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The
Rant
August 1, 2004
Like many Canadians I like to follow what's happening south of the border with our American cousins. It's especially interesting in a presidential election year. Take, for example, the recent spectacle in Boston, Mass. Thousands of Democrats and thousands of pols, spinners and media types rolled into New England to have a tea party of their very own. It was called the Democratic National Convention.
The goal of convention organizers was simple. They wanted to make the nominee, Senator John Forbes Kerry, or 'JFK' as some have taken to calling him (weird or what?) better known to voters and to present him as a leader every bit as strong as George W. Bush on issues like homeland security, Al Qaeda, etcetera. They succeeded, and at the risk of having my great Uncle Hubert turn over in his grave, I believe the next President of the United States will be the junior senator from Massachusetts. (My great uncle, Hubert Wells, by the way, was a Republican politician in Vermont who became an elected judge. He was a Nixon Republican who didn't have much time for left- leaning liberals like former senator, Eugene McCarthy or, for that matter, any member of the party of Roosevelt and Kennedy. As a matter of fact, Kennedy-bashing was his favorite pasttime.)
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Kerry and Edwards |
The Dems had almost everyone playing 'on message' in Boston. They want voters to know Kerry is the man to repair America's relations with its powerful allies (the guys who can help America get out of the mess Bush has gotten them into), make the homeland secure and implement a feasible exit strategy in Iraq.
Bush-bashing was not encouraged at the convention, although a few speakers got off a couple of cracks. President Jimmy Carter for one; who not so subtly suggested that George W. Bush is not fit to lead. But it was Brooklyn-born Reverend Al Sharpton who really bashed Bush. In a twenty-minute whirlwind that was supposed to last six, Sharpton used every tool in his rhetorical toolbox to nail and hammer Bush and the Republican administration. He focused some of his best shots at their alleged manipulation of the 2000 vote in Florida to exclude many black voters and (what he seemed to suggest was) a long history of indifference towards blacks and their issues on the part of Republicans.
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Rev. Al Sharpton |
Sharpton was a sight to behold. He may have irritated convention bigwigs for speaking past his time and for engaging in some Bush-bashing. However, I think delegates may have been hungry for some of that. It was a partisan affair after all. Don't they almost have a responsilbility to take a few swipes at their opponent? At any rate, the Fleet Center crowd nearly took the roof off the place as Sharpton closed.
The two best crafted speeches, if not best delivered, were by the vice-presidential nominee, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and the presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Both speeches were hopeful and unifying and made good use of audience participation by inviting mass-like responses with frequent repitition of lines like, "Hope is on the way,"and "Help is on the way". The line "Hope is on the way" seemed to work particularly well for Edwards; perhaps because of his 'hopeful' attitude and youthful good lucks. Those boyish "ah shucks ma'am" looks seem to give him an edge when it comes to connecting with an audience. Whatever it is, when combined with Kerry's gravitas (decorated Vietnam vet, long and distinguished senate career) you have a formidable ticket to take on Bush/Cheney in November.
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Teresa Heinz-Kerry |
The other strengths that belong to this ticket are two very engaging and savvy spouses, named Elizabeth Edwards, an accomplished lawyer and Teresa Heinz-Kerry, chair of The Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies. They're smart and astute and also have the ability to make that all important connection with voters, and in the case of Heinz-Kerry she is able to make it in five languages! This ability to connect seemed to be very much in evidence when she spoke to the convention. Commentators had made much of an incident where Teresa Heinz-Kerry had told a right wing commentator to "shove it" after she felt he had been unfair to her in an exchange they'd had. Some fools even suggested this minor outburst might affect her husband's election prospects. (Get real.)
Heinz-Kerry's appearance quickly vaporized fears that this woman is anything but a huge asset to the Kerry campaign. She very clearly and eloquently made the point that she will not (as all women should not) take a backseat when it comes to expressing their views and opinions.
