For more "coherent" info... http://www.demconvention.com/?gclid=CIfSnNCUs5UCFQoNGgodhky3QA
ChangeThe word "change' has forever been changed for me. In fact, I have consumed so much political propaganda this week that every time I hear that word or see that word, I have an instinctual eyeroll and feel a slight wave of nausea coming on. The term is so overused that it has lost all meaning for me. I am immune to "change." I am happy to report that in Obama's speech, he only used "the word" 6 times (I counted).
Maybe I'm just worn out and bitter... The following is a passage from an article in The Wall Street Journal (not linkable) that I thought was quite amusing:
"Credential shortages plagued the Democratic Convention this year. Normally, the party learns its nominee earlier in the year and doles out the best hotel rooms and event passes to the biggest party donors. But this year, the primary fight between Sens. Obama and Clinton wasn't resolved until June. According to party finance officials, shortly after it became clear that the Super Tuesday primary in February wouldn't resolve the race, the two candidates were offered a deal. The loser would get roughly 450 event credentials and about 200 prime hotel rooms. In normal years, the runner-up largely gets stiffed on perks. As a result, some Clinton supporters got a passel of convention perks this year, even if they didn't donate to the party. That left the party with fewer perks to distribute to those who arrived late, such as backers of vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden. Amarilis Osorio and her husband, Claudio, a Miami Beach, Fla., entrepreneur, decided at the last minute to attend the convention. The couple held a fund-raiser at their house earlier this month with Sen. Obama's wife, Michelle, and raised $400,000. "We had to fly commercial -- a private jet was too expensive," said Ms. Osorio. "And our hotel room is dreadful." Mr. Korge handed over two hall passes and two others known as Lexus passes, which gave the bearer access to a high-end restaurant within the convention arena. For hoi polloi, arena food consists largely of hot dogs and pizza. "I'll see what I can do about the hotel room," Mr. Korge said. He later found the couple a room at the luxury Brown Palace Hotel.
"We're trying to help out people we think are going to belly up for Obama in the next couple of weeks," Mr. Korge said. "We need to treat them good." Messrs. Korge and Heckler worked with Benjamin Pollara, who managed Sen. Clinton's money operation in Florida, and Jared Moskowitz, a Florida delegate and vice mayor of Parkland, a town outside of Miami. Every day, the men contributed all the credentials they rustled up into a common pot before drawing up a distribution list. One recent morning, Mr. Heckler's preliminary list looked daunting: The group had about six free credentials against a list of 18 donors who needed help.
The team spread out into the Brown Palace lobby, which was mobbed by politicos, many involved in similar pursuits. Mr. Moskowitz's phone chirped with a call from a donor. "Hey, if I get you three hall passes and two Lexus passes, can I get a floor pass?" Mr. Heckler shook his head. "Bad deal," he said. Throughout the day, the men worked toward their goal, scoring passes in twos and threes. The next morning came a jubilant email from Mr. Pollara. From a day that started with just six credentials, "we got 47 people into the convention yesterday -- our key donors, elected officials and political contacts."
By Christopher Cooper at christopher.cooper@wsj.com
"Credential shortages plagued the Democratic Convention this year. Normally, the party learns its nominee earlier in the year and doles out the best hotel rooms and event passes to the biggest party donors. But this year, the primary fight between Sens. Obama and Clinton wasn't resolved until June. According to party finance officials, shortly after it became clear that the Super Tuesday primary in February wouldn't resolve the race, the two candidates were offered a deal. The loser would get roughly 450 event credentials and about 200 prime hotel rooms. In normal years, the runner-up largely gets stiffed on perks. As a result, some Clinton supporters got a passel of convention perks this year, even if they didn't donate to the party. That left the party with fewer perks to distribute to those who arrived late, such as backers of vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden. Amarilis Osorio and her husband, Claudio, a Miami Beach, Fla., entrepreneur, decided at the last minute to attend the convention. The couple held a fund-raiser at their house earlier this month with Sen. Obama's wife, Michelle, and raised $400,000. "We had to fly commercial -- a private jet was too expensive," said Ms. Osorio. "And our hotel room is dreadful." Mr. Korge handed over two hall passes and two others known as Lexus passes, which gave the bearer access to a high-end restaurant within the convention arena. For hoi polloi, arena food consists largely of hot dogs and pizza. "I'll see what I can do about the hotel room," Mr. Korge said. He later found the couple a room at the luxury Brown Palace Hotel.
