But the Democratic National Committee has a gender balance rule. So Miller, the vice chairman of the Utah Democratic Party, got bumped in favor of former state Sen. Karen Hale.
Don't feel too bad for Miller just yet. He may not be able to cast his vote in the historic convention, but he will still be there.
The national party named Miller, who writes the blog Utah Amicus, as Utah's representative in the 55-member "State Blogger Corps." Check out his blog at utahamicus.blogspot.com.
Equal opportunity
campaign contributor
Snyderville Basin resident Kristi Cumming is now a Democratic superdelegate, thanks to a donation she made to former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Confused?
Cumming's husband John is friends with Romney, according to a story in the Park Record. So in exchange for a maximum contribution - $2,300 - to Romney, her husband agreed to host a fundraiser at their home for now Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama.
As a thank you for the event that raised $250,000 for Obama, the Utah Democrats gave Cumming their last coveted superdelegate slot.
Vice President Hatch?
No chance
The Hill newspaper asked all 97 senators who are not currently running for president whether they would join the ticket of their respective party as the vice presidential contender. Some were funny, some were not.
Sen. Orrin Hatch: "Not on your life. I would not be asked anyway. I don't know anybody who wouldn't do whatever's best for the country, but in my case, it's just not going to happen."
A valid point. Hatch is 74 years old, and combined with a 71-year-old John McCain, the duo would have a collective 145 years of life experience heading into the White House. But a picture of the two doesn't really showcase the youthful exuberance strategists are probably looking for.
Would Bennett accept the vice president spot?
"Of course," Bennett told The Hill. "Big house, big car, not much to do. Why not?"
Good point. Plus, the 5-foot-7 McCain could really benefit from a 6-foot-6 Bennett. But, again, Bennett is 74 as well. And we're not sure Bennett would fit well into those undisclosed locations.
Switching teams
Kirk Jowers, the head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and an unabashed Mitt Romney backer, is making the transition to helping the presumptive GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain. Jowers has accepted a position as chairman of the Utah Lawyers for McCain. Don't worry, he asked Romney first.
Facebook-less
Rep. Chris Cannon may be the older of the two GOP candidates heading into a primary for the Republican nomination for the 3rd Congressional District Ð Cannon is 57, Jason Chaffetz is 41 Ð but that doesn't mean he isn't hip. Of the two candidates, only Cannon has a profile on social networking site Facebook. Chaffetz assures us he's working on one to put up. Let's hope before the June 24 primary.
---
* THOMAS BURR and MATT CANHAM report for The Tribune from Washington. They can be reached at tburr@sltrib.com or mcanham@sltrib.com. For more politics, visit http://blogs.sltrib.com/utahpolitics.
