election

DENVER--If you thought that the Republican Party would try to overshadow the Democratic convention this week and the attention paid to Barack Obama's choice of a running mate, you'd be right. Just do a search on Google.

As The Wall Street Journal has pointed out, the McCain campaign has nabbed the top ad spot on Google for the search terms "Joe Biden" and "Biden." Presumably it outbid the Democrats for the top spot.

The ad that appeared reads, "What Does Joe Biden Say About Barack Obama? Find Out Today!" and takes searchers … Read more

Day three of the Democratic National Convention wasn't just about speeches. It also marked the official anointing of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as the Democratic ticket for the 2008 presidential election.

But there were speeches aplenty, of course. Biden gave the climactic address of Wednesday evening in Denver, laying into the Republicans and their presumptive nominee, John McCain, after which Obama made an unscheduled appearance on stage, offering a few words in advance of his speech Thursday night.

Earlier in the evening, former President Bill Clinton addressed the party faithful as well.

Meanwhile, word began to circulate that … Read more

DENVER--Political conventions nowadays are as much about capitalism as they are about politics.

AT&T vendors here pass out Chapstick and cup cozies with the company's logo. Delegates wander around in CNN caps. Lanyards for official credentials sport a Qwest logo. Coca Cola tote bags are carried into the Pepsi Center, while entrepreneurs hand out free samples (or sometimes try to sell them).

The Big Tent, where bloggers are spending most of their time, has become a veritable trade show of tech-oriented products and businesses.

Kary and Gerhard Rivera are Denver locals--they're both spouses and business partners--who … Read more

DENVER--Google is taking advantage of the presence of innumerable state and federal bureaucrats attending the Democratic convention to engage in some old-fashioned product pitchmanship.

Vivek Kundra, the chief technology officer for the District of Columbia's government, was on hand here on Wednesday to explain how he has used Google applications to facilitate the online work of more than 38,000 D.C. employees. He related the story of how he interviewed for his job on the morning of September 11, 2001, and quickly learned how critical it was to upgrade the city's bureaucracy.

"All of our assets … Read more

DENVER--Technology companies are here at the Democratic convention this week to highlight more than just their new products--they're pushing an agenda as well.

The Consumer Electronics Association, a lobbying firm that represents 2,200 technology companies such as Microsoft, Sony, and Hitachi, brought its 28-state "America Wins with Trade" bus tour to Denver this week to convince Democrats that free trade benefits the tech industry, as well as consumers. Groups with opposing views are taking a high profile at the convention, however, and the conflicting interests in the party are apparent from its mixed messages on … Read more

The second night of the Democratic National Convention could have been a flashpoint as Hillary Clinton took to the stage.

Many observers had wondered whether Clinton, the chief rival to Barack Obama during the primary season earlier this year, would use her prime-time speech to further her own ambitions more than to support Obama, who is set to become the official Democratic presidential nominee later this week at the convention.

But in the end, Clinton delivered a solid message of support for Obama.

For a full recap of the night, check out this CBS News video (runtime: 37:12) with … Read more

Clean-tech venture capitalist Nancy Floyd spoke at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, saying Barack Obama's energy proposals would make the U.S. economy more competitive.

The speech by Floyd, founder and managing director at Nth Power, is a sign that clean energy and the environment are high-profile issues in this year's presidential campaign. Indeed, Hilary Clinton used her speech to tout "green collar" jobs.

Floyd has been doing energy investing for decades and often called on policy-makers to support the domestic renewable energy business.

In her talk, she took the same tack, arguing that Spain, … Read more

DENVER--During the primary campaign, Hillary Clinton lashed out at her rival, saying she was the only candidate with the right plan "to create 5 million new, green collar jobs." She dismissed Barack Obama thusly: "My opponent doesn't have much experience creating jobs at all."

Through his Web site, Obama responded that he had a better plan to create "5 million green collar jobs."

On Tuesday evening here at the Democratic convention, the Democrats' intra-party dispute over who had the best plan to create "5 million green collar jobs" officially ended. In … Read more

DENVER--If you want to find bloggers here at the Democratic convention, don't look inside the Pepsi Center, an island of concrete surrounded by fences, barriers, checkpoints, and heavily armed police in helmets and black uniforms.

Many have camped out in a more welcoming place: the so-called Big Tent, located a few blocks outside the security perimeter where bloggers can pay $100 for a place to work for the week. There are free smoothies and massages downstairs (thanks to Google) and free lectures upstairs (courtesy of left-leaning activists hoping to rally the faithful).

It is true that the Democratic National … Read more