Classmates took different paths

DENVER -- What are the odds: two college classmates in a political science class 25 years ago, both ending up on presidential tickets in the same year?

"A million to one would be on the low end," said Wayne Allyn Root, a Las Vegas sports handicapper who happens to be one of the two classmates.

The other: Barack Obama.

Both are in Denver today.

When Obama accepts the Democratic presidential nomination, he will be in front of about 75,000 people at Invesco Field, with a global broadcast audience.

Root, the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian Party ticket led by Bob Barr, will be at Grant-Humphries Mansion, next to the governor's mansion, speaking by way of a live Internet feed.

It's the first time in history that two college classmates are on opposing presidential tickets.

Root never met Obama and said he's not alone.

"Here's how out of the blue and out of nowhere Barack's success is," he said.

Five years ago, the Columbia University Class of '83 celebrated its 20th class reunion. The featured speaker was ... Root. Obama "was an obscure state legislator from Illinois," said Root.

Obama went from Columbia to the Law Review at Harvard, "so I guess he came of age" there, Root said. "He's certainly making a good impression now."

And, Root added, "he's got a better chance of winning than I do."

CELL HELL

If you've been getting a lot of static on your cell phone and PDA, get used to it.

It could get worse tonight when Obama accepts the Democratic presidential nomination.

"At the last inaugural (George W. Bush's in January 2005) all devices were jammed on the Capitol grounds," Ted Kratovil, a Washington, D.C., operative, said Wednesday.

"They were jammed for a good two to three hours, knocking out all cells and BlackBerrys. And Washington without BlackBerrys is a world crisis," Kratovil said.

QUIRKY QUESTIONS

Staffers at the information center for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau have heard it all.

We asked old friend Rich Grant, the bureau's longtime spokesman, to share some of the weirdest questions that visitors have asked. He canvassed his people on Wednesday and came back with this list:

"What is the ultraviolet index?"

"What is Colorado's state food?"

"Where is the glass elevator that goes underground?"

"How long does it take to put on sunscreen?"

Grant's favorite?

"What season is it right now?"

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens is providing convention commentary for KUSA-TV, Channel 9. His son, Mark, is a member of UNLV's soccer team. "A rare athlete with a 3.6 grade point average," said the proud father. His daughter, Monica, 25, has been working as Vice President Dick Cheney's scheduler.

SIGHTINGS

At U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's luncheon Wednesday at Tamayo in Larimer Square: Chevy Chase, longtime Clintonite Paul Begala, Playboy Enterprises CEO Christy Hefner, Hollywood producer Steve Bing, Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Jenna Morton of N9NE Group. In Reid's suite Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center: Jamie Foxx, director Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw. ... Novelist John Grisham, at the convention all week with his wife, Renee, a superdelegate from Virginia. Grisham, who was in the Mississippi House from 1983 to 1990, has sold about 250 million of his legal drama thrillers. They are Hillary Clinton backers. ... Jennifer Lopez, Ashley Judd and Fran Drescher at the Denver Art Museum on Wednesday for a charity event. ... Double take: MSNBC talk-show host and maverick Republican Joe Scarborough, being pulled down the sidewalk near the Fox News headquarters by a barefooted handler. ... Mo Rocca of NBC's "The Tonight Show," testing the oxygen bar Wednesday at the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau's tent near the Pepsi Center. More than 20 media outlets, including camera crews from Russia and the Czech Republic, have stopped by to film segments about the Mile High altitude. "One of them said, 'The U.S. is so hospitable they even give you free oxygen,' " Grant said.