Convention Buzz: Pop!

A Deflating Week For Balloon Companies; Cindy Sheehan Will Let It Ring

by Randy Barrett

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008


Area balloon companies had their dreams popped this week as the convention dropped the balloon drop, and many party planners decided against helium-based decor. Three balloon firms told Convention Daily that they got little or no business out of the Democrats' confab this year despite early promises that being listed on a vendor directory would yield big business and profits. "It's been very, very disappointing," said Janice Nelson, owner of Above It All Balloonery. Balloons' environmentally unfriendly image might be partly to blame, but the decorators say that today's balloons are made of biodegradable natural latex. Nelson, who is a lifelong recycler, said she's had enough of convention planners' environmental theme. "If they really wanted to be green, they'd do the convention through videoconferencing," she said. "If someone mentions the word "green" to me one more time, I'm going to throw up."

Phone Farce

Anti-war activist and congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan says she has seen some troubling suppression of free-speech rights during convention week, but the "most troubling thing," she wrote in her blog, was what she believes was a plot to bug her hotel room phone. To condense Sheehan's description, she returned to her room at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Sunday afternoon to find the door open, and a man holding her phone with a screwdriver in his hand. "I immediately said, 'What the hell are you doing? Are you putting a bug on my phone?'" Sheehan said she didn't believe the "stammered" excuse from hotel workers that there were "problems" with the phone. "I am becoming more shocked every day with what the ruling class are capable of," she said. To be sure, Sheehan said, she put the phone in the refrigerator. Hotel General Manager Jeremy Dreiling, who said on Tuesday he hadn't been contacted by Sheehan, offered a pretty credible explanation about a hotel-wide change in the phone system, described in such numbing detail and involving so many hotel staff members that an FBI conspiracy on the scale of a moon launch would have been necessary to put it in motion. Sheehan's people said she would correct her blog entry if reassured, but she hasn't so far.

Drinking Games

Let it be known that Dems can party with the same style and bravado as their fat-cat Republican counterparts. The Distilled Spirits Council closed Denver's Beta nightclub for an invite-only fete, featuring a vast array of high-end and rare scotches, a cigar bar, and a private performance by DeVotchKa, whose music is featured on the soundtrack of the Oscar-nominated comedy "Little Miss Sunshine." Wonky partygoers slid naturally into the role of haughty sophisticates and became instant experts in the finer points of scotch tasting "Notice the peety flavor of this one, and how the notes are much subtler than the 17-year." Awesome.

Not to take their word for it, we sampled some of the rarer labels, including a 30-year Laphroaig, which -- let's just be honest -- is sort of like drinking gold; a bottle retails for at least $200. Out behind the club, cigar experts helped pair scotch and stogies. Our adviser, after inquiring about our choice of drink, insisted that we try a cigar whose name we neither heard nor think we'd remember. But he assured us, "It tastes like chocolate." We were in no position to argue. "Oh, yes," we replied. "And tobacco, too."

Defensive Position

In a respite from the silliness of convention week, one of Barack Obama's top advisers got serious on national security and John McCain's "temperament." Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, who insiders say is gunning to be the Defense secretary in an Obama administration, said he had watched the Democratic candidate remain calm under situations of extraordinary stress, namely Obama's recent marathon trip through the Middle East. By contrast, Danzig said, McCain is "known for losing it" when the pressure is on. Danzig spoke on a panel hosted by the Truman National Security Project, an organization that trains mostly Democratic officials and staffers on national security policy, where polls show that Obama is especially weak compared with McCain. The audience, which included House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, nodded in agreement with Danzig's assessment of McCain.

Hot Spot

Forget tickets to the posh Google-Vanity Fair party or the deep purple floor credentials for "honored" guests. In our opinion, the hottest ticket in Denver is a pass to the CNN Grill. The cable news network took over Brooklyn's restaurant, next door to the Pepsi Center, and revamped it into an upscale diner. The menu features such comfort classics as mac and cheese with pigs in a blanket, and a list of politically themed cocktails -- the Filibuster Fizz was a fave. But the best part? It's all free. Patrons can order as many milk shakes and mint juleps as their stomachs will tolerate. The Brooklyn's wait staff was also pre-paid for the week -- and rather well, according to our happy waitress. She noted that CNN took about four days to redecorate the interior, painting the walls red, removing sports memorabilia, and installing huge posters of CNN reporters. The network isn't sharing how much the facelift cost.

Good in the 'Hood?

For his handlers, newly minted vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden's tendency to say outrageous things is a nightmare. For reporters tired of covering the buttoned-down Barack Obama, the Biden gaffe machine is a dream come true. But on the street, Biden's big mouth could actually give him some cred -- and even win him some votes, according to Jeff Johnson, chief political correspondent for BET News. Noting that most of his viewers don't know the senior senator from Delaware, Johnson said he is looking forward to introducing Biden to them. Even better, Johnson said, he thinks Biden's propensity to utter the impolitic will resonate with the hip-hop generation. "He's a little bit gangsta, and people really like that. People like a guy who makes them say, 'I can't believe he just said that.' I'll bet he has some fans in the hip-hop community before long." Who knew?

All Bottled Up

It was bound to happen: Obama beer. Calif.-based Half Moon Bay Brewing brought 2,000 bottles of the frothy beverage to Denver this week as a gift to supporters. "People like it, and they're drinking it as much for the souvenir as for the beer," said Half Moon's owner, Lenny Mendonca. The label shows a breaking wave and the motto "Time for Change." The company has also crafted a McCain-label ale, but Mendonca has no plans to hawk it in Minneapolis-St. Paul next week. "I'm a Democrat," he said. "I'd rather be here. When pressed, the beer-meister admitted he's put the same beer in both the Obama and McCain bottles. "There's no political commentary intended," Mendonca added.

Seen and Heard

Spied at The Ship Tavern restaurant at the Brown Palace Hotel: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Washington insider Vernon Jordan and his wife Ann. Next up was Ethel Kennedy and her entourage. The favored waiter is Don, who can tell of the three murders that have taken place in the hotel. All were crimes of passion.... Thousands of reporters were unhappy with the portable toilets outside their tented work stations, and Democrats finally offered up a solution. They've set up a table just outside the Pepsi Center's main entrance for people who just can't hold it any longer and won't set foot inside the putrid plastic pretenders. All you need is a perimeter pass and a form of identification to leave as collateral, and they give you a pass that will get you to a real Pepsi Center bathroom. With running water!... It was all a bit blah. The Democratic Governors' Association held its Rocky Mountain Salute at Elitch Gardens on Monday night. Guests mingled casually and sipped on cocktails. Even such notables as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson bailed relatively early, around 10 o'clock. Strange. The DGA has no limits on soft-money contributions and is known for throwing some of the best and biggest parties of the convention week.

John Maggs, Shane Harris, Marilyn Werber Serafini, Lisa Caruso, Larry Hagstrom and Brian Friel contributed to this column.

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