|
I got there later than I wanted (1+ hour drive at best, and a couple of roads were dug up for drainage pipes along the way).
The event was in the Student Union, and not even in a real room; it was in a lounge that judging from the traffic is the only way to get from one half of UConn to the other! Wherever I stood, I felt like I was in somebody's way, and I ended up down another hall and not in good listening position (I have a problem with social anxiety). I wondered if the UConn administration was trying to distance itself from a "partisan event", but later one of Jim Sullivan's organizers told me this was put together on about 36 hours' notice, so I'm inclined to think that everybody did what they could.
A few local dignitaries and State Comptroller Nancy Wyman (a 2nd District voter) spoke briefly. The sound quality was as variable as the audience attention span.
Jim Sullivan came on and was in fine form. Jim can crunch numbers with anybody, but he did little of that today; he went more for an emotional appeal. His litany was "tell their stories", e.g. "A woman from Norwich told me this morning that her husband's factory job is going to China and they're losing their health insurance. I'm here to tell her story." I'm not sure how many people in the audience knew who Jim Sullivan was -- many more knew who he was after this. I was pleased with the enthusiastic response he got. (Jim's been watching the debates. He didn't make a lot of references to the national ticket, but the way he locked into their themes of work and fairness was a constant reminder.)
Howard Dean wore a UConn sweatshirt, and was -- well, I expected a little, uh, louder. He may have a "television voice" and a "small venue voice". He just may be more relaxed now that he's doing Democracy for America and not directly campaigning against Democrats. Or, as the recent split-screen discussions on DU demonstrate so well, television changes everything.
Dean connected with a few jabs at the inc*mb*nts, and also with -- I have to paraphrase here, but it's close: "For years, we've been asking the young people to register and vote. We're still asking for that. But that's the bare minimum. If that's all you do, you get a D. Now we want you to run for office." And later: "People have asked me why Democracy for America is involved in a race for library trustee. It's because it's on the local level that democracy is reborn. We'd rather have a library trustee who reads books than one who burns them."
His endorsement of Sullivan had a certain credibility; I had a sense that Dean had talked with Jim and decided Jim was worth making the trip down to Storrs. There were fewer shout-outs for Kerry and Edwards than I would have expected (not just from Dean, from everybody), seeing that this was definitely a "United Front" event. And if the name "Chris Dodd" was even mentioned, I missed it. But that's the subject of another post.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(849 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
