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Feb
16
PD: who else but diehards attend Clinton rally, since nobody likes a smarty-pants
Filed Under Campaigning, Cleveland+, Elections, Hillary Clinton, Media, Ohio, Politics, Primary, WH2008, Writing | 11 Comments
Hillary Clinton was in NEOhio last night – Lyndhurst’s Brush High School to be exact. Crowd estimates are between 2500 and 3000 and Jeff Coryell e-mailed and told me that at 4:10pm, they had to shut the doors, with him on the wrong side, because of the packed room.
The Plain Dealer posted this video of the rally at its article, “Clinton rally overflows at Brush High School.”
It’s a nice video, really.
But one thing about the article bothered me. It’s the part that describes the crowd at Brush High School like this, without a single quote from a single attendee or any other individual, besides the reporters, being the ones who describe the event for the reader:
Clinton’s Lyndhurst rally drew diehard supporters along with a crowd star-struck at the chance to be near a celebrity and to be a part of the election process. So many people flocked to the school that traffic backed up on Mayfield Road, parking lots were gridlocked and people parked on side streets.
Lines grew so long two hours before the rally that they had to be shifted, frustrating those who lost their choice spots. After packing the gym, the crowd spilled over into the school’s performing-arts center and cafeteria, where they watched on closed-circuit television.
So, the crowd was composed of two types of people: “diehard supporters” and “a crowd star-struck at the chance to be near a celebrity and to be part of the election process”?
Sigh.
I guess that “be part of the election process” is a catch-all for anyone who might be there to get a peek at who Clinton is, listen to what she has to say or figure out which of the two Democratic nominees should get the nod?
But the implication seems to be that if we’re talking Hillary Clinton, we know you aren’t there because you like her because remember – nobody likes a smarty-pants and she won’t be offering you beer. Why else would you go to a high school auditorium on a Friday night in cold Cleveland?
Maybe I’m being too hard on the PD reporters, but check these other reviews of the event:
The Trail’s take on the visit (a blog from the Washington Post)
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (which indeed quotes 1 – a high school student who sounds as though he was there to see Clinton, but feels more for Barack Obama, and 2 – someone who may in fact be a “diehard”)
Notice that in these pieces, attendees are “supporters,” period.
Any other characteristics about the attendees you learn about by reading what they have to say, not by reading the opinion of the, ahem, neutral journalist.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:37 pm February 16th, 2008 in Campaigning, Cleveland+, Elections, Hillary Clinton, Media, Ohio, Politics, Primary, WH2008, Writing | 11 Comments
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Feb
16
Tavis Smiley: “…jumping up and down saying, ‘Vote for Barack Obama’…not what I do”
Filed Under Barack Obama, Blogging, Campaigning, Elections, Hillary Clinton, Media, Ohio, Politics, Primary, Tech, WH2008 | 10 Comments
To my amazement, when Tavis Smiley‘s radio show was broadcast on WCPN (before the BBC’s World Have Your Say took that time slot, and before a show that was before World Have Your Say, Ed Gordon’s News and Notes first replaced Smiley), I really enjoyed listening to it. Why do I say to my amazement? Because it’s a pretty Afro-centric show and I never expected that I would enjoy listening to as much of the show as I did.
But you know what? The way Tavis describes his approach and his MO in this article about the flack people are giving him because he is giving Barack Obama a hard time because Obama will not appear at Smiley’s State of the Black Union next weekend, confirms why I enjoy his style and approach so much.
Each of the presidential candidates were invited to speak, but only Sen. Hillary Clinton accepted. Clinton is desperate to bolster her flagging campaign with a larger share of the black vote after losing all but a small percent to Obama. Smiley said he wants the candidates to focus on the issues that black Americans care about.
If the blogosphere is any reflection, however, black America believes Smiley should check his ego. Commenters would much rather see Obama campaigning against Clinton in Texas and Ohio than at Smiley’s confab in Louisiana, a state he’s already won. Critics burned up Internet chat rooms, taking turns at denouncing Smiley. Pundit Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an Obama supporter, authored a biting anti-Smiley opinion on TheRoot.com (which is owned by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive), entitled, “Who Died and Made Him King?”
But, as far as Smiley is concerned, despite having “the weight of the Internet world bearing down” on him, his concluding thoughts say it all:
“I love Barack Obama and I love black people,” Smiley said. “I celebrate his past accomplishments and I celebrate his future aspirations. I never wanted to stand in the path of his growth.”
However, he said, “My job is to ask the critical question, to raise these issues and keep these guys focused. There are some people who are disappointed that I’m not jumping up and down saying, ‘Vote for Barack Obama.’ That’s not my role as a journalist. That’s not what I do.”
