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24 FEB 04: HERE'S JOHN E.
Presidential candidate John Edwards made a campaign stop at the Trade Center Monday night. He obviously did this to make sure you know he disagrees with President Bush's trade policy.
(Hopefully John Edwards paid a visit to Dr. William Howell while he was in town - and thanked him for not calling a Rainbow/PUSH boycott of Columbus city buildings yet.)
Senator John Edwards says he's the right man for President because he came from "humble beginnings," as the son of a mill worker in the Carolinas. He went from a mill family to law practice to the U.S. Senate - so it sounds some of those laid-off Pillowtex employees don't have any excuses.
John Edwards told WRBL he opposes any more closings of military bases, and wants U.S. forces brought home from Iraq. Well, it WOULD be embarrassing for soldiers to come home and find their families were transferred 2,000 miles farther
away.
As for his economic policy, John Edwards says he wants to provide tax breaks to companies which bring jobs to the U.S. Compare that with President Bush - who wants to bring the immigrant workers in first, before the jobs are ready.
The Edwards presidential campaign doesn't seem that well organized in Columbus. For one thing, the live reporters at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Monday didn't have any supporters waving signs and cheering behind them.
Supporters of the John Edwards campaign expected a "standing room only" crowd at the Trade Center, of more than 2,000 people. Aw, c'mon! Columbus barely can get that many people out to see a hockey game, and that's a lot more
interesting.
(By the way, that leads me to ask a question about campaign trips like this - is the local fire marshal a Republican or a Democrat?)
Monday happened to be the first time John Edwards was escorted by Secret Service agents. So am I glad it rained Monday afternoon! Agents probably would have stopped joggers like me on the Riverwalk, and take a two-block detour around the Trade Center.
John Edwards visited voters in Albany, before travelling up Highway 520 to Columbus. But he did NOT stop to see Jimmy Carter in Plains, explaining he's trying to reach out to rank-and-file voters. The way the Democratic race has gone, Mr. Carter probably wouldn't have endorsed him, either.
Before John Edwards reached Columbus, he appeared in a campaign commercial on local TV. He described a land of "two Americas," including "two governments." I thought Al Gore told Democrats to stop thinking that way in December 2000.
(The commercial also claims the U.S. has two education systems. No wonder the Muscogee County School Board's workshop on redistricting Monday night caused such a fuss - they might actually merge.)
With Georgia's Presidential primary one week away, two of the remaining four Democratic candidates now have visited Columbus. Will John Kerry come to our city seeking votes? And if Dennis Kucinich comes to town, can I go on a double-date with him?
LAUGHLINE FLASHBACK: We don't recall any Presidential candidates visiting Columbus in 2000 - but the wife of the Democratic nominee did. Here's how we reported on that visit, in the LaughLine of 31 Aug 00:
The road to the White House passed through our town Wednesday, as Tipper Gore spoke to a rally at the local university. We arrived 20 minutes early, and found all the chairs in a banquet room already full. Our first question came to mind immediately - how much did these people donate?
Refreshments were available in back corners of the room - cans of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Dr. Pepper. If the Democrats REALLY want our Southern town's vote, they didn't impress us with this. Where are the Moon Pies and RC Colas?
(Also, we found NO trash can around the refreshment table. You'd think an environmental candidate would at least have recycling bins nearby....)
As we waited, a woman came by asking where the "Gore-2000" stickers were. A man was handing them out minutes before - but "he didn't come down MY side!" You'd think a Democrat would - especially since the woman was sitting to the LEFT of the stage.
The Tipper Gore speech was scheduled for 5:00 p.m. At 5:05, workers brought a lectern on stage. And you wonder why the Democrats haven't done much this summer to get airline flights off the ground on time.
The news media area was open in the back, and a ten-year-old girl climbed the stairs of the camera platform as the wooden lectern was put in place. The girl, who uses the name "Nebula Girl" for an Internet address, explained to her Mom they're
"getting the speaker ready." She apparently didn't realize Tipper Gore was speaking - NOT her husband.
