It’s over now. Delegates have packed up their campaign buttons and funny hats. Anarchists have trashed their protest signs. And the candidates are focusing on the next campaign stop.
Denver, it seems to us, pulled off the Democratic National Convention with nary a hitch. Not counting the extremely long lines Thursday night outside Invesco Field before Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, it seemed that the four-day convention was on track to end smoothly.
Sure, there were isolated problems. Shuttle buses on 16th Street Mall appeared at unreliable intervals. And the police engaged in a smattering of questionable encounters.
Those included an incident in which a Denver Police officer used a baton to hurl a Code Pink protester to the ground, which was caught on video by the Rocky Mountain News.
And the arrest of an ABC News producer who was on a public sidewalk in front of the Brown Palace needs to be investigated. Could it be that he was arrested because he was attempting to chronicle senators and private donors for a series of edgy reports called the “Money Trail”?
Despite these incidents, the convention was surprisingly peaceful and festive overall. As someone in our office quipped, it seemed less like recreating 1968 and more like A Taste of Colorado.
Traffic flowed smoothly for the most part, celebs schmoozed and preened for the cameras, people seemed able to engage in protest without impeding others who were on their way to Pepsi Center, and the business of the convention took place in style.
For those who work or live downtown, well, yes, there were inconveniences. We certainly heard a few people mutter that they wanted their town back.
But the convention was a great opportunity for Denver to show itself for what it is: a vibrant city at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, filled with people who have an enthusiasm for civic life.
Those who spent months planning the event and raising money for it ought to feel proud about how it went off.
History was made in Denver, and the city pulled it off with aplomb. It’s a legacy that ought to make Coloradans proud.
