LaurieWrites

Forum Post-Mortem (PBS Forum, that is...)

That's vaguely, poorly alliterative, eh?

It's the morning after the All-American Presidential Forum that I've gone into just a little bit (harhar) on my little website so far. I've got a couple more posts in me about it yet, at least, but today I thought I'd share some of my observations from the question and answer period after the actual forum, and what I saw and heard in the media center during that time.

Later on in the far away galaxy of my weekend I want to talk about what an interesting time this is to be a blogger of any sort, and what it felt like for me to be a decidedly newbie political blogger amidst a crew of veterans, but those are posts unto themselves and I'll need more coffee and probably a nap, but you really don't need to hear about my personal problems. (See? THIS is the hyrbid mess that happens when life bloggers try to crack the big issues! Actually, you may come to like getting a dose of political madness with a chaser of my occasional ruminations on my FEELINGS. Maybe. And if you don't, can't help you. It's all (or most) of what I got.)

 

LOOK: the Blogger's side! This was definitely the fun side (or at least the side that led the laughter after Biden's weird "Barack got tested comment," which led to a classic camera cut from him to Obama to Sharpton.)

After the forum was over, which felt like a minute after it began, to be honest, some of the candidates came over to the media center to be hounded mercilessly by microphones and cameras (anywhere from my little Powershot up to the big guys with the telephotos and whatnot.) John Edwards,

Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama did not show. That was disappointing. It seems to me that particularly with the numbers of journalists of color who were covering this thing, the amount of hype that it got, and what most of them referred to as its historical significance, that it would have been nice for all of them to make an appearance, at least. Advance news had been that Obama wouldn't show, but no word on the others...until there wasn't any. 

I did what I do best, which is to kind of wander around through the fray, saying my "excuse mes" and keeping my antennae up for anything interesting. Note to self: bring digital recorder. Most of this gig is about watching people, to be honest, and there's really nothing I do better, so in that case I have an advantage. At first I was a little hesitant, but when Professor Kim came back to get something and said, "I got a quote from Richardson. I'm going back in!" I was emboldened.

Here's a little bit of what I saw.

*Tavis Smiley getting into a heated discussion with a tall, blond, male reporter who I was told was from the Washington Post. The reporter was incensed that Smiley had spent time he could have spent asking questions, hawking his book and his tv show instead (at least according to the reporter.) Smiley wasn't having it, of course, told the guy he was "missing the point", and walked away. The real kicker to me was Smiley's makeup artist (I suppose, based on her patting him with foundation sponges and the arsenal of brushes in the kit on her belt) getting into a verbal spat with the same reporter after Smiley moved on. "At least you'll get good copy, baby," she said, as she walked away.

*Gravel, whose responses spawned one of my favorite quotes of the night, continuing to expound on the War on Drugs. Next episode, he and a red-clad Nancy Reagan are going to spar, Real World Inferno-style. I watched him talking with another reporter, and walked up just in time to hear him say, "Why should people go to jail for marijuana, when they don't go to jail for WHISKEY?"

Good question, and he's going to answer it for you. It's the WAR ON DRUGS, fools! He also told a young African-American woman who was interviewing him that the African-American media (because it's no one else's responsibility, hmm?) needed to stand up and tell the truth, "That they're the most damaged" in this drug war. He also told her that "people are dying as I'm talking to you...These people say "I want to be President, and they can't even lead in Congress," making refreshing-for-this-event mention that there's a war on, and continuing his complaints about his competitors. 

*Overhead: Vernon Jordan saying, "It was a great night for democracy and for the American people."

*Cornel West stood in for Obama, and responded to Gravel's closing statement that slammed the other candidates by saying, "I take exception to that man's statement...That is wrong. Barack Obama shows moral leadership."

*Smiley continued to be asked by others around the room about the lack of time for candidates to answer questions, and the frenetic pace of the whole event, in light of the length of the introductions and his own comments. He said they "made the best of what we had," and that these were nine questions that "hadn't been asked before", resulting from people "wrapping their arms around the Covenant" (for Black America.)

(I have more pictures but they're not behaving. I'm going to post and try to get them in a little later. Meanwhile, here's the evolving Flickr set for the forum.)

Criminal Justice - just a question of crack? And Katrina too.

