J. Patrick Coolican

Story Archive

Nevada, Arizona GOP gather on convention's first day: Monday, Sept. 1, 2008
America's hopes, dreams, tensions flow through Denver's streets: On a monumental day for Obama, convention city crackles with a kaleidescope of emotions; Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008; Hours before Sen. Barack Obama would become the first black major party presidential nominee in American history, Romel Trusty is selling Obama T-shirts and hats at his street kiosk, adding to his usual business of imported clothing and handbags.
Reid speech calls for unity, attacks McCain: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; Here's Sen. Harry Reid's speech. Interesting piece of writing. No one is listening though.
Roll call a landslide for Obama: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; Democrats nominate Obama in a landslide.
Reid: McCain doesn't have temperament to be president: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; Hall was electric last night, the TV reviews seem lukewarm
John Kerry was there: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; Just saw Sen. John Kerry. Um, not sure what to say.
Far-left wing sees its best chance in decades but frets over pace of change: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; The most revealing moments at the Democratic National Convention aren’t happening in the hall or on the stage.
New media, new questions: Two years after bland Vegas powwow, liberal bloggers embraced in ‘Big Tent’; Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008; This is the headquarters of the vast left-wing conspiracy. They’re all here: MoveOn.org, Media Matters and Markos Moulitsas, and if a bomb went off, Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t be disappointed.
Left wants Obama to listen: Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008; The day's highlights: Some earnest leftists demand Obama listen to them. Lots of pent-up lefty demand.
Misty-eyed, but nervous: Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008; Morning everybody. Coffee and water consumed, ready to begin day of high-altitude urban hiking.
Settling in at the convention: Monday, Aug. 25, 2008; Sorry reader(s). The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of trying to get this figured out, and colleague Jon Ralston sums it up: "Assume everything will be a hassle."
Nevada neighbors turn ideas into economies: In Colorado, universities cultivate research to grow companies; Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008; W. S. Sampath was at a loss. The Indian-born professor of engineering at Colorado State University had just been told that he had a great idea for manufacturing solar panels more cheaply but he needed a business plan to turn it into something that would sell.
Obama playing the press negativity with VP timing: Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008; Announcing Biden in the middle of the night going into a Saturday seemed strange -- note my post Thursday about how people consume less media on Saturday than any other day of the week.
Songs of the road: Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; WTW soundtrack: Iron and Wine, The Mars Volta, The Decembrists, Bob Dylan, Coltrane, Talking Heads, Sigor Ros, early Beatles, "Oh Brother Where Art Thou."
More voters' views on Iraq: Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; Sorry for the light posting today, but we've been busy learning about algae (there's a lot of it, and it can make fuel), seeing what happens to a smoothie made from ice cream and juice concentrate when it sits in a hot minivan (it separates and looks evil), and suffering the effects of altitude sickness (I'd only smoked a half pack and it felt like I'd smoked the whole thing.)
Experiences similar, but views of war couldn’t be more different: Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; They are both warriors, and they fought in the same war. But as in some geopolitical “Rashomon,” the events in question look completely different through different eyes.
Rethinking the war: Issue that helped Democrats in 2006 now cuts several ways, Albuquerque voters say; Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; The Iraq war defined American politics for most of the decade, but now, with the endless campaign entering the climactic stretch, the war is losing its clarity and importance as an election issue. That is the message from voters in a tightly contested congressional race here that could well serve as a national bellwether.
The Big Tease: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; Obviously I was wrong about today being VP day.
Cool energy, hot tub: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; We've arrive north of Denver here, to report on how Colorado State is driving economic development with partnerships with some cool energy companies
Viva for the other Vegas: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; We've just spent a few hours in the original Las Vegas and it's much more aptly titled.
Obama VP pick expected today: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; It's VP announcement day for Obama, according to a lot of speculation. He's in Virginia, then to Chicago and Springfield, Ill., where he announced 19 months ago. There's a rally in Indiana Saturday. Who will it be?
McCain has fun in Las Cruces: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; Campaigns love the local press. Check out this report in the Las Cruces Sun-News after covering Sen. John McCain today.
Blogger: Obama whining too much: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; August sure is the cruelest month for Democratic presidential candidates, isn't it?
War and peace and green chiles: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; Snooty elitism food criticism interlude. In the lovely historic Old Town here, we just had an incredible meal at La Placita, an historic dining room. It's nearing green chile season here, and it makes for greatness. Plus, there's a tree, really old tree, growing in the middle of the dining room and through the roof. Outside, in the old plaza, artisans sell their wares. Plus there's a super-old Catholic church.
Random polling at the gas pumps: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; Our second stop interviewing voters today was a Chevron right near Kirtland Air Force Base.
