democratic National Convention

For Natives, It Feels Good to be Change-Makers

Wolf Point is a long way from anywhere, but the small Montana town on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation far on the windy flats of eastern Montana has a field office for Barack Obama.

When the Obama campaign telephoned Ryan Rusche, an Obama delegate and the county attorney there, asking how long it would take him to find office space, he replied, "About 15 minutes."

At noon Monday, Rusche and Jason Smith, of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes from the Flathead Indian Reservation, gathered with most of the rest of the 134 delegates from across Indian Country in a room in the Colorado Convention Center in Denver on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

The Media on the Media... (It can get tiresome)

The Headline is, Where’s That Film Crew From?

At one point along the walking mall on 16th Street in downtown Denver early Sunday evening on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, the men and women with media passes seemed to outnumber what looked like locals and regular tourists.

Then a CNN bus -- plastered with its campaign coverage logos -- roared past on its way to the front of the big convention center.

The Road to the Convention, By Bus, With Activists

Young and Excited, This Crew Converges on Denver

A journey by bus to a political convention with activists becomes a world in itself.

I'm tired. It's been a long journey from Missoula to Denver with Missoula bloggers and the Oregon Bus Project, a studiously bipartisan crew of progressives who have a slow, slow bus.

Convention Logistics

Denver Gets Ready For DemCon08

State and territory flags flapping in downtown Denver -- as well as steel trestles carrying Internet cables over streets and sidewalks -- signal the beginning of the end of the preparation for the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

"We're in the final execution stage," said Natalie Wyeth, a convention spokeswoman.

Changing Minds

Why Obama Is Fighting to Win Montana’s Three Votes

Montana's political landscape and its role in the national political scene is changing, and nowhere is it more evident these days than in Barack Obama's campaign.

His campaign, headed by a savvy political character who cut his teeth in campaigns in the Big Sky, has six fully staffed offices and plans for more.