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8

Cleveland State president comments on Clinton – Obama debate


From NBC’s Cleveland affiliate, WKYC:

Dr. Michael Schwartz, Cleveland State University President, said the University was contacted Thursday. They were asked to accomodate the event and are very, very glad.

President Schwartz said: “this is very important for Cleveland. It matters for the University a great deal as well. We will do anything we can to promote this region.”

He also believes this is a great opportunity to bring area school kids as well as Cleveland State Students together for this history-making event. He went on to say, “It is a critical issue for us. CSU is an educational institution. It is a wonderful opportunity.”

I would expect John Edwards’ beseeching of the candidates to pay attention to poverty also had a hand in Cleveland being chosen, given the focus the city has garnered, fair or not, related to its relative status among metropolitan cities with large populations that face serious, chronic issues of poverty.

Lots of interesting questions about the attention that CSU will garner also, in light of higher education plans for collapsing the number of public higher ed institutions.  Oh – so much to think about.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:54 pm February 8th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Cleveland+, Debates, Hillary Clinton, Ohio, Politics, Primary, WH2008 

Comments

18 Responses to “Cleveland State president comments on Clinton – Obama debate”

  1. 1 LilaTov Cocktail on February 8th, 2008 1:45 pm

    Jill, I’ll bet you’re right that the selection of Cleveland and CSU owes something to Edwards’ plea for the working class/working poor.

    No other candidate talked about the working class like Edwards did — it’s always about how much the middle-class is suffering. When the middle class loses health insurance or can’t own homes because of the foreclosure brouhaha, it’s a nightmare of epic proportions. But when the working poor don’t have healthcare or own their own homes, it’s just business as usual.

    I know I’m not offering a great insight here, but I’m sorry Edwards bowed out, and I’m hoping that at some point we’re going to hear what Clinton and Obama think will help the lives of almost-full-time minimum-wage McDonald’s employees.

  2. 2 Jill Miller Zimon on February 8th, 2008 2:04 pm

    From what little I can tell, a lot of Jews seemed to like Edwards – though I couldn’t tell you why. I wasn’t for him either – my choices were Biden, Dodd and Richardson in that order.

    But I’ll support Clinton or Obama.

    I think the debate will actually be excellent.

  3. 3 Eric on February 8th, 2008 3:21 pm

    Jill, been reading alot about Jews not liking Obama. Can you post/comment on that at all? What is behind that? Is it racial? Related to Israel?

  4. 4 Jill Miller Zimon on February 8th, 2008 3:30 pm

    Actually, Eric – I have only been reading efforts by Dem. Jewish orgs to support Clinton and Obama – but my primary source for that info has been NJDC (National Jewish Democratic Council).

    What sources are you reading or hearing that from? Personally, my parents were for Edwards, my older brother is for Obama and my younger brother has helped at Obama fundraising events.

  5. 5 Jill Miller Zimon on February 8th, 2008 3:40 pm

    I guess I should add – saying Jews are not liking Obama is kind of like saying Christians don’t like McCain. It’s just way too broad for a very segmented population. It’s also asserting an implicit assumption that all Jews want the same things, and I know you know better than that.

    So – if you could be more specific, that would be helpful.

    If you want to see what Jewish blogs are saying, I would recommend going to:

    http://www.jblogsphere.com/

    http://www.jrants.com/

    http://www.israelforum.com/blog_home.php

    I follow all of those but not much lately.

    The Moderate Voice has a variety of Jewish folks co-blogging and we are all over the map.

    Again – would you really want me to say that people who practice Zen Buddhism are liking x or not liking x?

    Jews are far from monolithic. Even on Israel – if that’s what you’re getting at.

  6. 6 Eric on February 8th, 2008 4:46 pm

    Of course I wasn’t saying ALL Jews. Maybe I should have said “a lot” like yourself:

    “From what little I can tell, a lot of Jews seemed to like Edward”

    I will try to return to this later. I got a hot date and she’s looking at me like “get off the damned laptop!” ;-)

  7. 7 Jill Miller Zimon on February 8th, 2008 11:13 pm

    Hope you had a good date – and yes, let’s return to this. Certain elements get way more attention than others – it’s a bit like wondering where are all the moderates.

  8. 8 Keith on February 9th, 2008 8:07 am

    So, Jill…how would I go about aquiring tickets for this event? I’d really like to take my family. Can you help me?

  9. 9 Jill Miller Zimon on February 9th, 2008 8:45 am

    As I wrote here, no one knows yet how to acquire tickets or get credentials. The best help I can give you is to tell you to keep watching the CSU website and set up a google alert with key words like cleveland state debate february. Good luck!

  10. 10 DS on February 11th, 2008 9:00 am

    I work at Cleveland State, and I just heard from the office of the president that NBC is going to be in charge of all of the tickets.

    She said to check the website today or tomorrow because they are going to be updating the information once everything gets finalized.

  11. 11 Jill Miller Zimon on February 11th, 2008 9:36 am

    Thanks, DS! I will keep my eye out – I appreciate the comment.

  12. 12 DS on February 12th, 2008 8:15 am

    Still no word about the debate. According to the Plain Dealer, about 2000 tickets are going to be distributed, mainly through the campaigns. It is unlikely anyone from the public is going to be able to get tickets, unless they are some type of government official or campaign staffer.

  13. 13 Jill Miller Zimon on February 12th, 2008 8:42 am

    Thanks DS – a few of us have been brainstorming about that and hope that CSU’s president will help persuade them to make other arrangements – to seed the audience that way seems very artificial.

  14. 14 DS on February 12th, 2008 10:03 am

    From the president’s comments, it seemed like he wanted the community and students involved…but I guess that doesn’t necessarily mean getting tickets to be at the debate.

    With a debate like this, the candidates want to know who is sitting in the audience. It is going to be staged and screened very well. The don’t just want anyone (aka. republicans) sitting in the audience. Not only that, but NBC doesn’t want any protesters finding their way into the debate.

    All I can say is, Good Luck…and I will post anything I hear

  15. 15 Jill Miller Zimon on February 12th, 2008 10:47 am

    Thanks again, DS. As I said before, I think all the controls are ridiculous, but that’s just my opinion.

  16. 16 DS on February 13th, 2008 9:34 am

    Debate Update!!

    Tickets- available only to CSU Students via a Lottery starting next Tuesday, the 19th. No tickets are available to the general public.

    Volunteer- 200 positions available to students/faculty/staff to work behind the scenes. Only the first 200 people to sign up will be accepted. Also starts the 19th.

    Hardball- Will be broadcasting live the day of the debate on campus. Ticket sign up for that also on the 19th.

    I guess this is all contingent upon whether Clinton actually commits to the debate.

  17. 17 Clinton, Obama Cleveland State Univ. Democratic primary debate ticket information | Writes Like She Talks on February 13th, 2008 9:40 am

    [...] From commenter “DS” – thank you!: Tickets- available only to CSU Students via a Lottery starting next Tuesday, the 19th. No tickets are available to the general public. [...]

  18. 18 Jill Miller Zimon on February 13th, 2008 9:45 am

    DS – thank you so much!! Very appreciated. Good luck to everyone trying to get in. Now – press or media credentials!?!

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