"We're trying to help out people we think are going to belly up for Obama in the next couple of weeks," Mr. Korge said. "We need to treat them good." Messrs. Korge and Heckler worked with Benjamin Pollara, who managed Sen. Clinton's money operation in Florida, and Jared Moskowitz, a Florida delegate and vice mayor of Parkland, a town outside of Miami. Every day, the men contributed all the credentials they rustled up into a common pot before drawing up a distribution list. One recent morning, Mr. Heckler's preliminary list looked daunting: The group had about six free credentials against a list of 18 donors who needed help.
The team spread out into the Brown Palace lobby, which was mobbed by politicos, many involved in similar pursuits. Mr. Moskowitz's phone chirped with a call from a donor. "Hey, if I get you three hall passes and two Lexus passes, can I get a floor pass?" Mr. Heckler shook his head. "Bad deal," he said. Throughout the day, the men worked toward their goal, scoring passes in twos and threes. The next morning came a jubilant email from Mr. Pollara. From a day that started with just six credentials, "we got 47 people into the convention yesterday -- our key donors, elected officials and political contacts."
By Christopher Cooper at christopher.cooper@wsj.com
There were a ton of celebrities: John Legend, Kanye West, George Lucas, Tyra Banks... plus the stars who performed, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder...
(certainly they didn't have any trouble with getting floor passes)
Delegates, Super Delegates, Super Duper Delegates, and Why On Earth Do We Need Them? Interview with Miami University’s very own Dr. Donald Daiker, Professor Emeritus Department of English who is a delegate for Obama from OHIODon told me that being a delegate meant a great deal to him and that this was the first democratic convention he's attended. He has been to all the sessions and has had the opportunity to see his heroes (people like Nancy Pelosi) in person.
He believes this convention has driven home a central issue-- that this country is going to move in a new direction and embrace change. McCain, who is more of the same, voted with Bush 90% of the time.
There were a number of emotional moments for Don, one of them was Hillary Clinton's speech on Tuesday night. He had flirted with the idea of supporting Hillary before he chose Barack as his candidate but said he had never admired her more. Her speech was intelligent and compassionate. Don felt her commitment to democratic values and to working class families was clear and strong.
I asked Don why we needed Super Delegates. You may have noticed that I think super delegates are a bit silly and confusing but Don made some good points. He thinks Super Delegates are a good idea. Perhaps there are more then are truly needed but they make it possible for more important/experienced political figures in the party to be represented and to play a role at the convention. The Super Delegates bring knowledge and experience that Don admits that he and others may lack. These delegates also offer a balance and their inclusion is more likely to motivate them to work hard.
Don believes that his experiences in Oxford, Columbus and now Denver, reveal that Miami University students will see a level of activity on the ticket that they've never seen before. He believes that the campaign will be more organized and the Miami's Campus should be prepared for a kind of intensity it's never seen before. The Obama campaign is run from the bottom up and those at "the bottom" will be campaigning hard. There is a lot of room for participation from young people and we welcome them!
Obama's Speech... I encourage you to read it for yourselves. It's not posted yet (Hillary's speech is) but when they post it, you'll be able to find it at http://www.barackobama.com/
Like him or hate him, he's a great public speaker. The stadium was filled with CHANGE signs (my favorite) and instead of the traditional balloon drop, red, white and blue confetti was blasted onto the field. And of course, there were fireworks. Obama claims to be a candidate that rises above the divides of political parties, but I find it extremely difficult to talk about him or his speech without being partisan. After watching Obama's speech, the reactions from people I know were across the board. Some thought it was inspirational, presidential, and even brilliant. Others felt that it was unfocused and only said more of the same. (Democrats this week have made it clear that being "the same" is very bad!) Some felt this was a lost opportunity to get specific, to talk about something new and do it in a fresh way. However, since I work in communications, I know that nothing is more effective than repeating your message over, and over, and over….
So... I'm sorry for the short post... but the plane is taking off!!
No comments:
Post a Comment