Karl Rove v. Howard Dean: PPC at the debate in Boulder Wrapup

by Julian Dunraven | 11:57 am, February 16, 2010 | Comments Off

**Updated by elpresidente.

Last night in Boulder, the University of Colorado hosted a debate between Karl Rove and Howard Dean. The People’s Press Collective attended as credentialed media–and was subject to the same “first 5 minutes only” rule for all the media stipulated by the speakers’ contract.

The mood was fairly temperate given the subject matters debated–health care reform, foreign policy (including nuclear disarmament of North Korea and Iran, and the Iraq War), the current political climate, etc.–and the mere presence of Rove in the bastion of liberal progressivism: the People’s Republic of Boulder. The generally well-behaved crowd (Ward Churchill would be disappointed) felt incredibly more balanced than audiences earlier in the decade who made it impossible to hear speakers like Charlton Heston, Ann Coulter, or Ward Connerly. Catcalls, boos, whistles, and hissing were at a minimum. There were several points of generous applause for both speakers, though Dean earned the loudest support and laughter over the course of the night. He was attacking Dems for not being progressive enough, something sure to earn the backing of the far-left in Boulder.

Boulder’s Daily Camera saw the debate as decidedly more hostile, and though it was clearly partisan in nature, Rove and Dean came off as being comfortable in their apparently playful combativeness (they’ve debated in this format before).

There was really nothing new presented in the debate, and since the event featured none of the usual raucous lefty grandstanding, it appeared that even in Boulder that there may be a considerable amount of political burnout. Neither Rove nor Dean went through the motions, but one had the feeling that the passion level never rose much above a sparring back-and-forth.

Here are a few photos, and check out the live Tweets from the event (the only thing we were permitted to do after the 5 minutes were up):