A tale of two campaigns

Both Denver dailies feature an article on the two campaigns for Colorado's soon-to-be vacated U.S. Senate seat.

The Denver Post takes a substantive look at the Udall campaign by exploring the shifts in the state since the 2004 election of Ken Salazar as well as Udall's work at boosting his resume. The article breaks little new ground for political die-hards but does a nice job of introducing to the masses the background that has set Udall up for this run.

The Rocky Mountain News looks at Bob Schaffer's campaign and campaign manager obsession with Mark Udall's address. No, really.

Five years ago, Congressman Mark Udall and his family packed up and moved six miles and 11 minutes down the road.

In the process, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Boulder, became U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs.

But does he really hail from Eldorado Springs?

Yes, says the Boulder County Assessor's Office and the Rocky Mountain Fire Protection District.

No, says Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams, who has made Udall's address an issue in the U.S. Senate campaign between Udall and former Congressman Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins.

The Eldorado-Springs/Boulder "dispute" is, of course, silly and a an obvious attempt at distraction. Taken in comparison to the Post article which spends time focusing on Udall's work on environmental issues and on the House Armed Services Committee the Rocky article provides a clear contrast. Mark Udall and Democrats are prepared to talk about substantive issues and have the actions to back up the rhetoric.

Bob Schaffer, Dick Wadhams and the Republicans? They can't talk about leadership on the issues because they haven't provided any. They can't even talk about positions on the issues because the don't have any. They are left with nothing more than transparently childish arguments about their opponents address.

Can there be any doubt that Bob Schaffer is a candidate wholly without substance? Or that Dick Wadhams is a one-trick campaign manager who relies on juvenile tactics to try and cover for weak candidates? The contrast between the two candidates and the two campaigns could not be more clear.