Posted on 07/05/2008 11:46:20 AM PDT by mdittmar
For all Senator Barack Obama’s success raising money and generating excitement among voters, he faces a daunting challenge as he prepares to claim the nomination in August: a Democratic convention effort marred by costly setbacks and embarrassing delays.
With the Denver convention less than two months away, problems range from the serious — upwardly spiraling costs on key contracts still being negotiated — to the more mundane, like the reluctance of local caterers to participate because of stringent rules on what delegates will be eating,down to the color of the food. At last count, plans to renovate the inside of the Pepsi Center for the Democrats are $6 million over budget, which may force convention planners to scale back on their original design or increase their fund-raising goals.
The convention is being organized by the Democratic National Committee, which is run by Howard Dean, with his chief of staff, the Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, leading the effort. Only in the last month has the Obama campaign been able to take over management of the convention planning with the candidate claiming the nomination, and his aides are increasingly frustrated, as the event nears, at organizers who they believe spent too freely, planned too slowly and underestimated actual costs.
The Obama campaign has dispatched 10 people to Denver to help “get a handle on the budget and make hard decisions” about what has to be done and how to move forward, said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.
With Democrats seeking to use the convention to move past the bitterness of their bruising primary fight, the gathering in Denver Aug. 25-28 is likely to draw intense interest as the Obama forces try to show a once-divided party rallying around the nominee.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It’s a metaphor for America.
” like the reluctance of local caterers to participate because of stringent rules on what delegates will be eating, down to the color of the food. “
A microcosm of the national economy if Dems had complete control.....
“Some of the Democratic missteps started almost immediately after planning for the event began. The Democratic National Campaign Committee turned down a chance to get cheap office space and decided to rent top-quality offices in downtown Denver at $100,000 a month, only to need less than half the space, which it then filled with rental furniture at $50,000 a month. And in a costly misstep, the Denver host committee, early on, told corporate donors that their contributions were not tax-deductible, rather than to encourage donations by saying that the tax-exempt application was pending and expected to be approved.”
Yup!
“raise questions about Democratic management skills.”
Yup!
“We are exactly where we intended to be at.”
Yup!
And the best quote:
“There is no reason why it is so late, why important issues have not been addressed and why we are trying to figure these things out at the last minute.”
It’s cuz they’re democRats!
It’s pretty clear that there’s not a business person among them.
I think they should hire Mitt Romney to straighten it out.
he he he.... and I always thought the socialist were so well organized.
"The more things change; the more they stay the same."
HUH?!?!? Maybe they would be comfortable with the menu we serve the inmates at Camp Gitmo!
He could be Obama's VP.
I also liked the part about cutting out air conditioning to the media tent to save money;)
“Where are the ballons? Release the da&% ballons!!”
There was a thread here a week or two ago about foods having to be organicaly grown, follow a certain color pattern, be served on econ-friendly plates and eaten with recyclable flatware .... all so PC
This caters to the ‘green’ delgates, but can’t you just picture the union thug delegates enjoying a nice tofu platter?
I have several ideas on what the delegates can eat.
Sounds like an organically grown, union-produced, recycling-monitored, green-directed, rainbow-diet debacle to me.
According to a report on the radio this AM, Obama doesn’t want to give his anointment...er...acceptance speech in the convention hall, he wants to give it in a stadium.
I am sure we will see repeats of that
Oh yea, it's the party party.
It is what field observers considered the main food staple of hippies.
What about the delegation from the 57th state? Don't they get a party?
This year we’ll hear as much nonsense about the dems as we hear from them. Yet of course they are qualified to run the country and our lives because they care!
Evidently not. Nor Alaska and Hawaii either.
I’m calling BS on the whole story anyway. It has the word “embarrassingly” in it and the Democrats have never been embarrassed about anything.
Oops. Should have been “embarrassing”.
Long past time to put these donkeys out to pasture.
I know the guy can’t help the doofus way he looks but he sure could have done something about that shirt/tie combination.
A true classic!
Now all we need are a few thousand protesters who are mad because Obamama is moving too far to the right (even though he is still pretty far to the left of Lenin) and maybe the democrats can duplicate their 1968 convention success!
This is wonderful news! Nothing like a demonstration project to illustrate to the entire nation — and the world — what a Democrat administration in the United States would be like.
Let’s hope they continue throughout the summer in just this way — or, perhaps, improve their ability to drive their party into the dust completely!
I just really love news like this; it makes my day.
Not only does it raise questions, it answers those questions!
WOW!! Dealing exclusively with UNION contractors makes costs spiral out of control?
What happened here is that people estimated costs on the fair market value of the project, then decided that they had to use no one but unions, and they wonder why things are out of control! They will do exactly what they want to do with America—borrow, borrow, borrow, borrow and then charge someone else more to recoup their losses—or just simply declare bankruptcy. Any vendor doing business with the DNC, or Pelosi Galore, or Obamarara, should either demand cash on the barrelhead or just accept their work as a donation to the project. I only think a very few will get paid.
Unions do NOT guarantee quality, value, competency or even safety. THE ONLY THING A UNION GUARANTEES YOU IS A BILL!
Or, since they are, after all, Democrats...why not just raise taxes to cover the cost, and throw in a few pork barrel projects to boot?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
They can save money by hiring all illegal immigrants...
bump
Those Dims are gonna be s-o-o-o hungry. I know a business opportunity when I see it.
I have perfected a really neat food item composed of toasted Wonder bread, refined white sugar and flour, a dozen egg yolks, lard and trans-fats, imitation chocolate chips, Red Dye No 2, marshmallow fluff and prune juice.
The beauty part is once the stuff is deep-fried in hydrogenated Crisco, then coated w/ dried broccoli and crushed pork rinds, it looks EXACTLY like granola.
Stuff should sell like crazy at the convention. (snicker)
They can’t even organize a convention, something they’ve been doing for years, without going way over budget. And these morons want to control the country? Look out America!!
But this can’t be! I thought only Republicans were inept and incompetent. Everyone is supposed to work for free for the Democrats and the convention wouldn’t cost a dime.
Probably won't be having balloons this year. They're not eco-friendly. I'd love to see one of the delegates have a Carrie moment at the convention because they can't get the fried food they're craving.
" Yo, Democrats. The California delegation picked out my chartreuse tie,
blue plaid shirt, and gray pin stripe suit, and Obama's stylists gelled my hair
and manicured my nails for this presser.
Bill Clinton is requesting that his tofu turkey
plate be garnished with a case of cheese curls.
The Obama campaign has dispatched 10 people to Denver to help “get a handle on the budget and make hard decisions”
Ten people eh? I’ve got an idea right off the bat how to make some useful cuts...
hahaha, thanks .. you’ve made my day!
Sandwiches decorated to look like Katie Couric.
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