PSF: Bush in the 'Burgh Redux

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:23:36 +0000
> From: Jon Delano <jon.delano () verizon net>
> Subject: PSF: Bush in the 'Burgh Redux
> To: dave () farber net
>
>
>
> Dear Politically Savvy Friends,
>
>      Give President Bush some credit.  Yesterday, he came to a setting 
> where he clearly was not comfortable, to an audience that was not 
> especially receptive to his message, only to be followed by seven 
> individuals who want to replace him in the White House who were eager to 
> bash him.  All in all, it was an interesting day in the 'Burgh.
>
> The Set-up:
>
>      George Bush's handlers usually don't let him go to places unless 
> they can stack the audience with hundreds of adoring partisans.  [Lest 
> you think this is a partisan statement, the same was true of Bill 
> Clinton].  But Allegheny County executive Jim Roddey, a Republican, had 
> it exactly right when he said the audience of National Urban League 
> delegates was "polite, but not wildly enthusiastic."
>
>      It was in sharp contrast to the President's last visit to Pittsburgh 
> back on Labor Day.  Then he spoke to the carpenters union at an outdoor 
> rally that local Republican leaders had carefully stacked -- and Bush was 
> given a "rock star" type reception.  Roddey thinks, and I think he's 
> right again, that there was still the "after glow" of 9-11 at that event, 
> a "rallying 'round the prez" that time and subsequent events have 
> naturally diminished.
>
>     But it's also true that this was a very different audience in 
> Pittsburgh yesterday. Only 9 percent of African Americans voted for Bush, 
> and (as their leaders keep telling me) if ALL their votes had been 
> counted in Florida, Bush would not have "won" the state by 537 votes to 
> gain the White House.  It's a very sore point with many African Americans.
>
>     It's also true that Bush's opposition to affirmative action sticks 
> out like a sore thumb in this crowd that generally views him as racially 
> insensitive (at worst) or benign (at best).  And when it comes to 
> economic issues, well, nobody there sees Bush as the defender of the 
> lower middle class, the low-income, or the jobless.  As Jesse Jackson 
> said to me in an interview after the event, Bush talks "finance" to his 
> wealthy  corporate contributors and "faith-based initiatives" to us.
>
>     The only elected local Democrat I spotted in the hall was Mayor Tom 
> Murphy of Pittsburgh.  Murphy tells me he makes it a point to attend 
> presidential visits in town whenever he can.  The other elected 
> dignataries were Republicans:  Attorney General Mike Fisher had the 
> choice seat, next to Senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum, and 
> Congressman Tim Murphy and Allegheny County chief executive Jim 
> Roddey.  [By the way, it was freshman Tim's first ride on Air Force 
> One].  U.S. attorney Mary Beth Buchanan was also there, and, of course, 
> there were the typical GOP political staffers and hangers-on who frequent 
> these events.  The president introduced all the Republican officials, but 
> left out Mayor Murphy.
>
>
> The Speech:
>
>     The president's speech was pretty predictable stuff.  He did defend 
> his war on Iraq in eloquent terms but it did not evince the loud applause 
> that similar remarks often get elsewhere.  Bush quickly moved on to turf 
> where connections with his audience was more plausible -- like education 
> and, of course, federal support for social services offered by religious 
> institutions.  From a news standpoint, there was nothing really new in 
> his comments with one possible exception.  He clearly embraced the notion 
> that the economy has turned a corner -- and he's taking credit for 
> it.  "We saw a problem and we dealt with it."  Now most in that audience 
> don't perceive the "good times" yet, and I suspect most Americans don't 
> either.  But Bush is laying the groundwork for a claim next year that his 
> tax policies worked.
>
>      The other rhetorical passage I noticed was his frequent use of 
> variations of the "we had a problem, we fixed it" language.  It's good 
> stuff politically, suggesting strong leadership, a trait Americans admire 
> considerably.   Of course, you have to believe that the problem was 
> really "fixed" for the rhetoric to work.  But I predict we'll see a whole 
> lot more of that kind of language.
>
>
> The Democrats:
>
>     It's tough to be up against the aura of the presidential seal, but 
> the seven Democrats who showed up (John Kerry and Bob Graham were AWOL) 
> did their best to ignite a crowd that was, by far, considerably smaller 
> than the president had.  Part of the problem was that the Urban League 
> organizers had scheduled the event for 5:15 pm, but by the time it 
> started, it was dinner time!
