[img_assist|nid=2080|title=Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper|desc=|link=none|align=none|width=420|height=295]DENVER - Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper addresses the crowd during day one of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the Pepsi Center August 25, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. The DNC, where U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be officially nominated as the Democratic candidate for U.S. president, starts today and finishes August 28th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Hickenlooper's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.On behalf of the Mile High City and our western neighbors, welcome to Denver! For everyone watching around the country, let this be your invitation to visit us and experience the energy and opportunities of the New West. We gather this week in Denver, a city built during the booms of the Old West, but now part of a Rocky Mountain region defined more by its future than its past. From mining towns and cattle ranches to solar energy farms and technology empires, Denver has continually evolved. In this region that has seen so much change, we gather here to say that we, as a country, need that change.

Change is what happens when we all unite--across party lines and regional boundaries. Here in Denver, at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, our mile-high altitude encourages us to take the long view. We can see that being pro-business and pro-environment go hand-in-hand. We demand collaboration and common-sense solutions.

We believe that people are not defined by their lineage but by how hard they work and the results they deliver. That is why the new ideas and leadership of Barack Obama have electrified this region. New ideas and leadership for America that appeal to our optimism, our entrepreneurial spirit and our rugged individualism.

I came to Denver in 1981 as an exploration geologist seeking oil. A few years later, I found myself, like so many Americans today, laid off from my job, looking for a way to support myself and fulfill the promise of the American dream. Faced with a sluggish economy, I changed direction, opening Colorado's first brew pub. Reshaping my own life helped reshape a part of our city that had been neglected and is now the envy of the country.

Change has served me well. It has served Denver well over its 150-year history. And change is the only thing that can restart our nation's economy and realign our nation's compass. We simply cannot afford to continue down the same paths with the same tired policies and the same tired politics. Senator Obama represents the change we need--the new ideas and leadership to transform America's challenges into opportunities.

We can only imagine the images and accounts that will come from this 2008 convention with Denver's Rocky Mountain backdrop to be forever etched into our nation's collective memory. The independent-minded, pro-business, pro-environment, collaborative spirit of the West represents the future of American politics. That future starts now in Denver, starts here in Denver, and that future starts with Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.