This is the final excerpt from my liveblog efforts. I've seen and heard a lot tonight, and therefore have an equal amount to process. This has been a very important experience for me and for a first crack at political coverage I don't think it went so poorly. Please stay tuned for some clarifications and clean-up in posts here and at Blogher.

The next question was about the criminal justice system. As Professor Kim and I discussed yesterday on Blogher, this was an issue that hasn't been covered very well in the candidate position statements, and it is an issue of great importance to the African American community.

The overall response to this question was the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences, the reduction of hard time for nonviolent offenders, and the "disparity between crack and powdered cocaine." Chatter from some of the bloggers online and around me reflected concern about too much of a focus on drugs - there are other issues here. Not too much talk about profiling here, but again, with thirty seconds per answer, it's difficult to go too deep.

The next question is about Katrina and responses to crisis.

Would you support a Federal law supporting the right to return to New Orleans?

Gravel says "squander" yet again. This time we're squandering money on the war instead of building homes.

Dodd says New Orleans and Katrina are a symbol of what we can do right, in contrast to what the Bush Administration did wrong.

Clinton says we have to fix the infrastructure. We have to rebuild it. Until recently the administration wouldn't give them FEMA money without a ten percent match.

Edwards draws on his own emotional connection to New Orleans in a response that I didn't catch the bulk of. This thing is moving fast...I think it might be better suited to round-up posts after the fact than in the moment sorts of things, but I'm already into it so I'll see it through!

Obama says big contracts went to Halliburton et al instead of NOLA citizens. He says we need a President in touch with the needs of the city before the next one hits. It was the assumption that everyone could "jump in their SUVs, load up with sparkling water and head to the nearest hotel," he says. He also adds that the people in NOLA were neglected prior to the hurricane. There are "potential Katrinas" all over the country - left untouched.

The next question is about outsourcing.

Gravel strays again from the drug wars to note that outsourcing is not the problem. Problem is trade agreements that benefit management and shareholders. It's the way all these people want to finance health care on the backs of businesses. It makes us uncompetitive.

Dodd says outsourcing is a huge issue.

Biden says we need to make jobs more attractive in America. Richardson adds that we need to upgrade our science and math standards. Create 250 science and math academies to deal with the gap. We need trade agreements that don't support slave and child labor. What is it going to take to keep you here?

Edwards calls upon the emotional again, and says he's seen the impact of outsourcing up close. The mill his Dad worked in closed - devastated the community. We need to eliminate tax breaks for businesses that move jobs overseas.

Obama says there was never a Federal effort to come in and retrain workers for jobs of the future. Kucinich is going to cancel NAFTA. A Democratic administration started it, another one will end it.

Darfur is the last question. We did nothing in Rwanda. What is this country's unwillingness to move to end the slaughter in Darfur? What does it say about our moral authority?

Dodd says we should be able to take some unilateral action. Get our military out of Iraq, regain our stature and build coalitions.

Clinton says there are three things we have to do: Move the peacekeepers into Sudan as soon as possible. There has to be airlift and logistical support from the US or NATO. No fly zone over Sudan. We should make it very clear to the government of Khartoum. We will shoot down their planes if they go there.

Biden says he's been calling for three years to stop talking and start acting. We don't ahve to wait to get out of Iraq to regain moral authority. if the rest of the world would not act, we shojld have two years ago installed a no fly zone. Put American troops on the ground to stop the carnage.

Richardson upset some people because he said we should use leverage with China to impact their Olympic chances - fighting genocide is more important than sports. We need to instiute no-fly zone, economic sanctions from Europe. In Darfur three mnoths ago - rapes must be stopped We should not forget about Africa.

Edwards Darfur part of bigger question for America. How do we reestablish ourselves after Iraq? Lead on stopping spread of disasease , water, and econ. deve.

Obama is no fly, protectiv forces, have to look at Africa aside form after crises, what are we doing tp ay attnetion to Africa w/ trade, economic develoopment. Our long term security will depend on whether we give childfren in Africa alternatives to violence.

Kucinich says it's time for the US to stop looking to Africa solely as a place where corporations exploit the people. If Darfur had a supply of oil, we'd be there right now. This was met with much applause.