If anyone asked what "Nebula Girl" was doing among the media, the girl and Mom had an explanation ready. She's with "CKN Morning Announcements." In other words, she's on the P.A. system at Clubview School. But the girl didn't know what "CKN" meant. Apparently it ISN'T an abbreviation for chicken.
We asked "Nebula Girl" to explain one of many "pro-Gore" signs hung around the hall. It said, "TIPPER BEATS THE DRUMS" - but nothing more! The ten-year-old guessed: "If she's playing the drums, she's beating, right? She's real high, she's real loud...." Republicans hearing this might have thought she was describing Hillary Rodham Clinton.
At 5:28, a mystery announcer we never saw introduced Tipper Gore and two local officials - one of them State Representative Calvin Smyre. Trouble was, the announcer incorrectly said his name was "SMEAR!" You never know where smear tactics will pop up in a campaign.
As the threesome walked on stage, a woman from the back came forward and used our shoulder as a brace to take a snapshot from the platform steps. She then told us: "I got their two heads!" We're not sure what she meant by this - but we
wondered if Medicare has an eyeglass benefit.
The Mayor of our town [Bobby Peters] took a moment to introduce various officials in the audience. An assistant to the U.S. Senator got nice applause - but for some reason, the County Tax Commissioner didn't get as much. And this is a
DEMOCRATIC crowd?!
The Mayor admitted he was nervous, in the presence of potential first lady Tipper Gore. He said, "I'd like to represent - uh, introduce...." We're marking down that quote for the 2002 House race.
Representative Smyre was the loudest speaker of the three, and had to remind the crowd it was a pep rally. He introduced Tipper Gore as someone who "pulls others up by their bootstraps." Uh oh - if the Democrats win, here comes another
government entitlement: guaranteed boots.
At 5:37, Tipper Gore finally spoke. She recalled her days with the "Senate Spouses Club," when she was asked to say a prayer for a luncheon with Nancy Reagan. She noticed how quiet everyone was when she finished and returned to her seat - then realized why it was that way. "I forgot to say Amen!"
(There go those Democrats again - bringing up religion in the campaign....)
Mrs. Gore said the goal of the Democrats is to "widen the circle" of prosperity. Of course, for many people this has happened already. The circles that used to be our waistlines are now wide ovals.
Tipper Gore promised, "Education is the number-one priority...." Good thing. One of those signs on the wall of the banquet room said, "Welcome to GORE-gia!" With that state 49th on SAT scores, we're not sure if that spelling was
intentional or not.
The Gore campaign's "topic of the week" is health care, and we were ready to write down all the detailed specifics of the Democratic plan. But Mrs. Gore barely mentioned the topic at all - and sounded tired, as she quietly discussed important
campaign issues. Maybe the health care plan should include guaranteed sleep time for everyone.
The crowd applauded when Tipper Gore used the phrase "freedom of choice" for women. She explained it means "having a say over your own personal destiny...." That's strange - if politics really worked that way, her husband would be running unopposed.
The Tipper Gore speech ended at 5:48. Some people waited an hour or more - to hear her talk for 11 minutes! We expect some of those folks will start camping out TODAY for this Saturday's college football game.
As the crowd departed, we stopped at the soda table - and met a Catholic priest [Tom Wiese] from a neighboring town. He described himself as a political "schizophrenic," since his father was a Republican and his mother was a Democrat. We imagine his congregation has well-worn Bibles - since they probably go back and forth between the Old and New Testaments every week.
The priest admitted he's NOT pleased with the emphasis on third-trimester abortions - but he doubted Republican George W. Bush would make things better. "They haven't done a d**n thing about it for 30 years," the man in priestly garb said. We were stunned by his language - since we hadn't heard a minister say "trimester" in SO long.
As we walked out, we saw one more surprise - a young black woman with a Gore sticker, and a Lillian BUSH name tag! We asked why she wouldn't support a Bush for President. Her answer: "I did that once, and it didn't do me any good!"
COMING WEDNESDAY: "Passion," pro and con....
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