Obama-rama in Nashville
Nashville's Obama Headquarters asked for volunteers to be a presence for the media who would be descending upon the city in advance of the presidential debate to be held at Belmont University tonight. Thinking about traffic and parking, I volunteered for the first shift: 5:30 to 8:30 a.m. We were to gather at Bongo Java, a coffeehouse across the street from the University. E-mails went out to announce a change in location but I haven't checked mine for a day.
It was after dawn when a few of us out-of-the-loop Obama volunteers got the word to move to another location. We got there in time to gather for a planned appearance by Rich of Big and Rich, the country duo, to sing his song about McCain for the CBS Morning Show. Obama supporters far outnumbered McCain people; our signs were visible in the background but we were told to keep quiet except to cheer on cue.
Most of us were astonished at the way we were being managed by the media for John McCain's benefit. Harry Smith kept mentioning the First Amendment as he admonished us to be silent while Rich sang and was being interviewed. Go figure. I was up front and kept trying to get my Obama sign into the picture but finally just moved in so close to Rich that he decided to hug me. The crowd which had been quite dissatisfied with its CBS designated role as a silent walk-on for McCain was relieved by my action.
Rich's song was "Raising McCain" and I just kept thinking about how Cain in the Bible killed his brother and when God asked him about where Abel was Cain replied to God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Later on during an impromptu interview with Ann Payne, a reporter for the Tennessean, I brought that up as an appropriate way to portray the so-called maverick who wants to tax the poor and give the rich as many tax breaks as possible: "Just look at what Cain did to his brother?"
There were so many beautiful Obama people there including a lovely couple from Brentwood who recently moved here from Japan with the Nissan corporation which moved its headquarters here. I also found a soul mate, Keren or KB, a beautiful African American woman who was wearing the best Obama shirt I've seen; it featured portraits of Rosa Parks, Madame C.J. Walker, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Coretta Scott King circling a portrait of Obama, larger in size and sort of golden hued. Later I met Tony, a young grandfather, wearing another beautiful Obama shirt. Another young man had on a T-shirt showing a muscular Obamish Kent Clark busting out as Superman. Along the way I got to meet Bob Schieffer who preceded Katie Couric as CBS anchor and now hosts a CBS news show Sunday mornings. A member of his staff even took my picture with him.
It was wonderful to be with so many beautiful, hopeful people...I'm so glad I was invited to be a part of the early morning Obama crowd.
Comments
Sal Bovoso
I think it was daunting enough for Mr Rich to perform with a sea of Obama signs behind him without you shoving yourself on him. You should be very ashamed of your un-American actions this morning. If everyone acted as you did this morning it would have erupted in chaos.
You could take a lesson from the younger crowd present. They stayed back and did not try to overpower or disrupt Mr Rich's performance. You display your support of Obama with a sign. Mr Rich shows his support of McCain in song, because that is his living. He is an extremely talented man in country music. If you happen to listen to country music, you have certainly sang along to a tune written by Mr Rich, because he has written many many hits by several artists.
Again, you should be ashamed and not be bragging about your actions. Do you think it is appropriate to be bragging about dissing a celebrity and his performance?? I don't think it is.
If you would have listened to Mr Rich, he is in support of folks voting for McCain. He is also very much promoting all people, especially young people, to just get out and vote. Apparently you were too busy disrupting and yelling to hear that part of it. Which all of us, as Americans, should be supporting. Again, I think you owe Mr Rich an apology for your very inappropriate actions this morning.
Presidential elections are not appropriate occasions for image building or pandering to celebrity worship or for media management of the truth.
CBS was trying to use our support for Obama as a prop for their staged production. It wasn't right.
Somethings are more important than entertainment. And sometimes entertainment can be used to manipulate and obscure the truth.
I was not yelling nor was I rude. I was giving CBS an opportunity to report the truth while they were attempting to mediate it.
Just as it would be rude if someone were to do that to Oprah if she were speaking in support of Obama.
If CBS was "using your support for Obama as a staged production" then you played right into that with your actions. Both candidates use the media in all forms to get their image out there, not just McCain.
Your actions weren't against the big corporate media they were against one man showing support of a candidate. The same rudeness would be if someone walked up to you and ripped your Obama sign up and threw it on the ground. The other Obama supporters may have cheered, but they did not ACT in the rude way that you did.
As for "skewed priorities that media has", that has nothing to do with your actions against ONE man. Is it skewed because he doesn't support your candidate??? Is it skewed because he chose to support his candidate in song rather than a sign?? No, you think it is skewed because he doesn't think like you do. Well last I checked not everyone has to think alike and everyone has a chance to vote for who they want. You talk about CBS and entertainment are manipulating the truth??? I bet you don't say that when Oprah uses her clout to support Obama.
My comments really have nothing to do with Obama or McCain or big corporate manipulation. It has to do with the rudeness of infringing on someone supporting what they believe. If Mr Rich would have came over and ripped up your sign on national TV, therefore infringing on your support of your candidate it would have been an uproar and he would have been labeled accordingly. You are no hero or anything of the sort. You just managed to be very rude and un-American in your actions toward Mr Rich. And no, I have no affiliation with Mr Rich, none whatsoever. I just watched the morning show like everyone else and was disgusted by your behavior toward another American individual. I seriously don't think John Rich controls "corporate America and the media" like you are suggesting by your comment. He is a man who makes his living in country music. If you and other Obama supporters felt you were being used for CBS's staged production, then you could have used the exit and not enabled them to do so.