Barry Yeoman

Until his plane touched down in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, John Verdejo had never in his life reset his watch. The 29-year-old’s personal history was contained entirely within the Eastern time zone: the South Bronx, where he spent his childhood in an apartment without reliable heating; Greensboro, where his mother tried to give […]

Growing up in Mount Airy, N.C., 26-year-old Jeremy Miller was a preacher’s son for whom “standing up for what is right” meant voting for Republican candidates. He supported President Bush and shared his parents’ belief, he says, that “America is based on Christianity and the war is just.” At 22, Miller started working at a […]

With Hurricane Gustav poised to hit the Gulf Coast today, Sen. John McCain has announced that this week’s Republican National Convention would be a scaled-back affair without the usual troop-rousing speeches or over-the-top parties. “This is not a time for politics or celebration,” said McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, yesterday. “It is a time for […]

Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. By chilling coincidence, Hurricane Gustav is now barreling toward the Gulf Coast, and New Orleans is preparing for another direct hit. It seems fitting that this storm is brewing during the week of the Democratic National Convention: There is no better fodder for critics of President […]

I was walking to the Pepsi Center in Denver this week, talking with a former public official from Illinois. The conversation turned to Sen. Joe Biden. “I have a personal question,” she said to me. “You don’t have to answer it. Do you think the fact that Biden began life stuttering causes him to compensate […]

During this week of the Democratic National Convention, it’s hard to walk more than a few blocks in downtown Denver without encountering clusters of abortion opponents carrying billboard-sized photos of fetal remains. They often make a lot of noise but the demonstrators outside the University Club on Monday afternoon were particularly aggressive. They had timed […]

The first words I heard when I walked into the theater at the Colorado Convention Center came from the University of Denver’s Spirituals Project Choir. Two thousand people had gathered for the first official event of the Democratic National Convention and were greeted with an uptempo promise of Christian salvation: “I’m gonna shout ’til the […]