With Hillary in High Point
I was at the Hillary Clinton stop in High Point earlier today.
There were some incredibly enthusiastic supporters there -- including the owner of what I'm calling the Hillarymobile, a Toyota sedan with Arizona plates covered in tributes to Hillary:
Some advance man should be handed his walking papers for putting her at the train depot downtown, where trains rolled by a few times making it difficult to hear what she was saying. She was tough though, incorporating the trains into her speech (click to listen to streaming audio of the speech, with intro by Gov. Mike Easley and his son Michael) at several points and talking over them when she needed to.
Clinton even cracked wise about North Carolina barbecue...
Because I'd heard the basic stump speech a half-dozen times now and she did much of it on today's morning shows, I noticed something else that was the least bit different and strange...
When I saw Bill Clinton at High Point University a few weeks ago, the soundtrack was wall-to-wall Springsteen from the moment they let the crowds in until everyone filed out to "The Rising."
Between then and now The Boss has publicly endorsed Clinton's rival, Barack Obama. So today...not one Springsteen tune.
So what'd they play? Well, it's funny you should ask...
Fleetwood Mac's Orleans' "Still The One" was a favorite of her husband's first presidential campaign, and I'm sorry to report they're still flogging that dead horse. (Thanks to Ed Cone for correcting me on this one -- I blame all music I hate on The Mac reflexively)
Early on they were blaring The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," which I thought was a little over-cute and maybe unintentionally ironic given her chronically wayward husband and the lines about everything she does just turning him on.
I was happy to hear alt-country guy and NC native Ryan Adams, though his song "Firecracker" might have been an unfortunate/darkly appropriate choice given the following lines: "Everybody wants to go forever/ I just want to burn up hard and bright" and "When does the plane go down?/Cause I'm gonna ride it till it hits the ground/and go out with a fight."
Eerily, I heard this exact same song at a John Edwards event months ago, before he did indeed burn up hard and bright.
John Mellencamp may have stopped John McCain from using his songs at campaign events, but Clinton apparently has the green light -- her campaign rocked both the new "Our Country" (yes, the truck commercial song) and the classic "Small Town" (Born in a small town? That'd be Chicago, Illinois folks.)
There was one track I couldn't place -- it turned out to be "Move Along" by the All-American Rejects. Turns out the song has also been used at Obama rallies and (again ironically?) was featured heavily in the Amanda Bynes movie She's the Man, easily one of the best Shakespeare-to-teen comedy films of all time.
As I've said before, I'm pretty sure the candidates themselves rarely pick these songs (though Hillary could be a huge All-American Rejects fan) -- but I do often wonder who ends up making that call and just how they do it.
Joyce Schoate, 60, of Greensboro seemed to be enjoying the music and the vibe. You have the last word, Joyce...
Comments (3)
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Hey North Carolina Democrats - Don't fall for Hillary Clinton's gas tax "savings." It may save you a few bucks, but it will not help the economy, especially those construction workers who depend upon those taxes for summer construction jobs. And gas prices will continue to rise anyway as long as "politics as usual" is in charge in Washington - the people who continue to allow big oil companies to make huge profits on the backs of American consumers. Hillary Clinton represents "politics as usual." Her husband, Bill, was president last century, before 9/11, before climate change really became evident.
We haven't just entered a new era for American politics, but for the way we behave in the world arena. We are no longer the strong country we used to be because we have squandered our goodwill along with our resources. For the most part, we have engaged in negative activities like war and revenge rather than positive activities like helping people who are truly in need, including our own citizens who are working harder, making less, and getting nowhere. We need to get rid of the "fat cats" in Washington, the politicians who make promises that they don't intend to follow through with or have no real meaning, like gas tax relief for the summer.
This would buy one dinner out for an average family. It is similar to the stimulus checks we're receiving in the mail this month. They are so small in comparison to how much more they have increased our country's debt to probably China, who is not only rolling in the dough but buying large amounts of stock in our once American banks and corporations. Band-aids may heal a small wound, but they don't do much for gaping wounds like our present economy which has been fueled by fear, greed, an unnecessary war, and lies. Barack Obama tells the truth. Can you handle it? Then vote for him. If congress passes a gas tax relief for the summer, that money will be a past memory by the time he takes office and really gets to work for this country.
Posted on May 5, 2008 7:39 PM
don't be fooled by Hillary Clinton people, check out what's affiliated with her staff
http://sandrarose.com/2008/05/05/video-hillary-clintons-top-advisor-calls-indian-voters-worthless-white-nggers/
Posted on May 5, 2008 9:59 PM
IF HILLARY WINS AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ENDORSE OBAMA --- COME NOVEMBER --- WE ALL NEED TO VOTE TO REPLACE ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES NEED TO LISTEN TO "WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES" --- NOT TO A "WANNA-BE-PRESIDENT-IN-TRAINING WHO HAS RUN HIS ENTIRE CAMPAIGN ON LIES AND HAS TOO MANY TIES TO TERRORISTS AND ANTI-AMERICAN FRIENDS". We American’s elected ALL members of Congress, as well as state and local officials, to be “our voice” --- we are tired of you taking our voices away.
MAYA ANGELOU SAID: “Hillary Clinton is a prayer of every American who really longs for fair play. Working men and women have had their jobs snatched from underneath them, their homes snatched away from them. And what we need, I think, is a person, a President who can make a difference in our country. She intends to help our country become what it can become. She dares to say human beings are more alike than we are unalike. I watched her become interested in public health and in education for all the children. And I watched her stand. I have found the person I think would be the best president for the United States of America.”
WE HAVE 50 STATES --- COUNT THEM ALL.
VOTE HILLARY 2008!
Posted on May 5, 2008 10:14 PM