Tag: 2008 Election

The most spirited dispute at the Colorado Senate debate Thursday afternoon occurred before the candidates squared off, but after cameras started rolling, when Republican Bob Schaffer held up the taping to insist he be allowed to use notes.

For weeks, the election season mantra in Colorado has been “vote by mail.” But that advice may cause some problems down the line, when new voters with incomplete registrations don’t receive their ballots. Governor Bill Ritter and several county clerks have consistently urged people to vote by mail this year, a practice thought to alleviate long lines at the polling places on Election Day. As of last week, more than 1.3 million voters in the state had requested mail-in ballots.

Barack Obama responds to criticism of his relationship with William Ayers in a radio ad that began airing in Colorado on Tuesday with a dig at John McCain for "resorting to desperate attacks." At the same time, McCain protested that Obama has forced him to bring up Ayers during the third debate in New York tonight, and Obama campaign manager David Plouffe released a video meant to counteract an "unprecedented sleaze factory" from the McCain campaign and anti-Obama groups.

The political insider site The Hotline on Tuesday moved Colorado from the state's lone "toss-up" status to "solid Obama," helping increase the Democrat's lead in electoral votes to 361 out of 270 needed to win election. Most strikingly, according to Hotline's projections, Barack Obama holds a victorious 297-143 electoral vote advantage over John McCain even without considering leaning states.

It's been a long time coming, but the two candidates running for the 4th Congressional District will meet face to face tonight in what will be their first of three debates. Easy money says it won't be long before the two take the gloves off. It has been, after all, one long negative race.

How small town voters will go for one of two city-slicker presidential candidates may turn not to values or who looks most convincing in a Stetson hat but assurances that rural economic concerns will be among the next administration's tight budget priorities following the massive financial sector bailout by the government last week.

Apparently Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former oil-and-gas executive Bob Schaffer didn’t get the party-line memo on Amendment 52 before Monday night’s debate with his Democratic opponent, Congressman Mark Udall.

A statewide poll released Wednesday has presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain neck-and-neck in Colorado but shows Senate candidate Mark Udall 7 points ahead of Bob Schaffer, including a 21-point advantage on the Western Slope.

A few weeks ago I predicted John McCain's comment about "renegotiating" the Colorado River Compact would show up in paid media ads against him from Barack Obama. My crystal ball didn't let me down. Yesterday Obama put up a radio ad featuring the quote, along with a line from Senator Ken Salazar about how it's a "terrible idea." In my experience presidential campaigns rarely cut ads specific to just one state. For Obama to put together an ad that will, I expect, only run in very specific parts of this one state, well, welcome to life in the top battleground of 2008.

Read more of Jeff's commentaries: • By the numbers: Obama's got the edge • McCain's Southern-style 'mission accomplished' • Debate tips from Karl Rove, earpiece not included

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is sweeping the conservative business site Economist.com's mock global election.