Gravel wraps up the forum with an incendiary statement. He starts by saying that if we have a president he (read: HE) has to have moral judgment. He adds that most of the people do not have that judgment, including all of these people on the stage with him, and that they have proven it by "the single fact of what they've done."

More to come on the meetings with candidates after the debate.

PBS Forum

The third question is from Michel Martin and speaks to the AIDS crisis.

Obama says that the African American community does not deal with AIDS upfront - in churches, at home, partially as a result of homophobia. When we are impoverished, when people don't have jobs, they're more likely to have a number of ills. We have to provide economic opportunities to create healthier communities.

Gravel says, again, that "the scourge of our present society is the War on Drugs. There's no reason to continue it in the slightest. It creates criminals out of people who are not criminals." He doesn't seem to have anything else on his mind.

Dodd mentions that universal coverage and access to coverage is necessary for a number of health issues in the African-American community.

Hillary is talking about women becoming infected in rural and underserved urban areas, and noted that if as many white women as black women had AIDS, there would be an uproar here. This is a multiple dimension problem, she says. And this is where things went a little nuts for a minute and I lost my train of thought.

Biden announces that he was tested for AIDS, and "so was Barack". Al Sharpton looked askance, and the pressroom erupted in laughter - mostly the bloggers, I have to say. Obama clarifies to his wife, sitting in the audience.

What?

The next question is about economic disparity.  I'm still recovering from the end of the last one. Everyone speaks to taxes - primarily the repeal of the tax breaks for the wealthy. Gravel skews away from the war on drugs for a minute to say that the income tax should be eliminated.

Richardson suggests tax-free holidays for tech start-ups. We should be pro-growth Dems - the party of innovation and entrepreneurship. Can we say that globalization works for the middle class? Use the tax code - make it fair, generate jobs - Tavis cuts him off. Tavis is sassy.

Liveblog: PBS Forum

The first question spoke to inequality, particularly in light of today's The first issue brought to the forum was the question of race, in light of todays unfortunate Supreme Court decision.

The candidates are agreeing that inequality is an issue - not a difficult stance to take, I'd say. Almost to a person, they denounced the Supreme Court decision.

The march is not over, Hillary says. Hillary is yelling. Loudly.

Bill Richardson's remarks seemed canned.

"We have two public school systems and health care systems", says John Edwards. One for the wealthy and one for everyone else.

Obama thanked the Howard community and went on to speak to those who have inspired him to fight inequality, specifically Thurgood Marshall. Kucinich wants No Child Left Behind repealed.

Gravel is irritated by the War on Drugs. Addiction is a public health issue. He's tying it to the jail problem, and has given an oddly specific answer to a very general question. Strange choices, all around. I don't think any of them sound or look comfortable.

Second question: Education

Biden's time gets called while he states emphatically that the achievement gap for minority children begins before the child reaches school.

Richardson: Access to education for all Americans should be Americans' foremost priority. Pay teachers and have accountability. We have to give every American access to a college education.

Edwards says poverty is the cause of his life. Education needs to be improved all around. We have to support access to education.

Obama agrees with Richardson and Edwards that education must start with young, single parents and with children before pre-school. We must give training to teachers, in particular in areas where they are most needed. "You can't leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind," he says. These are our children, and they don't achieve because too many of us think it's okay. Every child can learn given the resources and opportunities.

Kucinich quotes Dr. Martin Luther King...the link between war and fear and poverty, as opposed to peace, security and prosperity.

Gravel is using the word "nostrum". He's fired up about squandering money in Iraq that we could use for education. Al Sharpton is nodding.

Dodd says this is the most important topic we're going to discuss this evening. Clinton reminds us that it takes a village, and she's the one to lead it.

Chapter One PBS Forum

Dr. H. Patrick Swygert opened the show, saying this is a "single honor and moment in the history of Howard University. This is a serious moment." Tom Joyner hit the stage, excited and honored as "we make not just African-American history but American history."

He mentioned what Dr. Swygert had initially stated, that this event was taking place at the historically Black Howard University. He expressed gratitude to Tavis Smiley for bringing a "purpose to our party". When America catches a cold, Black America gets pneumonia. We deserve more than a last minute visit during Sunday morning church services. Our vote cannot be taken for granted."