Speaking of media commentators and many anchors these days...they frequently engage in an annoying practice. Why on earth is it necessary for a Wolf Blitzer or a Peter Jennings to tell us what a speaker is going to say BEFORE he or she gets to say it? Every time a convention speaker approached the microphone Wolf Blitzer would go into action with something like, "We have learned that Rev. Jackson will be focusing on this or that and so on and so forth and..." For pete's sake! I don't know about you but I like the suspense of not knowing what, for instance, a Jesse Jackson might say in his address. I want to hear it first from the horse's mouth.
I'm not much like my great Uncle Hubert because unlike his somewhat blinkered approach to politics and government, I have always been attracted to the Democratic party's 'big tent' philosophy. I like the fact that it is a collection of many disparate groups with many different opinions; their very differentness being the common thread that binds them together. I guess it's a case of..."In unity there is strength" or something like that.
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Ben Affleck |
Youth seemed to comprise a large part of the convention. I'm not sure if the Republican party attracts as many young people. Perhaps they do since a large number of young people seem to espouse conservative views these days. No doubt they are as articulate as some of the Democrat youth I saw expressing their views. Some stood out because of their celebrity. John Kerry's daughters were especially bright and especially forceful at stating the case for the Democrats achieving control of the White House this fall. Actor, Ben Affleck, was a pleasant surprise. He's from Boston and attended the entire convention. He made several appearances, including a very effective one on CNN's Crossfire where he held his own against conservative stalwarts Bob Novak and Tucker Carlson (speaking of youthful Republicans). Affleck is a card-carrying Democrat and as commited to their agenda as 'Arnold' is to the Republican cause. So, his views were mostly predictable; but he obviously knew his stuff and spoke with real sincerity and conviction.
I mostly enjoyed CNN's coverage of the convention, but I have to give them a big "thumbs down" for the way they handled the coverage of the conclusion of John Kerry's speech. Earlier that evening they made much of the fact that they had put a live microphone on Don Mishner (a legendary television director) who was independently working for the Dems by directing the action at the podium. Obviously they had many live performances, many taped performances, live speakers, live bands, etcetera. All of it had to be directed by someone to ensure a seemless show (not only for the people in the Fleet Center, but, more importantly, for millions watching on C-SPAN, the networks and many other television channels). At one point, just before Willie Nelson sang for the convention CNN very boastfully allowed their audience to hear Mishner directing his convention team. You heard things like, "Cue choir" and "Go Willie!" (Big deal.) Anyway, as Kerry finished speaking, they decided to put Mishner's voice on the air again (this time, unannounced). They wanted the CNN audience to hear Mishner as he cued the drop of baloons and several pounds of confetti.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Instead of the calm and steady Don Mishner, millions of CNN viewers were treated to the voice of a director who was becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that the 100,000 baloons that had been carefully placed in the ceiling of the Fleet Center waiting for this finale, did not seem to want to drop from their cozy perch. Painfully, Don Mishner could be clearly heard saying, "Go baloons...Where are the baloons?...I don't see baloons...Jesus!!" And then he used a word you never hear on American mainstream television. It's a word that I and anybody else with half a brain knew was coming, a favorite cuss word for millions that begins with 'F' and ends with 'K'. The CNN director should have known as well and cut the poor fellow's microphone but he didn't. Then the inevitable moment. It was the Janet Jackson moment without the visual effect. Mishner let loose with a loud..."WHERE THE F___K ARE THE BALOONS!!!" It was shortly after the outburst that CNN cut his mic, although too late. What were they thinking? The air in control rooms (certainly ones I've know) is frequently blue. They are pressure cookers. And if anybody would know it's the folks at CNN. Mind you, I think Mishner should have known better than to agree to such a foolish scheme. Let that be a lesson.
