All right Mr. DeMille, uh, Mr. Dean, we’re ready for our close up.
Downtown businesses have spruced up. New holding cells have been erected. A few “Denver Daisies” have sprouted. And the homeless are hidden away in air-conditioned movie theaters.
Bring on the Democrats.
One week from today, the world comes to Denver.
And one week from today, Denver could be enshrouded in a fog of tear gas as we’re overrun by Democrats, protesters, journalists and all of the ensuing chaos that can come with hosting a major convention post- 9/11.
Or not.
Instead, one week from today Denver could be showcased as a world-class, 21st century city — a place that embraces its humble past as fervently as it welcomes its exciting future.
A few political careers are riding on the latter.
Just as the summer Olympics have (so far) served as China’s coming out party to the world it plans to dominate over the next century, the Democratic National Convention is Denver’s chance to rebrand itself as a model American city.
This could be the moment we shed our status as flyover country once and for all and cement a new image as a dynamic and welcoming place — a place with a promising future, where high culture meets casual attitudes, where light rail lines criss-cross a relatively low-crime city.
A real big city without all the real big city baggage.
Or not.
In last Sunday’s New York Times, a reporter scoping out the Mile High scene in advance of the DNC painted a rather traditional (read: mostly stereotypical) picture of Denver, advising obligatory trips to the Mint and the Molly Brown House while kicking up cow town imagery.
“There’s no getting around Denver’s culinary specialty, red meat, the starring attraction at Old West-themed barbecue joints all over town,” he wrote.
Really? Name one. ‘Cause I’m a-hankerin’ for a John Wayne pulled-pork sandwich with a side of True Grits.
The only joints that proliferate in this town are Starbucks and those little ones smoked by Mason Tvert’s peeps in Civic Center park.
If anyone bothers to look past the tumbleweeds and Old West- themed BBQ joints, they’ll find a city, and a region, on the verge of something special.
Walk downtown this week.
Homeless sightings, thanks to the mayor’s plan to end homelessness — and not counting all those free museum and movie tickets — will be as rare as spotting John Edwards at the DNC.
Construction cranes dot a growing, changing skyline.
Sure, we whine about potholes and such, but Denver’s infrastructure is surprisingly solid when compared to other cities.
Even Denver Public Schools, with all the trappings of an urban district, are staging a turnaround.
And though it’s threatened by an uneasy economy and booming construction costs, RTD’s FasTracks will be the envy of the automobile- loving West someday.
If convention week descends into chaos, the curtain will fall on Denver’s moment, and the stench of failure could cling to the city’s otherwise Teflon mayor like a cheap suit.
That would be more than unfortunate, and could set Denver’s image back years.
But today, the city is ready for its moment, its close-up.
If the world chooses to see us through the dusty lens of the Old West, that’s OK.
It will be our little secret that we like cowboy boots and $4 hazelnut lattes. That’s just Denver.
DNC or not.
Dan Haley can be reached at dhaley@denverpost.com.
