First, yours truly is supposed to be on CNBC today at 2:20 Eastern time debating the following: If Obama wins, unions will get a big boost.  Are unions bad or good for America?  You can come back here, if you see it, and keep the discussion going here (I emphasize "SUPPOSED TO BE" because these media slots can vanish as fast as a worker’s pension). UPDATE: you can see the clip here.

   Since there isn’t much drama in Denver–it’s, in fact, kind of flat–one thing that keeps popping into view is the tremendous corporate influence everywhere you turn. I was at a media reception here and took a pic of a banner that listed the sponsors. Check it out:

{attachment id=114 size=medium} I think you can see, even in a cellphone photo, the list: Pepsi, Citibank, FedEx, Merck, Johnson & Johnson…it goes on. This is not a new point. But, it is quite stark when you see this group as major sponsors of the Democratic Party’s convention. I attended a breakfast for the Ohio delegation yesterday morning. Howard Dean came by to give some brief remarks. He was standing at a podium and behind him were graphics flashing the logos of local Ohio companies, including a major energy company, who were sponsoring the Ohio delegation. Which underscores, it case it wasn’t clear, the obstacles to getting real health care coverage or passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.