Katherine from Colorado, by all appearances, is a stereotypical soccer mom (note the alphabet magnets on the refrigerator behind her). She may be one of the state's independent female voters, a bloc that's often credited with nudging Michael Bennet past Ken Buck in his 2010 midterm-election bid for U.S. Senate. Katherine is among a notably "diverse" group of Americans from across the country who provide testimonials for Barack Obama's first commercial in his 2012 presidential re-election run (watch it below), which officially launched yesterday, 20 months before voters will head to the polls (Salon [2]).

In another appeal to the female vote, Obama and his wife, Michelle, recently invited Colorado media outlets to attend a press conference on bullying, "a topic that polls indicate to be of great interest to women" (New York Times [3]).

One Colorado gal who almost certainly won't be voting for Obama is Katie McBreen, who's joined the staff of Minnesota governor and possible GOP presidential contender Tim Pawlenty (The Spot [4]).

Meanwhile, the University of Denver is competing with 11 other colleges nationwide to host one of the 2012 presidential or vice presidential debates (The Spot [5]).