Hick's got his hands full

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper spent some of his young adult years on the Wesleyan campus, and later, hanging in the nearby neighborhoods of Middletown.

Hickenlooper rand for mayor as a renegade, fighting the old boy network of Denver city politics, and he has changed the face of Denver, and won the acclaim of the city's residents. Some of his old Middletown pals have visited during campaign season to drum up votes.

In September, Denver hosts an underfunded Democratic National Convention, and Hickenlooper and his city will have his hands full. First there's the issue of thousands of conventioneers with highballs in one hand, campaign signs in the other, and wearing silly hats. Then there's the issue of political protesters, and the first amendment. Hickenlooper is granting protestors a parade route that many claim is far from free access to the convention center.

Maybe some of Hick's friends can get us some first-hand impressions of the challenges he's facing.