Smackdown #1: Almost live from the debate

The KBDI studio. Ninety minutes ago. Inside, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill Ritter taped a debate with his Republican opponent, Both Ways Bob Beauprez. Outside, a large crowd of Ritter activists squared off with a small cadre of Beauprez supporters.

When I first walked up to the intersection of 29th and Welton, I'd thought the Ritter crowd was only slightly larger. But I quickly realized that a large Beauprez banner and a young guy with a megaphone had given me a false impression. I did a quick headcount. Sixty-one for Bill. Fifteen for Bob. That's a four-to-one shellacking.

Let's hope the numbers on election day are similar.

Even with their megaphone, the Beauprez supporters didn't seem very excited. They attempted a chant of "Hip, hip, Beauprez," which swiftly petered out. Perhaps they remembered that "Hip, hip Beauprez" was once used by a Marc Holtzman supporter as an ironic joke. Their next attempt was, "A vote for Ritter will leave you bitter."

"That rhymes, Marge! And you know it rhymes!"

Neither chant was audible for long. There were too many Ritter supporters yelling, "Who do we want? Bill Ritter!"

Alan from Progress Now Action was there handing out Both Ways Bob flip-flops, which are super trendy right now. (I saw Paris Hilton wearing a pair the other day.) I got Alan's attention and said, "I know I'm biased, but the other side does seem a bit unenthused, right?"

Alan shrugged. "They know they're going to lose. They're just going through the motions at this point."

That's as good an explanation as any.