Denver’s own Madeleine Albright will be playing host to 600 dignitaries from 100 countries during the DNC this August. The idea is to showcase the American democratic process in all it’s glory, Styrofoam hats and “I love Barack” commemorative fanny packs included.

Okay, sure, there’s the obvious problem of where you put 600 dignitaries when all the hotel rooms in Denver have been booked up since about last summer. Something tells me the Honorable Vice Chancellor of Wherever won’t feel the Budget Inn in Durango is up to his Vice Chancellor standards, free continental breakfast or not. And let’s be clear: nobody is crashing at my place. I’ve already rented out seventeen cots in my basement for a bazillion dollars per night.

But even if they do end up staying in a motel miles from the city, so what? Democracy, after all, isn’t about presidential suites and chilled Evian. It’s about weirdly dressed and oddly shaped people having an argument in public. While not as sexy as, say, a sultan or prince, that form of government has served us well for over 230 years.