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Reno 911 I sit here thinking about my trip to Nevada yesterday (first to Reno, then to Las Vegas), and as I type, I have Comedy Central on in the background. And Reno 911 comes on. Odd coincidence, but okay, I’m fine with that. Then the premise of the story is that George Bush is coming to town and the police force is finding out that they will be blocking the streets for his motorcade. Lots of talk about how they feel about that, and . . . no, I think I’ll leave it there. Back to my trip, and I guess I’ll take a cue from the show and tell you about the Reno part of the trip.
Reno was awesome. Five hundred people had gathered in the University of Nevada student union (great campus) for our round table town hall, and I shared the stage with four people who were concerned about what is happening in education – including Erin, the articulate student body president who gave me a Wolf Pack sweatshirt and joked that he was in his fifth year of college. The point of these round table events is to gather undecided voters and let them direct the conversation to the topics that matter to them in this election. Although it means that I am never sure where the conversation will lead, I am almost never disappointed. We discussed college tuition and Senator Kerry’s ideas about how to make it more affordable. We discussed the importance of arts education, which was raised both by a parent whose son saw his band director let go last year and by an assistant principal in charge of curriculum, and what a difference full funding of No Child Left Behind would make. We discussed the need for teachers who are role models for various student populations and the under-representation of Hispanic teachers even in schools with significant Hispanic populations. We discussed the need – so often mentioned by Senator Kerry – to support advanced studies in science and engineering. We could have gone on all afternoon, but I had to go to Las Vegas to meet with waiting military families, so I shook some hands and said goodbye. While I was working the rope line, a woman said she was massage therapist and reach to give me a shoulder rub. Let me tell you, the Secret Service was more than a little alarmed.
Well, the President’s motorcade has whizzed by on the television show – and I’ll move on too – and get a little sleep before tomorrow’s trip to Little Rock, St. Louis and on to Lansing. . . . Okay, I'm going to watch the rerun of tonight's Daily Show (which got great reviews on DU) and then get some sleep.
Posted by Elizabeth Edwards on September 2, 2004 at 01:55 AM
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