Here come the candidates, introduced by Massaschusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

Liveblogging the All-American Presidential PBS Forum

I'm here in the "Media Center and Spin Alley" at Howard University for tonight's Presidential Forum moderated by Tavis Smiley. I'm covering this along with Professor Kim Pearson for Blogher and our own sites. This has been great fun already. I got here really early, and after a brief bit of confusion over parking, I jumped on a golf cart that happened by, and hitched a ride up to the Blackburn Center on the Howard Campus where I got my big old press pass. I got a rush from it, I have to admit. I almost cried. It's so embarrassing sometimes, how my tear ducts are tied to my visceral experiences and emotional reactions of every sort, but it is a good signal for how right or wrong things are. This has felt very right so far.

I made it back to my car with my press credentials without incident, and moved it up to a lot really close to Blackburn. I met up with Liza Sabater in the parking lot, and she introduced me to  Susie Madrak outside. I'd checked out her site already from the list of bloggers and had been to Liza's many times through previous Blogher events, so it was nice to meet people right away. We had dinner together, joined by Maegan "La Mala" Ortiz. It's been worth the trip already - interesting women and good conversation. We even got to tell a couple of cameramen from CNN what a blog was - they said they didn't think they'd ever seen one.

You can find the feed for tonight here on the Mediabloggers Website. Check out the updates from the people who are here writing with me.

We have one large monitor in the middle of the room and two really small ones on either side. The Forum is in an auditorium on campus, so the press had to be located in another building. The pre-show just started, it appears, and a quartet of men are singing..."The Star-Spangled Banner" so far, and a couple of other songs I don't recognize. The President of PBS is speaking now. I'm going to regroup for a minute.

PBS Forum: Tomorrow

The All American Presidential Forum is tomorrow night.

This is where the list of bloggers is who will be covering the event with me, as well as the feeds from everyone's blogs.

Everyone's, that is, except for mine, it seems. I can't seem to figure out how to get Feedburner to sync my posts with this page. I'm hoping I can get that straightened out early tomorrow. I'm trying really hard to stay on time with this whole thing. It's a ton of new information to take in, which is actually really energizing. I just wish the week wasn't so weird on top of this, because I could have used the extra time to focus on just this information.

Meanwhile, Pam's House Blend has a good update on the removal of Frank Luntz as a commentator.

PBS Forum: And so it begins.

I am covering this Presidential Forum tomorrow night, representing Blogher as part of a group from the Mediabloggers Association. It's hosted by Tavis Smiley from NPR, and moderated by these journalists.

It's still surreal to me, but I'm slowly getting used to it. I'm also completely excited and very, very honored to be allowed to participate. I'll spare you the detailed details (for now, because I am really slammed with busyness all of a sudden, and oh by the way, finishing up the moving too, but whatever.) about how much of a big deal this is for me, and also because...well, just because. I'm covering this with the awesome Professor Kim Pearson, a journalist and fellow educator, and I feel like I'm taking a master class in African American history, journalism, and government and politics all at once. It's very, very good for me, and I'm just hoping that I can bring some useful perspective to the conversation as well.

I asked the people on Twitter to tell me what they'd ask if they had the chance, but haven't heard anything back yet. And of course, if you've ended up here, feel free to email me with anything you'd like me to pass along. I hear I'll have some access to the candidates -which may or may not give me a chance to ask Hillary about the whole Celine Dion thing, but we'll see. And I honestly DO think that it's important to ask these people how they REALLY feel about how they reach their constituents. Is pop culture and pop music going to be the way of the 2008 games? And on what level?

Other things I'm interested in are:

*Education - who can afford it? Who needs it? And when are these loans EVER gonna get paid back?

*More that Professor Kim has enlightened me about, in the context of the Covenant With Black America, which is actually the context and impetus for this discussion, including rural development, police accountability, the digital divide, and environmental justice.

*And perhaps most importantly for me, today - how can we work together on some of these issues? How can I, as a white American, who also happens to be a teacher and a woman, help? And how can I hurt? Or not do anything at all? What's my role, if there is one?

More later on the other people covering this with me, when I get a chance to bring myself up-to-date. And really, any questions or comments, throw 'em my way. And one more thing - this is what happens, people, when you just say "Yes." And also, "Sure, I can handle that." I'm living proof this week. Wish me luck, light me candles, whatever - and later on I'll tell you how it all worked out, perhaps over a beer?