Democratic National Convention

To give the biggest speech of his life, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter had to work through some unexpected difficulties, the Denver Post reported Thursday.

Ritter's speech at Invesco Field last Thursday before thousands of Democratic National Convention delegates was subsequently panned by some as dull and uninspiring.

But as Ritter told the Post, technical problems forced Ritter to recite most of the address from memory.   

About a third of the way into his speech, the Post reported, Ritter's TelePrompTer sputtered out, leaving him without a script that had been carefully written and edited along with members of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Check back next week to view my Convention Sketchpads from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

DENVER — Just as Western pioneers stuck together while heading West, Democrats need to be united to win in November, said U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall before Democratic National Convention delegates in a speech Thursday evening at Invesco Field.

“We look to the grit and determination of those who came before us,” said Udall, wearing a jacket and black bolo tie. “We know by their example that there’s no problem we can’t solve if we stick together.”

“In the spirit of the west we can move forward, putting our partisan differences behind us and putting the best interests of America first,” Udall said.

“Here at the foot of the great Rocky Mountains, we have found leaders to match our mountains,” Udall said. “In the same bold pragmatic spirit that defines the West, we will move forward.”

Below is a transcript of remarks made by U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs) at the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening, as prepared for delivery.

Below is a transcript of remarks made by U.S. Rep. John Salazar (D-Manassa) at the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening, as prepared for delivery.

Below is a transcript of remarks made by Gov. Bill Ritter (D) at the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening, as prepared for delivery.

U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter at the Democratic National Convention: Getty Images PhotoDENVER — U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Golden) talked renewable energy in a speech before Democratic National Convention delegates Thursday afternoon at Invesco Field in Denver.

“For the past eight years, we’ve had two oilmen in the White House -- and where has it got us?” Perlmutter asked. “We need a smarter, more sustainable energy strategy.”

“Some people tell us to drill here, drill now and that’s all,” said Perlmutter, in a dig at Republicans who favor increased oil drilling in Colorado and elsewhere in the country.

Instead, he said, America needs “solar now, wind here, wind now -- and Barack Obama as a leader will invest in new ways.”

“By developing alternative energy, it’s good for national security, good for the climate, and it is good for jobs,” he said.

Below is a transcript of remarks made by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Denver) at the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening, as prepared for delivery.

Reforming health care, helping military veterans, and protecting abortion rights are on U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette’s laundry list of needs, she told Democratic National Convention delegates in a speech Thursday afternoon at Invesco Field in Denver.

DeGette quoted Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, delivered 45 years ago Thursday, during which he said “we…will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water."

“My friends, during eight years of George W. Bush, we haven’t seen much justice rolling out of Washington,” DeGette said. “And we say today, we will not be satisfied with four more years of the same with John McCain.”

Talking about one of her primary issues, DeGette said it’s time “to stop paying lip service to health care reform and just pass it.”

She also called for lifting the Bush Administration-backed restrictions on stem cell research and protecting abortion rights.
DeGette said Barack Obama will be ”a president who will fight to right the wrongs, a president who challenges every American to be their brother’s keeper and their sister’s keeper.”