Ten Years Ago this week in The Colorado Statesman … An estimated 1,300 people crowded a plaza in Aurora to cheer Illinois Sen. Barack Obama at a rally for Democratic congressional candidate Ed Perlmutter, who was running against Republican Rick O’Donnell for the seat being vacated by GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez. “Today, you’re going to hear from a man who could clearly be the next president of the United States,” said Denver City Council President Michael Hancock, the rally’s emcee, as Democrats Perlmutter, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall and gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter nodded. “The American people, at their core, are a decent people,” Obama said. “When you sit down and you talk to them, it turns out that there are certain common ideals and common values that people believe in.” There was a big gap between the left and right, Obama acknowledged, adding, “What fills that gap is hope. What fills that gap is the belief in things not seen.” State Republicans weren’t impressed, calling Obama and Perlmutter “ideological brothers” and suggesting Obama’s positions were “to the left of Mao Zedong.” But state Rep. Morgan Carroll disagreed. “Oh, man, this guy is nothing short of inspirational,” she said. “He’s absolutely the booster shot that all of us needed.” …

… U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo refused to defend President George W. Bush and Republican congressional leaders in a debate with his Democratic challenger, Bill Winter. After castigating Bush over the Iraq War – Tancredo accused the administration of “ginning up” the case to invade and said it was time to let Iraqis take control of their own country – Tancredo called it a “distinct possibility” he might run for president in 2008. Pointing to a plan hatched by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Tancredo also made a case for government-mandated health insurance, just as drivers must have car insurance and homebuyers had to have mortgage insurance. He added that Romney was his favorite among the potential GOP presidential wannabes. …

… Alan Philp, executive director of Trailhead Group, a Republican organization formed with the help of Gov. Bill Owens, was under investigation for violating a state law that prohibits using “recklessly or willfully false information” in campaign advertisements. The ad in question was aimed at Democrat John Morse, who was challenging state Sen. Ed Jones, R-Colorado Springs, in the heated battle for control of the state Senate, which Republicans held by a one-seat margin. Trailhead claimed that Morse let a suspect plead guilty to a misdemeanor after shooting at a police officer when he was police chief in Fountain. In fact, the perpetrator pleaded guilty to a felony and received the maximum three-year sentence, though some charges were dropped after the officer said she wasn’t sure the man fired his weapon at her. Philp admitted he made a mistake. “Due at least in part to botched police reports, 14 felony charges … were dropped against the perpetrator,” Philp said. But he swung back that Democrats should be held accountable for spreading lies. “Meanwhile,” Philp charged, “Democrat 527s Main Street Colorado and Clear Peak Colorado have attacked Republican legislative candidates repeatedly with a wanton disregard for the truth. To our knowledge, no legal action has yet ensued against these entities for their outlandish rhetoric.” Philp said Trailhead was confident prosecutors would “conclude that no criminal law has been violated.” Bruce Benson, a founder and major donor to Trailhead, called the error an honest mistake and praised Philp, adding that Democrats were outspending Trailhead. “They’re running more negative attack ads than we are.” …

… Colorado was living up to its reputation for making strange political bedfellows, Statesman editor Jody Hope Strogoff noted in her weekly column. U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat, and the opponent he defeated in 2004, Republican Pete Coors, both showed up at Democrats Norm Brownstein and Steve Farber’s Brown Palace fundraiser for Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who “beamed in” electronically to address supporters for his independent bid to keep his seat after losing to a Democratic challenger in a primary. Other Republicans at the $70,000 fundraiser included Dick Robinson and Charlie Gallagher. Farber, the high-powered attorney who had been heading up the “Democrats for Beauprez” contingent – in support of gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez – was spotted later that day at The Palm, where Republican bigwig Bruce Benson confronted Farber over reports he had contributed $1,000 to Democrat Bill Ritter’s gubernatorial campaign. Benson said Farber told him the donation had to do with keeping Democrats happy so the party would pick Denver as host city for the 2008 national convention, but a Democrat whispered that Farber had ditched Beauprez and was on board with Ritter. Meanwhile, Democrat Ken Toltz admitted he’d been singing the praises of GOP State Treasurer Mike Coffman at a recent debate. “I told (Coffman) that he should have been the Republican candidate for governor,” Toltz related. “I think the Republicans made a big mistake.” …

… God appeared to be taking sides in the battle over a proposed constitutional amendment to raise Colorado’s minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85, though His preference wasn’t exactly clear-cut. “We in the U.S. pay a lot of lip service to pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and contributing,” said Rev. Kevin Maly of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Denver. “But with the minimum wage so low, that’s hard to do.” Critics weren’t happy Amendment 42 would hard-wire a minimum wage into the state constitution. An ad from opponents Respect Colorado’s Constitution featured Moses, holding a pair of stone tablets, talking with God. “When inflation and recession come, it will be a catastrophe,” the booming voice of God says in the ad. “It’s a plague we face very year!” Moses exclaims, slamming a tablet to the ground. “Go, spread the word. Tell the people to vote no on 42,” God responds. But a group of ministers said the ad got its Bible wrong. “God sent Moses to set people free and lead them to freedom and a better place,” said Rev. James Ryan, council executive of the Colorado Council of Churches. “Now they’re using the image to keep people oppressed.”