Bill Richardson

Check back next week to view my Convention Sketchpads from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

The fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST on Thursday, with a theme of "Change You Can Believe In."

The final day's events will take place at INVESCO Field at Mile High, where over 70,000 people are expected to attend.

Featured speakers will include Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), former Vermont Gov. and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean (D), New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), former Vice President Al Gore (D) and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D).

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the Democratic presidential nominee, is scheduled to address the convention at 10 p.m. EST.

The full schedule is below.

The third day of the Democratic National Convention will be called to order at 5:00 PM EST on Wednesday, with a theme of "Securing America's Future."

The day will begin with the nominating process for President, including nominating speeches for U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), followed by a roll call vote.

The headline speaker will be vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).

Featured speakers will include President Bill Clinton (D), U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

The full schedule is below.

This is obvious, but still noteworthy: the last time the Democratic presidential candidates were in Nevada for a nationally televised debate was in November -- a virtual circus that included seven presidential candidates. Now, as the Democrats return to Las Vegas on Tuesday for their final debate before the January 19 caucus, just three candidates will participate: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama.

The Associated Press has reported that former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has ended his presidential campaign.  An announcement from Gov. Richardson is expected tomorrow.

Read the full article here.

John Edwards’ second place finish in Iowa last night makes a Culinary endorsement in Nevada far less likely – if not impossible. Some Democratic insiders have suggested that Edwards’ only real chance to beat Hillary Clinton here was to secure the backing of Culinary.

The Review-Journal’s Molly Ball digs into the Obama state-of-the-campaign presentation and finds that it contains at least several inaccuracies.

With regard to the claim that Obama was the first candidate to run Spanish language ads in the state:  read more »

The Las Vegas Review Journal, founded in 1909, has a daily circulation over 170,000Every four years, presidential candidates of both parties eagerly seek the endorsements of the Manchester Union Leader and the Des Moines Register as the two largest publications in crucial early-voting states.  These endorsements, which provide little in the way of actual votes but are invaluable for the positive press coverage, can drastically alter the makeup of a race, bringing lower-tier candidates to the fore and reminding voters that poll numbers don’t decide elections.  With Nevada suddenly thrust into the spotlight and seeking to emulate the Iowa caucuses, the question then is: Will the Las Vegas Review-Journal follow the lead of these other early-state newspapers?

“That is something that is still under discussion at this point,” said John Kerr, editorial page editor of the R-J, Wednesday.  “In the past, in many races we have not endorsed in the primaries, whether it’s presidential races or local.”

Nevada Assemblyman Moises "Mo" Denis (D-Clark) endorsed N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson for president todayNew Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson today announced the endorsement of Nevada Assemblyman Moises “Mo” Dennis (D-Clark) for his presidential campaign.  It was the second Nevada legislators’ endorsement Richardson had received since Saturday, when he announced the endorsement of state Sen. Maggie Carlton (D-Clark) at a community mock caucus event targeting Hispanics.

“I’m very proud to receive this endorsement,” said Richardson.  “It means that I have momentum, particularly in the Hispanic community.  Mo Denis is a very effective assemblyman who’s done great things in the legislature.”