I understand that the convention is already over and I wish I had realized it earlier but I have to say it.  Most people in the MSM and indeed here in the blogosphere refer to the site of last nights speech as Invesco Field.

I'm asking you all (especially you posters like Todd, Jerome, Johnathan, and Natasha) from now on to call it MILE HIGH STADIUM.  "Phooey," you say, "Mile High was demolished years ago."  Furhermore aren't there better, more noble, less nit-pickey causes to write about?  Certainly all these points are true, but let me explain my reasons before you dismiss this as moon-bat-ery.

As many of you may know Denver was home to a Stadium called Mile High Stadium from 1948 to 2001. Around 1998, after the Broncos finally won a Super Bowl, the owner of the Broncos, Pat Bowen, strong armed the city into building a new stadium for the team which they did using mostly taxpayers dollars to do.  The new stadium was slated to carry the same name as the old one.  However, once the new stadium was built, Invesco bought the naming rights to the stadium and changed it to Invesco Field, setting off a PR firestorm in the local media.  The Denver Post refused to use the name Invesco.  Citizens who had paid to build the stadium felt they had been betrayed and finally Invesco settled to call it officially "Invesco Field at Mile High."

So why should anyone care about a name?  A rose is a rose is a rose, right?  As George Lakoff would say, its all about the framing.  The importance of using Mile High instead of Invesco is that Mile High reminds us that the stadium was built on taxpayer dollars.  The name Invesco concedes the "right" of private companies to rename -- and metaphorically take ownership of -- a building that we the people of the City of Denver paid for.

After a speech like the one that Obama delivered last night, one in which he criticised this conservative doctrine of private companies freeloading on publicly funded projects, it just isn't right to call it Invesco Field.  Granted the stadium isn't a public park, but we paid for it and then Invesco slaps their name on it.

Obama's speech and this convention will be talked about for years to come, so when you write about it call it Mile High Stadium.  It doesn't cost you anything and it reinforces the idea that the building was built by us and not Invesco.  Its also going to make you popular with people from Colorado.

Wow.....wow....I wrote a comment just a few days ago (I'm sure it is HR by now) stating I didn't think the Republicans would do it. I was wrong. I also said I would at least consider McCain if he chose a woman who was pro-choice because it would make him more palatable to a larger group of democratic women. Well I was wrong on that one too. He chose a woman who is pro-life. I am a Democrat is who pro-life. As of today McCain/Palin can consider themselves under consideration for my vote.

I have said before and I will say it again. People come to the process for different reasons. Some women were in it this cycle to support the political aspirations of a woman who was qualified but found the party did not support their efforts. Democratic women have been unsuccessful in building coalitions to support their efforts to get women elected beyond the U.S. Senate.

The Republicans are willing to do what Democrats are unwilling to do; put a woman in the White House as VPOTUS with the long term look at becoming POTUS.

This is change I can believe in.

I heard a clip of Palin's speech at the VP announcement; complete and utter pander to Hillary's voters....

Despite the fact she stands against everything Hillary stands for.

Obama and Biden can't do it, we need Hillary to expose how utterly unprepared she is.

In this video she doesn't even know what the VP does.

That was pander-iffic.  Maybe it'll work, who knows, but her entire speech didn't mention one issue.  She didn't mention abortion or creationism or anything about foreign policy.  Instead she promoted Democratic Party talking points.

She played up unionism.  She talked about Ferraro and Clinton.  She made McCain the mantle of change.  Maybe it'll work, that's what scares me, but there's also a lot of room to fight back.

Obama needs to get out her position papers now and see how she fights back.  Meanwhile the press is excited just because it makes a cool story.  Who cares what this means for the future if it gets good ink?

So I'm both relieved and scared right now.

Also at KOS . . .

I say the Palin pick is clearly aimed at the blue collar men who voted for Hillary but aren't ready for Obama, while clearly signaling to the Bush core that McCain is bending to their will.

People right now are worried about Palin, saying that she may be a "game changer" for McCain.

Of a certain sense, they're right - McCain changed the game such that he's now on defense just as Obama moved the ball down the court last night in spectacular fashion.  Follow below the flip for some of the great things there are to be said about Sarah Palin.

I am fed up with McCain stealing our media coverage. Lets steal it back my making more donations in one day. I just gave my second donation to Obama and as an ardent Hillary supporter, I think we need to show McCain that picking an anti-choice woman is not the way to reach out to us members of the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits. I may be a man, but all my suits have pants.

- Underestimate the pain and heartache that millions of women felt when Hillary lost to Obama.

- Forget that Dukakis walked out of the convention with a 17 point lead over Bush Sr.

- Forget that Qualye ended up in the White House

- Pretend that two years in the Senate is worth more than two years as Governor

- Act as if this thing is over...

We need to double of efforts now! Twice as many phone calls, twice as many doors knocked!

This thing is not over...not by a long shot. This woman carries a 90% approval rating in her state, let's not underestimate her.

And please, if you see a sexist attack mak sure you call the person on it; because every one is another vote McCain will grab.