The Elephant Walk

Dick Wadhams on the loose

By Michael Roberts
Aug 27, 2008

Dick Wadhams, alone at Pepsi Center. Most broadcast operations at the Pepsi Center during the Democratic National Convention are ensconced on the club level, and when I entered the zone, I found no security, no technicians, no one at all -- except for Dick Wadhams, head of the Colorado Republican...
John McClane for President

By Joe Tone
Aug 26, 2008

An expert on foreign policy, law enforcement officer John McClane is a darkhorse to round out the GOP presidential ticket. In the melee of the insatiable, frenzied Obama-fucking that currently is D-town, Colorado, there are glimmers of opposition – fratty, white heads that suddenly poke out of holes, making one...
Get your Gay Republican Trading Cards at the DNC!

By Joe Tone
Aug 26, 2008

In the world of DNC-related merchandise, some souvenirs rise to the top of the pile. (And they're not all condoms). Here’s a favorite found last night, outside the Pepsi Center: “Gay Republican Hypocrites Playing Cards.” Created by some pals from Austin, Texas, these stunningly detailed cards are tiny encyclopedias of...
Hailing cabs and celeb-stalking? What the hell is going on?

By Michael Roberts
Aug 25, 2008

"Wow -- they look just like the cabs in the big cities." Drove past the Pepsi Center a couple of times on Saturday to get a passing look at the DNC preparations there. The first time by, two enormous groups of police officers, clad in full riot gear, posed in...
The DNC and U.S.-Iraq withdrawal agreement timing: an amazing coincidence!

By Joe Tone
Aug 21, 2008

Condoleeza Rice. So on August 21, four days before the start of the Democratic National Convention, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says the United States and Iraq have agreed that timetables should be set for U.S. troop withdrawl from the wartorn country, and major news agencies are reporting the target...
We miss you already, Douglas Bruce

By Michael Roberts
Aug 13, 2008

His bark was worse than his bite. Really. The August 12 primary election results don't overflow with surprises. The electorate proved again that name recognition is the most important factor when turnout is low. Hence the victories of Mike Coffman, well known as Colorado's secretary of state, and former Westword...
McCain and Udall, Sitting in a Tree

By Michael Roberts
Aug 8, 2008

Mo Udall, mo problems. Our sister paper in Phoenix carries a lengthy cover story this week about the Arizona legacy of John McCain, who allegedly is some sort of presidential candidate (although I haven't seen him on the cover of any magazines. Weird.) The story -- "Postmodern John McCain: the...
Frances and Monica Owens on Cindy McCain: She's Nifty

By Michael Roberts
Aug 7, 2008

Cindy McCain in a photo that begs for a cougar joke I'm way too classy to make. The August 6 Denver Post brings us "Cindy McCain is Perfect for First Lady," in which Frances Owens, Colorado's former first lady, and her daughter Monica spend 337 words to say, in essence,...
Facebook, Slavery, and Bob Schaeffer's Floundering Campaign

By Michael Roberts
Aug 6, 2008

Justin Schaffer, son of Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, is truly sorry about his Facebook page, according to this story in the Denver Post. The site, which has been taken down but can still be found mirrored here, contained stuff guaranteed to provide political ammo against Justin's dad, including a...
Stuart Shepard, Focus on the Fam's Kook-in-Chief, Prays for Rain at DNC

By Joe Tone
Aug 5, 2008

Which is weird, because if you're going to go to the trouble to ask God to take time off from his weekly Pai Gow game to ensure that a torrential downpour dampers the mood during Barack Obama's acceptance speech, why wouldn't you just ask God to rig the vote? It'd...
Dick Wadhams Manipulates the Media With His "Ass"

By Michael Roberts
Aug 5, 2008

It only took one little word for Colorado Republican Party chief and Westword profile-subject Dick Wadhams to notch a media victory. And the Denver dailies won't even print it. That term was "ass." Or, as the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post spell it, "a--."...
Denver TV Stations Treat John McCain Ads as News

By Michael Roberts
Aug 4, 2008

"With Commercial, McCain Gets Much More Than His Money’s Worth," a recent New York Times article, points out that at least a couple of Denver TV stations helped presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain stretch his dollars further than anticipated by running much of a recent ad attacking Barack Obama,...
Tom Tancredo: John McCain's Silent Whipping Boy

By Michael Roberts
Jul 23, 2008

Thus far, John McCain's political ads have displayed unexpected subtlety -- and a spot that's been airing in these parts of late displays that quality again. The commercial is aimed at Latino voters, and twice over the course of its minute and five seconds, the camera lingers on Colorado Rep...
Ten Things Possibly Found in the McCain Party Box

By Patricia Calhoun
Jul 22, 2008

Last week, the Republican National Committee offered a sneak peek of the “party boxes” that will be for sale at the convention in St. Paul. The boxes, which are 2”x3”, tops, look too small to include actual “party” items like noisemakers or hard liquor. Chances are that they’re just full...
Fred Barnes Takes a Shot at Colorado Dems -- With Jon Caldara's Help

By Michael Roberts
Jul 22, 2008

"The Colorado Model," an article in the July 21 Weekly Standard, gives coast-to-coast exposure to what its author, conservative Beltway Boy Fred Barnes, refers to as "an ambitious scheme" by well-heeled lefties to "crush Republicans" in the state. The tack "isn't a secret," Barnes writes, but "it hasn't drawn much...
The Video Professor Schools John McCain

By Michael Roberts
Jul 21, 2008

As far as we know, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain hasn't tried the computer-oriented products pimped by Colorado's own John Scherer, the 2006 Westword profile subject known to late-night infomercial viewers as the Video Professor. But the folks behind a satirical YouTube clip understand that McCain can use all...
James Dobson Flirts with John McCain -- and the Press

By Michael Roberts
Jul 21, 2008

Not so long ago, Focus on the Family chieftain James Dobson (pictured) was at risk of becoming irrelevant in regard to the 2008 presidential campaign due in part to his oft-stated dislike for both John McCain and Barack Obama, one of whom will take possession of the White House from...
A John McCain Attack Ad I Can Get Behind

By Michael Roberts
Jul 11, 2008

The John McCain ad starts out with images of America in 1968, the so-called Summer of Love, and moves halfway across the globe to tell us that he was gettin' busy with some hot-and-steamy love of country back then. Of course, he ended up in a Hanoi Hilton and was...
Rocky Mountain Thunder

By Patricia Calhoun
Jul 10, 2008

When the Democratic National Convention Committee announced Monday that Barack Obama would be delivering his acceptance speech from the roofless confines of Invesco Field at Mile High, local and national news outlets, each with their own reasons, were quick to jump on Mother Nature. Local dailies, knowing too well the...
McCain Comes to Denver, Tries to Make Friends

By Patricia Calhoun
Jul 8, 2008

John McCain, fresh from his Denver town hall that made nearly as much news for the ticketing of a protester than for what he said, must be a little lonely. After all, the guy lacks support from liberals -- even those who used to have some grudging respect for the...

More The Elephant Walk