101 Days

Chuck Plunkett of the Post:

Soon, so soon, they will be here. Thousands of delegates, hundreds of campaign staffers, bunches of bloggers, and all of them potentially divided.

After more than a year and a half on the campaign trail, fueled by an unprecedented total half-billion dollars, worn by 16-hour-plus days on buses and planes to stadiums and churches and greasy spoons in every corner of the United States, teams Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama finally will come to town.

In but 101 days.

And if Democrats don't use that time to figure out how to heal the wounds and bring the teams together for the teary-eyed, hearts-aflutter historic coronation that is supposed to be the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the audience will notice. . . .

"What has to happen is that all of us who are family members remain family members," said Leah Daughtry, the chief executive for the Democratic National Convention Committee.

Family members. And the kids will be outside, throwing a tantrum. Read whole thing if you feel like it. Odd fact I just figured out: Former Denver mayor Wellington Webb is national co-chair of the Clinton campaign; former Denver mayor Federico Peña (just before Webb) is national co-chair of the Obama campaign.

Update: AP notices time growing short as well, and adds some details:

Audio, lighting and scenic designs for the center are complete, and initial designs for the podium and stage have been drawn up. Denver hired a veteran in emergency preparedness to draw up plans for any contingency during the event, including civil unrest like the protests that shook Seattle during a World Trade Organization meeting in 1999.

Natalie Wyeth, spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention Committee, said the real construction work won't begin at the Pepsi Center until July 7, when the committee takes control of the building. But she insists everything is on schedule.

"Once we have a nominee, our production team is ready to put the nominee's stamp on the look and feel of the convention hall," Wyeth said.

Nothing else new. The piece says R!68 has "pledged nonviolent protest." Yeah, sure.