I don't post at this forum too often; this may be my first post here since 2004. I'm not writing this post to try to sway anyone over to supporting the candidate I'll be supporting in the primaries, (full disclosure: it's Kucinich) but just to give an eyewitness account of my impressions attending this event this weekend.
My only previous experience attending an address by a Presidential candidate was this past January when I had the opportunity to meet Dennis Kucinich in Whittier, California.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=272x911 It was at a very intimate church hall where I was able to ask him questions, shake his hand and get his autograph. When I received the invitation to the forum this weekend, I had absolutely no expectations that I would be able to duplicate this feat. The only candidates who had confirmed on my original invitation from a couple weeks ago were Clinton and Edwards. I looked forward to hearing and seeing them present their positions on energy and the environment in person, but I knew security would be much larger at this event.
Boy, was I right! I walked up to the Wadsworth Theatre and it was
swarming with secret service. I got within 20 feet of the theatre when I was stopped by someone asking if they could help me. They told me where the line was for registered guests. I had been warned previously that no signs, posters, large bags or backpacks were allowed, but when I reached the front of the line and got my ticket, I was informed that secret service was not allowing cameras into the theatre. So, I went back to my car to put my camera away, then back to the line to wait to get inside. While waiting in line, we were warned repeatedly not to have cameras or large bags, that we would be searched by security. I figured we would probably have to empty our pockets and go through a metal detector. I had no problem with that, though I was worried that they would not allow me to bring in my personal recorder and that I would have to go back to my car and lose the chance for a good seat.
To my surprise, I didn't have to empty anything. They were only searching purses and small bags. There were no metal detectors. Frankly, having recently read a book on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, I found this disturbing. My unsettled feelings dissolved as I was able to find a great seat in the orchestra on the right hand side about 50 feet from the stage. I relaxed in my seat watching scenes of environmental beauty on the two large screens overhanging the stage, then I looked at the program I was handed as I entered the theatre. Now, when I received my original e-mail invitation, it said "This first-ever presidential forum on global warming and energy will involve a series of Q&A sessions with each of the attending candidates", and I was ready to ask them how they planned to prepare for Peak Oil as President, and as a candidate would they commit to raising the awareness of average Americans about the implications of Peak Oil as part of their campaign. Upon closer inspection of the program, it became clear that the Q&A session would be conducted by a group of three panelists representing various environmental organizations. Perhaps I was not the only one in the audience who felt this disappointment.
The program scheduled to start at 2pm actually started at 2:45. After introductions from the various people in charge, as well as a humorous rebuke of the science-denial administration-at-large by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Dennis Kucinich spoke. The format was set up so that each candidate would speak for 10 minutes about their position on global warming and America's energy future, then sit down for a 15-20 minute Q&A from the panelists about how they intend to implement their positions as President. But Kucinich set the standard in that he never sat down, subsequently no other candidate did after him. I had wondered after seeing him electrify a small church if he could do the same with a larger audience. He settled that question in a matter of seconds, much to my pleasure. In retrospect, it was hard to tell whether more people in the audience supported Kucinich or Edwards, I think both sides roared equal approval for them when they articulated a position consistent with the progressive mindset of the majority present.
After Kucinich left, the moderator came back to introduce Hillary Clinton. At the mention of her name, there was an eruption from the rear left of the orchestra that sounded almost like a high pitched squeal. Apparently a large contingent of her supporters had grouped themselves to be seated together to be heard in unison. It jumpstarted the applause from many others in the audience, but generated some very adamant boos in opposition. That's where I differentiate from some of the reports I've seen covering this event. I think if the boos were aimed specifically at Clinton, they would have been voiced at the same time as her supporters started cheering. What I witnessed is that the boos started after the cheers, which lead me to believe that the negative reaction was aimed more at her squealing supporters than the candidate herself. Personally, I found it all amusing, I didn't find Hillary's crew any more obnoxious than they probably thought of me flashing a peace sign at Dennis. But I guess many found them highly annoying.
Listening to Clinton speak, I finally get her appeal. I still disagree with her on a plethora of issues, but watching her for a half hour in a non-soundbite oriented forum, I understand why so many Democrats are attracted to her. She has a presence that oozes authority, and a strong voice to match. When she talks about returning to the White House and her plans when she gets there, she has an air of certainty that I think is very reassuring to many. Whether she was speaking at the podium giving her 10 minute speech to the audience or answering questions from the panel, she always sounded the same: commanding. After attending this event, I have no question that she has the leadership qualities to be President, it's where she intends to lead us that I question as a progressive. But regarding the issue that precipitated this forum, global warming & America's energy future, I believe she will be progressive and I think most people there came away with that understanding.
About midway through an answer to a panelist's question, there was a commotion from the Hillary section that sounded like cries of alarm. A jolt of fear went through me as I recalled the absence of metal detectors. Then I saw the cause of their reaction was a man standing in the center of the orchestra gesticulating at the Senator. I couldn't hear a word he said as she simply raised her volume slightly and barreled through the point she was making. As security dragged him away, I could see what looked like the words STOP THE WAR printed on the back of his jacket hood, so I guessed that was the subject he was haranguing her on. They pounced on him pretty fast, he was dragged out no less than half a minute after he stood up. I understand security removing him for creating a disturbance, but I can certainly understand his frustration as well: he probably went with the same misunderstanding that I did that there would be a Q&A session with the candidates. That the session would not include questions from the audience might drive someone less polite than I am to be disruptive.
Finally, John Edwards came on. The progressive majority really perked up when he started talking. Unfortunately in his 10 minute speech, he was talking to fast for me to catch up with what his plans for dealing with energy and the environment are. I'm sure I'll be able to find out from his website, but it was a little disappointing at first to hear his billion dollar plan for this and his billion dollar plan for that and not be able to keep up. But once he got into the Q&A session with the panelists, I felt like he really slowed down and started talking to us. This is a stylistic opinion of course, but I think if he wants to be
the front-runner, he's got to take that personal touch that he applies more intimate situations and apply it to the podium speeches addressing the big crowds. Because once he started talking to people about how the problems with our environment and our energy crisis have a greater impact on the poor than anyone else, he really had the whole crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, because the concern he exhibited was absolutely genuine. As I said before, I don't know if there were more Kucinich or Edwards supporters in the audience, but by the end, I have to say Edwards got the biggest standing ovation of the forum.
Overall, I have to say I'm glad I attended this event, in spite of its disappointments. The progressive panel was generally congenial and I appreciated them giving the candidates the time to stray from soundbites and hear their message unedited. But I wished they had probed into more specifics of their solutions for dealing with the environment and our energy future. It would have been nice if they had asked Kucinich how he intends to finance all of his idealistic plans. Perhaps if they tried to pin down just what line Clinton will not cross in compromising with Republican legislators, it might have eased a lot of progressives' concerns. More specifics would have also been helpful in detailing the "sacrifice" Edwards said Americans would have to make regarding energy. Was Edwards referring to the gap between supply and demand regarding oil consumption? It bothers me greatly that in a forum specifically focusing on "America's Energy Future", the words "Peak Oil" were not uttered by a single candidate or a single panelist. Peak Oil and Global Warming are really flip sides of the same coin in that both concern how our overconsumption of fossil fuels threaten civilization, one economically and the other ecologically. That a progressive forum questioning Presidential candidates about their potential policies on the issue of our energy future neglected to broach the subject should be of great concern to all of us.
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