One guy works on the street. One works on the concrete floor of the Invesco Field.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Journalists without a home
One guy works on the street. One works on the concrete floor of the Invesco Field.
Dems in Denver: Generation Gap or A New Generation of Hope?
Denver – August 28
Much has been made of the friction in the Democratic Party coming into this Convention here in Denver: the Kennedy clan vs. the Clinton clan; Barack vs. Bill; Bill vs. Hillary; the Hillary supporters (or “followers,” as pundit and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanen put it) and mysterious forces within the Democratic Party which kept her from getting the nomination. Those real or perceived squabbles were resolved Wednesday night in a dramatic and emotional display of Party unity. If it wasn’t real, it was at least a good show.
Everyone rose to the occasion, and if you think about it in terms of the generational shift in power, it’s not hard to see why it was painful, divisive and melodramatic. This is my third convention, and it was the first time that the action inside the Hall was more interesting than what went on outside the Hall. I would suggest this week in Denver marks a permanent shift in the Washington power structure from my generation that came of age in the 60s to those who were born in the 60s. I believe we did something right during that decade because we produced people like Barack Obama.
It was people like the Kennedys, still linked to WWII, who heard the voices of civil rights activists in the 50s and early 60s and took those first important steps for minorities. Life for Obama’s mother and her African husband must have been difficult, even then. I remember when interracial couples did not appear often in public, even in the North. But the Kansan and the Kenyan defied convention, which must have put a lot of strain on the relationship.
It was my generation (which includes the Clintons, Jesse Jackson and many others) that continued this fight for rights of minorities, and, along the way, added women, gays and lesbians, and the disabled to the list. After forty years, this inclusivity has changed the face of American politics and been an inspiration to the rest of the world.
It must have been really hard for Hillary to give up the chance for another “first” for women. After all, she’s paid her dues, and she’s still young (these days 61 is young) and she has acquired so much knowledge. What she didn’t count on (who could?) was the fact that the miracle generation created in the 60s is ready. Where did the time go? It hardly seems possible; therefore, it was said that Obama was too young (he’s older than Bill Clinton when he was elected President); that it was a woman’s turn (is there a rule that women get their chance before black men?); that he was “unelectable” for either specific or vague reasons.
When all is said and done, though, the Democratic Party should be proud, our maligned 60s generation should be proud and American should be proud. Barack Obama is the new face of America, and all that so many people worked on for during the past 50 years has made it possible. The rest of the world is watching in amazed delight and with hope – hope that what this fascinating younger generation can continue what was started at least a half-century ago will be the start of a great new world.
Much has been made of the friction in the Democratic Party coming into this Convention here in Denver: the Kennedy clan vs. the Clinton clan; Barack vs. Bill; Bill vs. Hillary; the Hillary supporters (or “followers,” as pundit and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanen put it) and mysterious forces within the Democratic Party which kept her from getting the nomination. Those real or perceived squabbles were resolved Wednesday night in a dramatic and emotional display of Party unity. If it wasn’t real, it was at least a good show.
Everyone rose to the occasion, and if you think about it in terms of the generational shift in power, it’s not hard to see why it was painful, divisive and melodramatic. This is my third convention, and it was the first time that the action inside the Hall was more interesting than what went on outside the Hall. I would suggest this week in Denver marks a permanent shift in the Washington power structure from my generation that came of age in the 60s to those who were born in the 60s. I believe we did something right during that decade because we produced people like Barack Obama.
It was people like the Kennedys, still linked to WWII, who heard the voices of civil rights activists in the 50s and early 60s and took those first important steps for minorities. Life for Obama’s mother and her African husband must have been difficult, even then. I remember when interracial couples did not appear often in public, even in the North. But the Kansan and the Kenyan defied convention, which must have put a lot of strain on the relationship.
It was my generation (which includes the Clintons, Jesse Jackson and many others) that continued this fight for rights of minorities, and, along the way, added women, gays and lesbians, and the disabled to the list. After forty years, this inclusivity has changed the face of American politics and been an inspiration to the rest of the world.
