A really good show — except for the no-show

I often tell my students at Metro State that 90 percent of success is showing up. And if that’s true, then the candidates forum at the Lake House on Tuesday night was a 100 percent success.

The standing-room-only crowd heard 11 candidates respond to a variety of questions on topics ranging from foreign policy to local job creation. The exchanges were lively and informative, and the attendees were attentive and well-behaved.

But there was one high-profile no-show: John Hickenlooper’s gubernatorial campaign, after agreeing to send lieutenant governor candidate Joe Garcia as a representative, bowed out of the event just the day before, and for stunningly lame reasons. The Hickenlooper folks said the event too closely resembled a debate (it wasn’t), and that it was “not a productive format for our campaign or Joe's participation.”

Not productive for whom? I guess I’ve been laboring under the misapprehension that, in a democracy, election campaigns should first and foremost inform the voters about the candidates.

It’s obvious that Hickenlooper’s strategy at this point is to let Tom Tancredo and Dan Maes punch each other out while he slips into the governor’s office unscathed. And while that might be a great campaign strategy, it’s a lousy way to treat your future constituents.