Good for him.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:31 pm February 16th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Blogging, Campaigning, Elections, Hillary Clinton, Media, Ohio, Politics, Primary, Tech, WH2008 | 10 Comments
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Feb
16
You’ll never beg, borrow or steal from a sibling again.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:15 pm February 16th, 2008 in Parenting, Writing | Comments Off
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Feb
16
Clinton call w/Harold Ickes: Delegates R Us
Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary, WH2008 | 1 Comment
I just got off the phone from a conference call with Harold Ickes and Phil Singer of Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The topic was delegates and counting delegates and getting delegates and what’s important to delegates and well, you get the picture. (Ickes held a conference call earlier in the week about the terms “superdelegate” and “automatic delegate” and Lynn Sweet of The Chicago Sun-Times asked about that – I’ll have more soon.)
I’ve got detailed notes to organize after doing Saturday lunch-time duty. But Andrea Mitchell asked the first questions.
It was fascinating, if not full of revelation. I was ready to ask the Capri Cafaro-league questions but couldn’t bring myself to hit *1. Next time, I promise.
Anyone else on that call?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:50 pm February 16th, 2008 in Campaigning, Elections, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary, WH2008 | 1 Comment
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Feb
16
New meta-blog for education from BlogNetNews
Filed Under Announcements, Blogging, Education, Resources, Tech, Tools | 4 Comments
Hattip to Pho for blogging about BlogNetNews’ education section. There are five categories by which you can view the blogs, or you can view them altogether. I’m not really sure what the difference is between the “Ed” category and all of them, or the “Higher” category and the “Higher Ed” category. But maybe that’s to be worked out.
In any case, definitely a useful aggregator.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:02 am February 16th, 2008 in Announcements, Blogging, Education, Resources, Tech, Tools | 4 Comments
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Feb
16
Add Wilsons leather store to closures of Talbots, Ann Taylor
Filed Under Business, Economy, Ohio, Politics | Comments Off
Anyone have bets on which retailer will be next to announce closings?
Wilsons the Leather Experts Inc. will close the majority of its 260 mall locations and cut more than 1,000 jobs, the clothing retailer said Friday.
Wilsons will close the mall stores at Chapel Hill in Akron and Westfield Belden Village in Jackson Township. Each store has five or six employees.
…
After months of declining sales, Wilsons’ reported a 10 percent spike in same-store sales in January, but mostly through clearance sales.
It is the latest retailer to aggressively shutter stores.
In January, Ann Taylor said it was closing 117 stores and cutting 180 jobs. On the same day, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. said it was eliminating 123 jobs, or 16 percent of corporate staff.
Talbots also has announced store closings.
Wilsons Leather is the leading specialty retailer of leather outerwear, accessories and apparel in the United States. As of Jan. 5, 2008, Wilsons Leather operated 411 stores located in 45 states, including 278 mall stores, 119 outlet stores and 14 airport stores.
The new millenium version of the trickle-down theory?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:35 am February 16th, 2008 in Business, Economy, Ohio, Politics | Comments Off
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Feb
16
McCain’s daughter Meghan blogs; other daughter was Democrat
Filed Under Blogging, Campaigning, Elections, John McCain, Parenting, Politics, WH2008, Women | Comments Off
This article from the Irish Examiner is very good. I like it because the tone and the information is different from what we’ve been getting from the American press. I recommend reading the entire piece.
First, it spends time on Chelsea Clinton‘s transformation from shy to shill (okay – I hate that word but it does alliterate). The money graph:
Audiences usually respond warmly to her. “She’s a very genuine person,” says the actress America Ferrera, who has joined Chelsea on the campaign trail. And “it is very hard to give her a question she can’t answer.” Though Chelsea has swayed more than a few voters, some have come away unconvinced. “She did a good job of conveying her mom’s message,” says Nicky Adamson, a student who saw Chelsea last month at Stanford University and ended up voting for Mr Obama. “But the average college student can’t relate to her, because she seems so intellectual.”
How sad is that? The average college student can’t relate to her because she seems too intellectual. That’s being said by a Stanford student.
We are so in trouble.
Okay – next up is Meghan McCain. Before you get too excited about her blog, mccainblogette.com (subtitled, “Musings and Pop Culture on the Political Trail), just know: it has no RSS and no permalinks, at all – none that I could find. If someone figures that out, let me know. In other words, it appears as though someone is helping make sure that as soon as Senator John McCain’s run to the White House is over, this blog disappears as completely as a Stealth.
So what’s the first thing the Examiner tells us about Meghan? Get ready – it’s sooooo unique! Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:24 am February 16th, 2008 in Blogging, Campaigning, Elections, John McCain, Parenting, Politics, WH2008, Women | Comments Off
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