John McCain

Colorado pro-life activist and Republican National Convention delegate Kristy Burton said Friday that she was "really glad" John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday.

"She's a young conservative, she's pro-life, and like John McCain she stands up to the party and does what she believes in when she thinks the party is going in the wrong direction," Burton said. "She's just really strong."

Burton said the fact that Palin gave birth to a child with Down Syndrome in April shows she "walks the walk" when it comes to her pro-life stance.

Burton is the leading advocate of the Personhood Amendment in Colorado, a ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to define a fertilized human egg as a person.

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak said Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate won't really mean much to the presidential race in Colorado. 

"Really, I don't think it's going to earn him any points," Waak told PolitickerCO.com Friday morning. "You know, we've got a better ticket -- and that's the most important point."

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

John McCain will air a TV ad congratulating Barack Obama statewide in Colorado and other battleground states on Thursday, as Obama delivers his Democratic presidential nomination acceptance speech at Invesco Field.

The ad will air statewide on broadcast and cable, said McCain spokesperson Tom Kise.

While some Democrats had been turning to sites like eBay and Craigslist hoping to scoop up scalped tickets to see U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) speech tonight at INVESCO Field in front of an estimated crowd of over 75,000 people, Republicans are still giving away tickets for U.S. Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) Ohio rally tomorrow, where he had been expected to announce his vice presidential running mate.

The McCain campaign is working to build a crowd of 10,000 for the event in Dayton.

A TIME/CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released today suggests that independent candidates could swing the election in Colorado.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

DENVER – Here in Denver, it was Colorado politicians that controlled the podium at the VETPAC forum for military veteran congressional candidates. The reception, which was hosted by a slate of elected veterans and their supporters in Congress, was keynoted by U.S. Rep. John Salazar (D-Manassa).

Salazar gave a passionate, and at times, emotional address focusing on his commitment to veterans that stemmed from the pride his late father had in serving his country.

The 3rd Congressional District Democrat told of his hardscrabble childhood and how, later in his life when his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, asked to be buried in his military uniform.

“The reason I tell this story is that it is difficult for veterans,” Salazar said, noting that his father in his old age had forgotten many things, including simple day-to-day activities. “But there are two things he never forgot. He never forgot how much he loved this country, and how proud he was of his service to this great country."