Our friend Wolf Blitzer finally apologized. It took him about ten minutes though. I remember he went to great pains to blame Mishner by pointing out that it was not a 'CNN' employee who uttered the offending word. True, technically, but it was a CNN employee who put the poor chump on the air and kept him on even when it was obvious that his language was about to go from pale blue to a very deep blue. (Great apology Wolf. Just great.)
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Okay...Now I'm just gettin' warmed-up...How about some pet peeves!...I know. Let's talk about the tourism industry. I was in a downtown shop recently when I overheard a salesperson tell an unsuspecting tourist that bakeapple jam was very special because bakeapples only grow in Newfoundland and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Hogwash! She obviously has never heard of cloudberries (bakeapples) from Scandinavia.
Here are other examples of actual tour guides messing-up:
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Colonial Building, St. John's |
A relative of mine (originally from St. John's) took a bus tour around the city. She heard the guide announce as they passed the Colonial Building (former Newfoundland legislature) that it was the former residence of Newfoundland governors. Close, but no cigar. The building she was talking about is just down the street and it is where the Newfoundland and Labrador Lieutenant Governor still lives.
Here's another one...It happened recently at the Ferryland historic site. A friend was down there and heard a tour guide tell a gathering of tourists that Lord Baltimore left Newfoundland and went south where he founded Baltimore, Maryland in Virginia!
If tour operators and tour guides are going to be feeding historical information about Newfoundland and Labrador to unsuspecting tourists they should be properly trained and standards should be in place. There's enough bad information out there about us already. We shouldn't be contributing to it. And another thing...
This summer, two really popular major music festivals took place on the very same weekend in July, the George Street Festival in St. John's and the Klondike Festival in Bay Roberts. This forced many to choose one or the other. They need not have been put in this position. Come on guys. It's not like we have that many really big music festivals happening here in the summer. Surely we can get together and arrange to have these events on different weekends.
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Here's a few general peeves...There seem to be a lot of restaurants around that do not offer fresh brewed decaf coffee. Plenty of people drink decaf these days. I have even been told at one very popular coffee chain outlet that they do not sell decaf coffee in the evening because most of their customers are trying to stay awake. Well, excuse me, but what about the people who want a cup of coffee in the evening but who don't want to be up all night? Give me a break! And they call themselves a coffee shop!
How about those daily specials that restaurant waiters rattle off. Recently I was in a restaurant where a waiter gave a verbal rundown of about ten items. By the time he'd given the last item I'd forgotten the first. Hey you restaurateurs...just write down the specials on a sheet of paper and give it to us. It will save a lot of aggravation.
I drop into corner stores quite often for a loaf of bread or a newspaper. Frequently there's a line-up at the cash. Nine times out of ten the line is being slowed by people purchasing those pull-tab gambling tickets. Then, everybody has to wait with their loaf of bread while the gamblers pull their tabs to check their lemons and cherries. I think cards that have to be opened in the presence of the cashier should either not be sold or sold only at lotto booths. Small stores are for convenience but these days I think supermarkets are just as convenient.
Some stores are instructing their cashiers to greet or thank customers with lines meant to convey caring or concern for the customer. I am often greeted with this one..."Did you find everything you were looking for today?" Once I said, "No I didn't actually." The poor cashier looked so shocked and confused I thought she was going to faint. Obviously she was expecting the perfunctory "Yeah. Sure." She was not able to help me, but then I didn't expect she would. These greetings are silly, insincere and meaningless. How about an old fashioned "thank-you". I rarely hear that these days. Usually it's the customer thanking the cashier. But what for? Isn't it the customer who is forking over the hard earned cash?
Speaking of finding or not finding what you are looking for in the supermarket, often I think I have found what I was looking for only to discover that it's something else. What am I talking about? Fresh fruit. How often have we purchased what we thought were fresh pears, peaches, plums, etcetera only to find that what we bought was actually cardboard masquerading as fresh fruit. At least, that's what it tasted like.
"Did you find what you were looking for today?"
How long do I have?
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