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Out of the Senate and into...the Parthenon?Barack Obama has already invited a new wave of Republican criticism that the White House isn’t big enough for his ego with his plans to accept the Democratic nomination Thursday at Invesco Field at Mile High.The field where the Denver Broncos play and where Obama will address a crowd of more than 70,000 people is now completely covered by a circular seating arrangement. And in the center, where Obama will be standing, is what appears to be a large structure that resembles the ancient Greek temple of the goddess Athena. Or maybe just the U.S. Capitol.Obama’s team says the event, which will require the apparatus of the Democratic National Convention to move from the Denver Pepsi Center, is meant to open the doors of the otherwise exclusive convention to the public.But the grandiose set-up fueled criticism from John McCain’s campaign that Obama is an inflated celebrity.The campaign sent around a snarky memo Wednesday advising the press of proper attire at “The Temple of Obama,” or “The Barackopolis.”The memo recommended a variety of togas, urging reporters to “observe a level of decency and decorum demanded by the import of the moment of the presence of The One.”McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told FOXNews.com the arena is “stagecraft” intended to highlight his persona.“It’s an interesting choice — certainly not the type of town-hall meeting John McCain has participated in across the country. I wouldn’t see that fitting with our campaign, but then again our candidate doesn’t enjoy the spotlight of fame quite like Obama,” he said.Obama strategist David Axelrod said he doesn’t think the taunt “warrants a response.” But he gave one anyway.“I know that Senator McCain and his people are shooting barbs on the opulence of our convention from the mountaintop in Sedona from the McCain estate,” he said.Obama’s acceptance speech will be held on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The campaign initially kept secret its plans to hold the address down the street at Invesco.“As a visual it’ll be tremendous,” said Democratic strategist Bob Beckel. “But the problem is that that visual has been a little bit of a negative for him over the last few months.”
Politico.com’s Mike Allen told FOX News that the Obama camp was having reservations about the branding that could come from using Invesco, but was going ahead with its plan anyway.
“It’s hard because of those very clever ads by John McCain which turned the likability factor, which normally elects a president, back on Senator Obama,” Allen said. “He wants to be someone who can lead the country and can relate to people.”Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer said “it is not true” that the campaign had any doubts about the Invesco event.And Beckel said he’s sure the Obama campaign thought through all the visuals.“If it did (have any doubts), those Greek columns would’ve been down,” he said, adding he’s not going to bet against Obama in a speech.
The McCain campaign first seized on the ‘celebrity’ label after Obama delivered a speech to 200,000 onlookers in Berlin during his trip abroad to Europe and the Middle East. Though Obama enjoyed a bump in the polls following his trip, McCain’s ads on Obama’s celebrity status accompanied somewhat of a recovery for him in the polls.The McCain campaign has recently tried to exploit tensions between Hillary Clinton’s supporters and Obama in the run-up to the Democratic convention, but with Obama’s speech Thursday, it will no doubt return to its previous theme.Obama adviser Anita Dunn said on a conference call Tuesday that the Thursday address will be a “very non-traditional night” for both the Democratic and upcoming Republican convention.“It marks the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party’s belief that this does need to be a process that’s opened up to people again, that people from every walk of life, from every part of this country need to be invited to participate in their political process again, that we need to open the doors up and give them the opportunity to come in and be part of the change,” she said, referring to the massive audience that will be on hand.“And I think that it will be a striking contrast between the final night of our convention … and John McCain’s closing night, which will be in front of the same people who probably do believe we’ve had great economic progress over the past eight years,” she said.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/27/invesco-field-transformed-ahead-of-obamas-acceptance-speech/
As in the days of Noah....