>
>     Howard Dean gets points for the best advance work.  He was mobbed by 
> 50 fans when he entered the Convention Center, bedecked with signs and 
> buttons.  I asked him if he was "the hottest new kid on the block" and he 
> laughed, saying it was up to us to decide  that question.  There is 
> clearly more of an enthusiasm around him than the others.  Surrounded by 
> his swarm of groupies, Dean made his way over to an open radio set up to 
> appear on the American Urban Radio Network's "The Bev Smith Show" before 
> moving into the "holding room" before the event.
>
>     Because of the staggered speech times, the other candidates sort of 
> straggled in.  I caught up to a couple, like Al Sharpton, who described 
> Bush's speech as indicative of  the fact that Bush "lives on fantasy 
> island" especially when it comes to the economics of people of 
> color.   In the holding room, I found a few others, like the always 
> gracious Joe Lieberman -- we share something in common since I was born 
> in Connecticut and he has relatives in the little town I lived 
> in.   Lieberman, too, focused on the economy, pointing out that 3.5 
> million jobs (mostly manufacturing) have been lost by this president, 
> whose record, he says, does not entitle him to a second term.   Dennis 
> Kucinich and Carol Mosely Braun were also in the holding room, but 
> purported "top tier"  candidates Dick Gephardt and John Edwards didn't 
> get there before they shuffled the candidates out for their appearance.
>
>     Each candidate made their best cases on points they thought would 
> connect with a generally friendly audience, but it's awfully hard for the 
> Democrats to speak with seven (let alone nine) voices.  This, of course, 
> will sort itself out within the next nine months.  You sort of felt that 
> the Democrats came because they had to, especially after Bush came.
>
>
> Media Relations:
>
>     I've covered a number of presidential, gubernatorial, and 
> political-styled visits to the 'Burgh over the years, and some are better 
> run and more media-friendly than others.  It's always, always (in my 
> view) in the best interest of the President, Governor, or whomever to 
> provide maximum flexibility for the media to do its job.
>
>    This one had a few glitches, not because of the Urban League which 
> couldn't have been easier to work with, but because of the fear (I was 
> subsequently told) that some in the White House have of the 
> media.  Having been on the government side of all this once upon a time, 
> I understand the suspicions that some politicians (and many of their 
> staffers) have of the media.  But the smart ones usually recognize that 
> the media gives you your best shot at reaching a very large audience, and 
> they go out of their way to make things easier for you.
>
>     That wasn't the case yesterday.  Besides some minor hassling by White 
> House handlers when we wanted to shoot pictures of the Urban League 
> delegates, examine some name tags on some empty chairs for local 
> politicians, and talk to former PA House Speaker K. Leroy Irvis long 
> before the President even entered the hall, the most peculiar incident 
> occured after the speech.  It was a first for me.  Following the speech, 
> the White House "locked down" those of us on the TV platform at the rear 
> of the convention hall from exiting the platform after Bush had finished 
> his speech and was shaking hands on his way out the door.
>
>     As explained to me later, someone in the White House political 
> operation feared the "local media" would rush after the president to ask 
> him questions.  Of course, we were nowhere near Bush and separated by 
> hundreds of Urban League delegates, and, in any case, most of us had no 
> desire to grab the president.  We just wanted to do our jobs.  [In my 
> case, that meant talking to local politicians before they left the room 
> about the president's speech.  The lock-down frustrated that effort].
>
>     Curiously, the lock-down did not affect the print media (or the TV 
> media who were smart enough to get off the platform before the speech 
> ended).  They were free to roam the hall just like the delegates.  But 
> one print reporter who happened to go up on the TV platform was, much to 
> his  disgust, detained as well.  Choice words were exchanged by several 
> with the White House operative who blocked the stairs off the 
> platform.  We were "free at last, free at last" once Bush exited the 
> hall.  It was a stupid White House tactic that hopefully won't ever be 
> repeated.  [It's obviously not a "security" issue since we go through the 
> same checks (even more so) than the delegates].  Having enjoyed a good 
> working relationship with some high quality, professional Bush press 
> people in the White House itself, I suspect that this was a glitch caused 
> by a poor advance team.  I'll let you know after the next presidential visit.
>
>
>      Well, that's my Tuesday morning take on President Bush's fifth visit 
> to Pittsburgh and 21st visit to Pennsylvania.  I give the president high 
> marks for coming to the Urban League, a visit that wasn't so staged as 
> most of his appearances in town, and the  audience high marks for their 
> polite reception even when they disapprove of his presidency.  As always, 
> I welcome your comments.
>
>       As always,
>         Jon
>
>
> Jon Delano
> Political Analyst
> H. John Heinz School
> Carnegie Mellon University
>
> [You know that these comments are solely my own and do not necessarily 
> reflect the views of all those wonderful organizations with whom I am 
> associated].

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