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GOP Sets Up Denver War Room to Counter Democrats

The Republican Party unveiled a “24 hour Rapid Response Center” in Denver on Sunday that will counter the speakers and messages coming out of the Democratic National Convention. Their first response: Barack Obama is not ready to be president, but is a mile high and an inch deep. The center’s war room, equipped with eight televisions, a blogger and a campaign crew who monitor the news on the Internet, watches all major speeches and television shows as well as the Pepsi Center to coordinate responses within minutes if there are any discrepancies regarding the presumptive nominees, Sens. Obama (D-Ill.) or John McCain (R-Ariz.). “When Joe Biden says something that’s a little bit off the mark, then we’re going to be able to say, ‘wait a minute, Joe, that’s not how you voted’ and we’ll be able to call that,” Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan said, referring to presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.). There are about 2,000 people working for the Republican rapid response center this week in Denver to ensure that their voice is heard and to emphasize what they call a stark difference between Obama and McCain. They are making that difference known through the use of technology. They have a satellite uplink to broadcast to local news stations. The center is also equipped with a press room, where they expect to conduct more than 100 interviews this week. Their new Web site, notready08.com, will have live video screening of all press conferences. According to Duncan, the facility is much better-equipped than it was four years ago in Boston. “A good week would be if we could tell you the other side of the story and set the record straight,” Duncan said. Duncan said they are also looking to capitalize on divisions within the Democratic Party. “There are two conventions going on: the ‘Hillary Clinton should have been president or vice president’ convention and the convention that’s trying to convince everyone that Barack Obama is ready to be commander in chief,” said Duncan, referring to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). “Typically, when parties are split, the other one wins,” he added.

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