Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner spoke at the Hawaii delegation’s breakfast yesterday, telling the tale of her personal journey from the daughter of a sharecropper to the widow confronting routine discrimination against women by banks, to a climb through the political ranks to eventually serve two terms as governor.
It was a touching story, and the backdrop to her strong statement of support for Obama/Biden.
But some of the warm and fuzzy feeling faded when I got back to my room and picked up yesterday’s copy of The Hill, one of the many newspapers being distributed here at the convention. Here’s the first sentence of Betsy Rothstein’s page 1 story: “Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is tightening the reins on campaign speeches and stressing that speakers emphasize a rags-to-riches theme.”
Later in the story:
Several speeches have had a rags-to-riches theme. In his address, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) said, “One of my proudest moments was when I received keys to my first classroom. It was high-quality public education that allowed this son of strawberry sharecroppers, raised in the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II, to grow up to become a Peace Corps volunteer, a vice chair of the DNC, and chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.”
In his address, Austin Esposito, the son of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), said, “My name is Austin. These are my sisters, Maddie and Lily. … How did we get here? Well, it started with few strong Americans. My great-grandmother Mildred was a single mom, which was tough. Thankfully, she was strong and independent and wasn’t afraid to state her opinions, even when women weren’t supposed to be heard from.”
Democratic strategist Peter Fenn — also a contributor to The Hill’s Pundits Blog — believes the best conventions are those with the most tightly controlled messages. “The important thing to come out of the convention is Barack Obama’s message,” he said. “They should be controlling the message.”
I’m not sure why this rubs me the wrong way. It immediately raises the question of how great the distance is between the authorized and controlled “message” and the truth.
The next heartwarming story should trigger the reporter’s instinct–better check it out.
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Modern-day presidential campaigns are all about being in control and “on-message.” After all, one gaffe can be devastating.
Sad.
Ian, I may not be commenting, but I am reading and enjoying your posts. Yes, it is by all appearances a very controlled message, massage?! Lets just get a democrat into the whitehouse. I am still concerned about voting machine fraud and purges of the ranks of registered voters in some states.
It may be uncomfortable for you at times, but you are providing a service to your readers.