No Police Outside Invesco for Obama Speech - Longest Lines in History

We are in the midst of a dangerous public health, safety & security situation here outside Invesco Field. The lines have wrapped around themselves farther than the eye can see. With no police or security in sight up here on the hill, there is very little water (Obama water for $2), one Porto-potty and thousands of people. The image above doesn't even begin to describe the situation. And no TV media is here to cover it. Tens of thousands of people.

We have four hours in direct sunlight before Senator Obama speaks. People are going to start dropping like flies soon - it's hot and as much as we wanted to get here early, our credentials weren't available until 2pm. Here come protestors. We are currently in the center of a black paved parking lot looking like sitting ducks.

At this point, we don't even know if we will make it in by 8pm if at all. The event has started an hour ago.

Comments

[Sarah Granger]

It's beginning to move. I see a couple of police officers on the hill & occasional water. We informed people we know about what's going on. They are seeing what they can do. Fingers crossed we'll make it in and everyone will remain standing.

[PunditMom]

The upside of not being in Denver.

[Sarah Granger]

Police have arrived with water. Lines are moving now. Several thousand still trying to get in.

[Sarah Granger]

The police seem to be doing a good job at getting things moving, and people seem to be in good spirits.

[Tracee Sioux]

Sounds like a bad trip I once had at a Grateful Dead Concert in Las Vegas. Poor Momocrats. Still jealous - what a story you'll have to tell!

[Kevin H]

Season of Change

Breaking convention
speech
breaking conventions
with speech and
deeds done
hearts won
waves and waves
and tides
and change
yes we can
he says
yes we can
he says
to hearts
and minds
and time
and time
history
his story
glory
win or lose
choose
life
choose
heart
choose
soul
choose
mind
stop wasting time
on slice and dice
seasons
silly
seasons
find a reason
to change
rise above
the cage
and chains
break
make
take it back
take hold
grab hold
and dont let go
change fast
change slow
yes you can
yes you can
yes we can
says the man
as I stand in line
waiting for time
to catch up
with the tides.

[Sarah Granger]

Yeah, so it took us 4 hours to get into the stadium and 3 hours to get back to the hotel after, but it was worth it. We made it just in time to see Al Gore speak and Barack Obama was incredible.

The fireworks show at the end was just the icing on the cake, but the cake was just a little more delicious after all we went through to get there - not just into the stadium, but leaving our families, finding childcare, paying for the trip, dealing with health issues, logistical problems, net connectivity problems, etc. It's been a long week but we're glad we made it here.

[Anonymous]

"With no police or security in sight up here on the hill, there is very little water (Obama water for $2), one Porto-potty and thousands of people."

If Obama can't even take care of his most loyal supporters, how do we expect him to take care of our country? While some may dismiss my comments as petty and/or irrelevant, we must recognize that Obama has very little administrative experience which makes every opportunity we have to observe his judgment all the more important. If he and his staff can't properly organize a convention, I truly do fear for the safety and prosperity of our country under his direction (or should I say misdirection).

[Sarah Granger]

Obama wasn't in charge of organizing logistics for the evening - sorry to burst your bubble. He just told the DNC what he wanted to do and it was their job to make it happen. They worked with police officers from around the area, all of whom in general were helpful throughout the week.

There was a technology problem with the scanners for the credentials, so the police had not planned for that level of backlog. Eventually once they came, they were superbly organized and the crowd cheered for them as they brought water to everyone, and then the lines flowed smoothly and we all got in. I thought their response after the fact was really good. While it was scary at first and we wanted to make sure the right authorities understood the potential risks of the situation, we knew eventually it would all work itself out. We just didn't know how long it might take.

In any case, the evening was a rousing success for Obama and I'm sure the DNC and the Denver organizers learned a lot about how to plan a major event like this. It takes time to corral 70,000 people through major security checkpoints.