It must have been really hard for Hillary to give up the chance for another “first” for women. After all, she’s paid her dues, and she’s still young (these days 61 is young) and she has acquired so much knowledge. What she didn’t count on (who could?) was the fact that the miracle generation created in the 60s is ready. Where did the time go? It hardly seems possible; therefore, it was said that Obama was too young (he’s older than Bill Clinton when he was elected President); that it was a woman’s turn (is there a rule that women get their chance before black men?); that he was “unelectable” for either specific or vague reasons.
When all is said and done, though, the Democratic Party should be proud, our maligned 60s generation should be proud and American should be proud. Barack Obama is the new face of America, and all that so many people worked on for during the past 50 years has made it possible. The rest of the world is watching in amazed delight and with hope – hope that what this fascinating younger generation can continue what was started at least a half-century ago will be the start of a great new world.
Where have all the protesters gone? Gone to Denver Every One!
Downtown Denver, Aug. 24
As I walked down the 16th Street Mall toward Union Station on this hot Sunday afternoon, I found myself face to face with them. Thousands of protesters were headed to the Pepsi Center to register their complaints. Their signs, t-shirts, puppets and other communication methods gave some indication of their causes, which boiled down to two major categories: the war in Iraq and health care.
Messages included the usual and the creative: “Peace out man”; “Send texts, not troops”; “Drop beats, not bombs,” “Peace please”; “Fund the wounded, not the war”; “Stop murder for oil.” Some offered alternatives to war: “Healthcare, not warfare”; “Make out, not war”; “Books, not bombs”; “Grow pumpkins, not wars.”
Some minced no words: “Arrest Bush” or “Fuck the war.” Some were verbose: “Misleading Congress and the American people in an attempt to destroy Medicare,” and “We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love; We must meet physical force with soul force.”
One, no doubt inspired by the “Recreate ‘68” Website, was downright provocative: “No hope in capitalism; disrupt the DNC.” One man carried a giant puppet of a dark-haired woman. LaDuke, the White Earth resident who was Ralph Nader’s running mate in the 1996 and 2000 elections, was apparently the person symbolized, since her photo was glued onto the puppet’s chest, along with the word “Peace.”
My personal favorite was a black t-shirt with a simple, but elegant message: “Fix shit up.”
One young man carried a sign advertising the Website “worldcantwait.org.” When asked what it was the world can’t wait for, he looked at the sign as if in surprise and said he really didn’t know. Someone just gave him the sign.
Members of the well-respected and interesting women’s activist group “Code Pink” were easy to spot in their pink outfits, many on pink bicycles.
Hordes of law enforcement officials in full riot gear, on horses, motorcycles, bicycles or on foot, followed along. They were ready for terrorists. The demonstrators seemed ready for a party.
In fact, that’s what happened later on the front lawn of the Capitol building at the end of the 16th Street Mall.
By late afternoon, about a hundred demonstrators were left chopping garlic, cooking lentils, grilling veggies and slicing whole grain bread for all in attendance. Nearby panhandlers, however, sat on a retaining wall and declined the free meal.
One young woman wearing a Nader button and helping clean up the plastic dishes said she’s unhappy with the health care plans of both parties. “Nader’s is a single-payer plan,” she said. “That’s what we need.” A young man said he thought there should be more than two candidates in the upcoming debates. Several young people were upset that Obama never mentioned getting the contracted soldiers, such as those who work for Blackwater, out of Iraq.
A middle-aged man with a gray beard holding up an Obama sign for the benefit of those driving by, said he came from California with Nader and Obama campaign paraphernalia. He smiled. “It’s all about the slogans, isn’t it?” he said.
Perhaps these uncertain demonstrators, who exhibit more dissatisfaction than anger, unlike the truly angry people in Los Angeles in 2000 and Boston in 2004 are more representative of what the Democratic Party was like during the past eight years than now. During those two campaigns, the party offered detailed policy fixes while ignoring those who felt disenfranchised. This year, the party is offering a sort of vague, generalized “hope” based on anger at the past eight years, while these demonstrators worry about the devil that’s the details.
In a year when the balance may have lost focus on these details because the platforms of the two Democratic candidates were so similar, these outsiders may serve the purpose of keeping the eyes of Democrats on the prize. Charisma, and its flip side, character attacks, distract us from those details, but if Obama does get elected, those details will become important. That may be their message.
It was reported that the last remaining demonstrators slept on the Capitol grounds in the shape of a peace symbol last night. If that’s their final statement, they have served their purpose.