Talking to the voters: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; It's voter day, as the Team WTW (that's Winning the West) interviews residents of Albuquerque and its suburbs.
New Mexico attracting TV, film industry: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; We're doing some reporting this week on how other states in the Intermountain West are trying to create vibrant, diverse and sustainable economies.
Getting the cold shoulder from Bill Richardson: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Gov. Bill Richardson is avoiding the Las Vegas Sun again. Ok, not really. A few of you know that story well. Richardson was running for president, and his strategy was predicated on winning Nevada (at least until it wasn't.) Mike Mishak chased the failed presidential candidate Richardson for six months last year. His press people kept promising and then putting him off, until it just got ridiculous and Mike wrote a piece about it.
A lesson for McCain: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; A quick interlude from politics and the Intermountain West.
Following up after Obama: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Chek our stories and photos in today's Sun. Yesterday we were with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama here.
As Democrats fret, Obama gets more direct: After friendly critics weigh in, Obama zings rival on tax plan Democrat says helps the rich; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Democrats are anxious these days. Sen. Barack Obama he has slipped slightly in the polls and his main opponent, Sen. John McCain, has driven the race onto ground friendlier to the Republican.
Minutemen claim softer side: Defenders of U.S. border say they’re compassionate, even save illegal immigrants’ lives; Monday, Aug. 18, 2008; The Minutemen want you to know they are humanitarians, and they can be quite persuasive. They understand the impulse to come to America, to feed a family. They might do it themselves if they were Mexican.
McCain's 'rich' definition new fodder for Obama attacks: Monday, Aug. 18, 2008; Waiting for a second Obama event, and I notice Sun partner Politico's blogger Ben Smith has posted a new line of Obama attack I just witnessed but didn't include in my report.
Obama focuses on women's issues: Monday, Aug. 18, 2008; ALBUQUERQUE --Illinois Sen. Barack Obama just addressed an intimate crowd of mostly women at a library here, focusing on equal pay for equal work.
Getting ready for Obama: Monday, Aug. 18, 2008; At the public library here, getting ready for an Obama event. Traveling press has arrived. Non-Vegas style celebrity sightings: Howard Fineman. Jake Tapper. Mara Liaison.
Arriving in Albuquerque: Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; We've arrived in New Mexico to cooler weather and political ads for Obama, McCain and Republican Senate candidate Steve Pearce, all in fairly heavy rotation as we watch the Olympics.
Names matter in presidential pairings: Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; Some of my favorite journalism has come out of presidential campaigns and political conventions, especially since 1960, with Theodore White's "The Making the President 1960." As we make our way to Denver and St. Paul, I beg your forgiveness for sharing some of my favorites.
Entrepreneurial spirit in the creepy lane: Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; A quick interlude from politics and policy in the Intermountain West to report on the amazing entrepreneurial spirit of Americans and how creepy it can be.
Signs of region’s emerging power found in Arizona: New residents from inside and outside U.S. borders bring different priorities for government — challenging long-standing Republican dominance; Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; Beatriz Escalante, a hotel sales manager, paints a grim picture of life in Hispanic communities here, hunkered down and racked with fear.
Politics, driving and déjà vu: Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008; For the eight people reading our nascent blog, and for the two of those interested in Coolican and his lam-o life-story (mom, dad), here's a fun thing I found on the Internet Archives Wayback Machine.
ASU president makes a difference: Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008; ASU president Michael Crow is a controversial figure here, but for whatever people think of him, there’s no question he’s hard-charging and dynamic.
Compare and contrast: Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008; I heard Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano on the radio the other day. I gather she does a fairly regular appearance on the local NPR affiliate, taking unscripted questions from callers. She was articulate, thoughtful, savvy, on message without being annoyingly so.
Taking the long view: Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; Nevada could use its own Grady Gammage Jr.
Playing through Peoria: Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; More people live in Peoria, Arizona, than in Peoria, Illinois.
Take a foreclosure thrill ride on the Web: Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; A few places had real estate markets as crazy as Vegas the past few years, and Arizona was one of them.
More insights on immigration: Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; A few more interesting insights from David Plane, professor of geography at University of Arizona.
Democrats and demographics: Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; Our trip is really showing the prescience of Thomas Schaller's book, "Whistling Past Dixie."
This bowler favors taxes and McCain: Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008; PHOENIX -- We went to a bowling alley to meet some transplated midwesterners. Arizona is filled with them, and unlike years past, when they were mostly snowbirds, a younger crop of people is moving here.
Sheriff Joe's busy broom: Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008; We waited for a phone call Wednesday from Sheriff Joe Arpaio's press people. It never came.
A city in need of retrofit: Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008; Fans of urban planning, let me warn you: Phoenix is not for you.