What if it rains?

What if during Barack Obama's climactic outdoor acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention it pours on the expected 75,000 in attendance?

What if one of the many major storms that have plagued the nation this summer sweeps across Denver as Obama is speaking on national television?

Joseph Kaplan of Mansfield is going to the convention and plans on being at Invesco Field when Obama addresses the nation. He said he does not know what would be done if the weather turned nasty.

"The bleachers are probably under a roof, but could they put a cover over the field?" he wondered. The stadium is home to the Denver Broncos football team and it does not have a roof, so rain would drench the crowd and dampen the visual boost Obama's campaign is hoping to get from the speech.

In fact, one Christian group was asking followers to pray for rain to ruin the show, but then withdrew the appeal.

Kaplan said he and other Democrats are looking forward to the big event.

Republicans have accused Obama of being egotistical for wanting such a grand staging for his speech, but Kaplan said the setting has the potential to be a dramatic background.

"It's not about ego its about strategy," he said. "He is trying to open it up and get more people involved."

The Obama organization said the larger venue would allow more ordinary folks to attend instead of a relatively small number of party activists.

They also question whether Republican candidate John McCain could draw such a large crowd.

The setting and date are also loaded with symbolism.

The last candidate to give his acceptance speech in an outdoor stadium was John Kennedy at the Los Angles Coliseum in 1960, a young senator who critics said was too inexperienced to lead.

Obama, the first African American nominee for president, will also give the speech on Aug. 28, the same date Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. Political tidbits

Some odds and ends from the political world:

Sara Orozco, who is running against state Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, in the Attleboro area, is enjoying the Olympic volleyball matches more than most.

She attended the University of North Carolina Asheville on a volleyball scholarship.

The federal Title IX legislation, which mandated equal opportunity for girls in school sports, came just in time for her and, she said, it was one of the turning points of her life.

Presidential candidate John McCain has been extremely outspoken in his support of Georgia in the wake of the Russian invasion.

By coincidence, McCain's chief foreign policy adviser is a lobbyist for Georgia.

On his radio show the other day, former Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci accused the Providence Journal of losing its moral bearings.

Cianci is a convicted felon.

It is still the dog days of summer, but Democratic candidates for state representative Kate Jackson and William Bowles have already covered Attleboro with campaign signs.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has donated $2,300 to McCain's presidential campaign.

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. His commentaries appear in this space on Saturdays. He can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.