Louise Mengelkoch is a professor of journalism at Bemidji State University. She is serving as a faculty leader for The Washington Center, which has brought almost 400 college students to Denver for a two-week program centered on the Democratic National Convention. Her Convention blog is at www.demsindenver.blogspot.com.
As I walked down the 16th Street Mall toward Union Station on this hot Sunday afternoon, I found myself face to face with them. Thousands of protesters were headed to the Pepsi Center to register their complaints. Their signs, t-shirts, puppets and other communication methods gave some indication of their causes, which boiled down to two major categories: the war in Iraq and health care.
Messages included the usual and the creative: “Peace out man”; “Send texts, not troops”; “Drop beats, not bombs,” “Peace please”; “Fund the wounded, not the war”; “Stop murder for oil.” Some offered alternatives to war: “Healthcare, not warfare”; “Make out, not war”; “Books, not bombs”; “Grow pumpkins, not wars.”
Some minced no words: “Arrest Bush” or “Fuck the war.” Some were verbose: “Misleading Congress and the American people in an attempt to destroy Medicare,” and “We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love; We must meet physical force with soul force.”
One, no doubt inspired by the “Recreate ‘68” Website, was downright provocative: “No hope in capitalism; disrupt the DNC.” One man carried a giant puppet of a dark-haired woman. LaDuke, the White Earth resident who was Ralph Nader’s running mate in the 1996 and 2000 elections, was apparently the person symbolized, since her photo was glued onto the puppet’s chest, along with the word “Peace.”
My personal favorite was a black t-shirt with a simple, but elegant message: “Fix shit up.”
One young man carried a sign advertising the Website “worldcantwait.org.” When asked what it was the world can’t wait for, he looked at the sign as if in surprise and said he really didn’t know. Someone just gave him the sign.
Members of the well-respected and interesting women’s activist group “Code Pink” were easy to spot in their pink outfits, many on pink bicycles.
Hordes of law enforcement officials in full riot gear, on horses, motorcycles, bicycles or on foot, followed along. They were ready for terrorists. The demonstrators seemed ready for a party.
In fact, that’s what happened later on the front lawn of the Capitol building at the end of the 16th Street Mall.
By late afternoon, about a hundred demonstrators were left chopping garlic, cooking lentils, grilling veggies and slicing whole grain bread for all in attendance. Nearby panhandlers, however, sat on a retaining wall and declined the free meal.
One young woman wearing a Nader button and helping clean up the plastic dishes said she’s unhappy with the health care plans of both parties. “Nader’s is a single-payer plan,” she said. “That’s what we need.” A young man said he thought there should be more than two candidates in the upcoming debates. Several young people were upset that Obama never mentioned getting the contracted soldiers, such as those who work for Blackwater, out of Iraq.
A middle-aged man with a gray beard holding up an Obama sign for the benefit of those driving by, said he came from California with Nader and Obama campaign paraphernalia. He smiled. “It’s all about the slogans, isn’t it?” he said.
Perhaps these uncertain demonstrators, who exhibit more dissatisfaction than anger, unlike the truly angry people in Los Angeles in 2000 and Boston in 2004 are more representative of what the Democratic Party was like during the past eight years than now. During those two campaigns, the party offered detailed policy fixes while ignoring those who felt disenfranchised. This year, the party is offering a sort of vague, generalized “hope” based on anger at the past eight years, while these demonstrators worry about the devil that’s the details.
In a year when the balance may have lost focus on these details because the platforms of the two Democratic candidates were so similar, these outsiders may serve the purpose of keeping the eyes of Democrats on the prize. Charisma, and its flip side, character attacks, distract us from those details, but if Obama does get elected, those details will become important. That may be their message.
It was reported that the last remaining demonstrators slept on the Capitol grounds in the shape of a peace symbol last night. If that’s their final statement, they have served their purpose.
Louise Mengelkoch is a professor of journalism at Bemidji State University. She is serving as a faculty leader for The Washington Center, which has brought almost 400 college students to Denver for a two-week program centered on the Democratic National Convention. Her Convention blog is at www.demsindenver.blogspot.com.
Indonesian journalists
Putra and Wahyu work for the most-watched Indonesian television news network. They interviewed me for their news show, and also some of my students. They both have wives back home who are due to have babies in early September! Get home, Putral and Wahyu!
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