D Is For Desperate
And D-listers, which is who Gail Sheehy said Obama had to reach for in hopes of filling a room. From The Daily Beast:
Six weeks before the election, President Obama couldn't fill the ballroom at the Roosevelt Hotel, despite cheap tickets on offer. And then he was met by hecklers....Most of us low rollers arrived early to see President Obama up close and personal. Our tickets for the general reception at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York were only $100. Some thought the email invitation was a joke. Some bought tickets for $50 from their desperate Democratic committeeman. Some bought the same day.
...Only after I received four email invitations and two personal calls imploring me to come did I call Speaker Pelosi's office to check the admission price. "You mean, to be in the room with the President of the United States is now on fire sale for $100?""Yup."
"How long do we get?"
"Half hour."
"How many $100 givers have rsvp'd?"
"Mmmm 250."
"Do we need to line up early to get in?"
"That's not necessary. Everybody will get in."
And everybody did--450 people in a room that holds 650. Even Obama's fire sale didn't sell out.
Why would I want to pay $100 bucks to be in the same room with a politician?
This is just fund-raising - it's not like he's interested in your opinion or anything.
bradley13 at September 26, 2010 1:01 AM
He should be paying us, and asking forgiveness for the trillion dollar stimulus waste. He doesn't rate my attention, much less my money.
MarkD at September 26, 2010 6:48 AM
It seems to me that from the Kennedy presidency, the electorate has been scraping deeper and deeper at the bottom of the barrel. Hype not withstanding, Kennedy appeared to be a competent politician (is it true?), whom the electorate seemed to like. Before him was Ike, a war hero and Truman, who confronted Stalin in Korea. After came Johnson with his big government programs, then Tricky, then the weak Ford and Jimmuh. I am not a big fan of Ron and Bush I, but they stood up to the soviets, although they left Afghanistan in bad shape, and it's downhill from there with Bill and Bush II and now Barry. Barry and Little John were the best the two main parties had to offer? I admire Mccain for his war service, but he's not a politician. Even Nader doesn't sound too bad next to them. As Calvin says:
"These are interesting times. We don't trust the government, we don't trust the legal system, we don't trust the media, and we don't trust each other! We've undermined all authority, and with it, the basis for replacing it! It's like a six-year-old's dream come true!"
biff at September 26, 2010 8:54 AM
I was at a wedding yesterday, and at our table for the reception was a lumberman from St Maries, Idaho. He was telling me about his four grown children, including his 2nd youngest boy who just got back from 4 years in Iraq. While he was over there he witnessed, just outside his post, an honor killing.
Apparently a young Iraqi woman had been seen talking to American troops on their daily patrol, so the father and uncle brought her to just outside the army post and beheaded her in front of our troops, who were ordered to not respond.
Eric at September 26, 2010 8:54 AM
"Apparently a young Iraqi woman had been seen talking to American troops on their daily patrol, so the father and uncle brought her to just outside the army post and beheaded her in front of our troops, who were ordered to not respond."
The US army snipers should have shot both the men dead on the spot. That is all these people understand and if you want to avoid a repetition, it is what you need to do.
Isabel1130 at September 26, 2010 9:26 AM
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