Connie Wilson:  White House Press Corps Member, Part 2

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This photo of the frail but courageous protestor, with Connie's
 friend Sue Ann in the center foreground, is from the Denver Post.
The elderly man shouted,”You lied, Mr. pResident, you lied!”
 before he was escorted out by an eight-member security team.

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The man
from KCNC-TV leaned down, at one point, when I sought a seat on the
bottom of the camera risers next to the Channel 4 Anchorman and said,
“You can’t bump those tripods.” Well, no, I suppose not. Everybody was
guarding their space very territorially. Sue Ann’s picture of the sole
elderly gentleman protesting was a shot that could have been sold for
actual cash. Good-hearted soul that she is, she generously agreed to
send it to the professional photographer next to her, who missed the
entire fracas, as I almost did, since I was several feet below the
riser area. I have a picture of eight men jumping on the geriatric
protestor, but it looks like some kind of worshipping of the Sun God,
as I was shooting in to the sun and got only their backs. They must
have felt very brave, subduing a man who looked like he needed a
wheelchair.



There
were various groups present in the stadium…or, at least, various signs:
“Veterans for Bush” looked to be about eighty, both in number and age.
There were a lot of “Sportsmen for Bush” signs. This made me think of
Howard Dean’s endorsement by the NRA and how this might have made him a
better anti-Bush candidate, along with his outspoken and unwavering
opposition to the Bush’s war. Later, Dr. Dean would be bashed by Bush,
who accused Kerry of adopting the language of “his former rival,” that
this war was “the wrong war at the wrong time.” This was a sign for the
crowd to begin shouting “Flip-Flop and waving things back and forth.”
Pavlov’s dogs would have been proud.



John
Elway, the Denver Quarterback Hall-of-Famer had been tapped to
introduce Bush after Governor Owen finished his remarks on the weather
(“300 days of sunshine. Isn’t this a glorious Colorado morning?”).
Elway read the remarks as though he had just been handed them five
minutes prior. So much for Elway’s political prowess, unless you
consider being inarticulate a pre-requisite for office these days. (And
it sometimes seems as though it is getting to be that way, doesn’t it?)



Elway:
“You must help me re-elect the man who is the ultimate Quarterback
leading us all to victory.” Well. He’s leading us somewhere, all right.
And he’s the ultimate something. Reminded me of the quote in the
Chicago “Tribune” on Thursday from Robert Rudin, former Secretary of
the Treasury under Clinton, who said, “In my judgment, we are now on
the wrong track on almost all fronts.” Since the last Secretary of the
Treasury, Paul O’Neill (former head of Alcoa) said almost the same
thing in his book “The Price of Loyalty”, these sort of simplistic
slogans really make you stop and think…if you are capable of thinking,
that is, and not just “sloganeering”.



In 2001,
the U.S. was projected to have a $5.6 trillion SURPLUS over the next
ten years. Now, in 2004, we are projecting a ten-year DEFICIT of $5.5
trillion, which means that “W” has spent ALL of the surplus that
Clinton left this country and again as much in just one short term. So,
uh….John…you might want to re-think that statement about where we are
being led.

 

I’m
still asking who the band is. Every so often I hear certain words in
their song, like “-ss.” I hear “-ss” a lot. One staff member says they
are called “Mission Three.” Another says they are “Mission Nineteen.” I
begin to think they are “Plan Nine From Outer Space.” They aren’t a bad
band; just a bunch of locals, I guess. I try to copy down some of the
lyrics I hear, thinking that later, maybe SOMEBODY will have heard of
these C&W songs: “Sun coming up over New York City, School bus
driver staring at the faces in the rear-view mirror. Dreams of fame and
fortune.” Something about “red, white and blue.” OK. Song makes no
sense. This is not New York City and I don’t see any group waving signs
that say, “School bus drivers for Bush.” Artist unknown. Heard the word
“-ss” at least twice. Anybody want to help me out on this one? Leave a
comment on the blog. Certainly supported the candidate well, though, I
thought. An incomprehensible country & western song with really
crass lyrics that made no sense at all, with references to a city that
we are not even in. O…K. Or, as Jim Carrey would say, “All right-y
then!”