Denver Prepares to Nominate the Next U.S. President

As I finish vacation in Colorado, I realize that Denver will be a superb spot for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, being held here from August 25 to 28, 2008. The downtown district (LoDo in local lingo... short for lower downtown) is fun, colorful, clean and safe, with loads of great restaurants, top hotels, and activites galore.

(For info, see About.com's Guide to Denver, Colorado.)

Reports the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee this week:

"Last week, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC), the official arm of the Democratic National Committee responsible for planning and organizing the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, opened offices in downtown Denver at 1560 Broadway...

"This month, the DNCC held the second of three hotel site visits for representatives of state delegations. The DNCC is responsible for arranging hotel accommodations for over 6,000 delegates who will attend the 2008 convention in Denver... In step with the green theme of all convention planning, the housing selection, assignment and booking process will take place entirely online and save over 50,000 pieces of paper."

In total, Denver expects to host about 35,000 delegates, elected officials and their staffs, members of the media and related visitors, plus 10,000 volunteers to man all aspects of convention administration and operations.

I plan to attend the Democratic 2008 Convention in Denver, although likely not as a voting delegate, as I did at the California 2007 Democratic Convention from April 27 to 29, 2007. As I did there in Insider Diary of a Delegate to a Democratic Convention, I plan to bring you daily news from the Denver convention, including the sights, sounds and experiences.

As we Democrats prepare to nominate the next President of the United States (!), take some time to refresh your memory about the importance and excitement of past Democratic conventions, via some articles by Robert Longley, About.com's Guide to U.S. Gov't Info:

Political Conventions Day-by-Day

Good Old Fashioned Conventions: The 1860 conventions: Precursor to Civil War

2004 Democratic Convention Speakers List

2004 Democratic Delegate Scorecard