As Jeralyn has already noted, Denver has been selected to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. While some people will complain about the traffic and the extra bodies in town during the week of Aug. 25-28, 2008, I think it’s a relatively minor inconvenience compared with the excitement such a large event will bring. I’d say the same thing if the convention were for the Republican Party, because I think it’s interesting to have such a major event hosted in our town.

The only national political convention I’ve attended was when I hosted a radio show from the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. There’s a lot of excitement and energy in the air for an event like this, and you never know who you are going to run into. One of my lasting memories from 2000 was seeing Oliver North, Al Sharpton and the wrestler/actor “The Rock” sitting together chatting at a small table; they were an odd group to see together, and that’s what made it fun to watch.

Sure, there will be a few extra traffic hassles for awhile, and it will be harder to get a table at a restaurant downtown. But there will certainly be a lot of interesting people who make their way through Denver, and there will be some great events held to accomodate them. I think the tradeoff is more than fair.