Comments on: The Worst Event Management I’ve Ever Seen [UPDATED]

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:21:12 +0000

It sounds like a trend with Clinton. Read this detailed account from California:

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/012408/cover0124.html

People in line for hours and hours, lack of bathrooms, and in the end there was a bum rush for the door. Made nifty headline the next day though. Isn’t that the point? It stinks. Clinton lost to Obama in that county.

By: Remainders: Not reading blogs

Remainders: Not reading blogs — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:38:14 +0000

[...] A local Ohio blogger gets shut out of a Clinton event, and isn’t happy. [...]

By: Buffalo Pundit » Blog Archive » Juxtaposition

Buffalo Pundit » Blog Archive » Juxtaposition — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:19:17 +0000

[...] Read the story, then read the comments. [...]

By: David

David — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:19:22 +0000

Going by what I’ve read now, this does seem to be a pattern for the Clinton campaign.

By: Ohio Valley Politics » Blog Archive » Matt Drudge Highlights Local Clinton Rally Picture

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:10:54 +0000

[...] The Worst Event Management I’ve Ever Seen [UPDATED] [...]

By: HGBT

HGBT — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:57:19 +0000

I enjoyed the post, but do have to quibble with one thing you said: “No, it wasn’t Hillary’s fault.”

In state after state, Hillary Clinton’s on-the-ground operations have been a total disaster. (For instance, read the Huffington Post article headlined “In Texas, Clinton’s Ground Game Plunges Into Disarray.”)

At the same time, articles — I’m thinking of two in Time — have been coming out discussing the cronyism and insiderism of Clinton’s campaign, the fact that she has been giving the most important positions in her campaign to people whom she perceives as loyal, but who may not be qualified for the positions.

It all smacks of George W. Bush. A candidate who is selling her “35 years of experience” and “readiness on day one” has to be held accountable for her executive failures on the campaign trail. The incompetence and indifference that voters are experiencing at rallies like these is a tiny taste of what’s to come in a Hillary Clinton administration. One more reason to pray that Obama can eke out an Ohio victory.

By: Obamamama

Obamamama — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:51:56 +0000

David, don’t you think it’s fair to say that if Hillary’s rallies are handled so badly, so often (yours is not the first account I’ve read of poor planning for Clinton rallies, by a long shot), that ultimately does reflect on her? “The buck stops here” and all of that?

It seems like her campaign has been badly managed, with top people (Ickes/ Penn, Bill Clinton/ Solis Doyle [when she was still around]) hurling accusations at each other. I think it’s fair to extrapolate from that a bit. (This is her first executive experience and it’s not going well — how does that translate to how she’d govern? Imprudent spending, hiring people based on loyalty rather than experience, etc., etc.)

By: David

David — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:21:14 +0000

There was a rumour that Clinton would likely speak (briefly) to the overflow crowd after the main speech was over. Once I knew I wasn’t getting in for sure and the crowd died down, I decided to leave before the roads got worse.

My complaint here isn’t about Hillary herself, but the way the event was handled before she even got there.

As for Bill, I think they have him hitting all the small towns.

By: JenJen

JenJen — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:59:10 +0000

Wow. At least Obama speaks outside, using a bullhorn, to the overflow crowds.

It does seem as though the Clinton staffers in Ohio are overwhelmed. I’m in Cincinnati, and we’ve yet to see Bill make an appearance down here… isn’t that strange? The Cincinnati Obama Rally went perfectly… 12,000+ and smooth as silk!

By: Obamamama

Obamamama — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:42:03 +0000

Just checking in with one more story. I went to the Obama rally in Columbus with my young daughter, and was extremely impressed with how it went. It was bitterly cold and I was worried about waiting outside — but there were no lines at all. (Lots of people, and lots of entrances, and no outside lines; we got through security in seconds.) I am deaf and needed an interpreter — the interpreter was provided, and my daughter and I were ushered to prime seats so I could see the interpreter clearly. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. We got to meet Senator Obama as he made the rounds at the end and he chatted with my daughter for a little bit (which she was very happy about!)

All in all it was a great experience.

By: David

David — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:42:35 +0000

First off, I want to say that I hate the inbound links that frame me as a blogger angry about being turned away. If I was truly desperate to hear Hillary speak I had enough time to drive to the next event she was supposed to attend and try again.

I also appreciate hearing all the Obama stories. I haven’t had the chance to see him speak yet, but I am an Obama supporter. It sounds like his events are worlds apart from what I attended. I actually don’t remember seeing any Clinton volunteers checking on the people in the line.

By: Chadney

Chadney — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:32:45 +0000

All I can say is “Ditto” to the people talking about the good experience of Obama rallies. I saw him in Santa Fe, NM and we waited in line for about 3 hours before we made it in. There were hundreds of people left outside in the freezing cold (no overflow room). Obama talked to everyone outside for quite a while and froze with them.
I Have to agree with Mr. Hood. If Clinton can’t even run a campaign; staying within a budget; organizing people efficiently and effectively, Then how are we supposed to believe that she is capable of running the most powerful country in the world? Something way more complex than a simple primary campaign.

By: J Edwards, Rio Rancho, NM

J Edwards, Rio Rancho, NM — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:36:09 +0000

I attended an Obama event in Albuquerque, New Mexico with my 78 year old mother and our 80 year old neighbor. We planned to get to the event early, which was held in a convention center complex. We were able to park in the convention center’s parking structure and walk indoors to the theater area. However, the end of the line was already back outside and wrapped around the facility. With my mother on oxygen, and our neighbor walking with a cane, it was obvious that these two wouldn’t be able to walk back outside, wait in the cold and walk back (and both directions included lots of stairs.) One of the volunteer got chairs and water for them, kept us a few steps from where the press corps was checking in. They sent us through that entrance and the “fast track” security line, and then to seats next to the rope line. We had a birds-eye view of everything and could even see the “green room”. When the Senator made his entrance, we got to shake his hand and amidst all of the cheers and everything, he asked both Mom and our neighbor if they were okay and if they needed anything. All in all the event was well run. The overflow room had about 1000 people and the Senator stopped there first to “fire them up.” All in all, I’d say the event I attended was very representative of Obama events: taking care of the people was the priority.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:25:26 +0000

I just want to say, that I attended a Barack Obama rally in El Dorado, Kansas. It was 19 degrees outside and snowing– Barack Obama’s people were taking hot chocolate to the people waiting in line, it was very well organized, and the line moved quickly. I was placed in an overflow room, where a movie-sized screen projected the rally. Before he spoke to the main audience, he came and spoke to those of us who didn’t make it into the main hall. My daughter shook his hand, and got a great picture. Everyone was very gracious, and it was obvious that our comfort, (and warmth) was a priority for the people on his staff. There was absolutely no preferential treatment shown when it came to who got in the main room, though families with small children and the handicapped were given warm places to wait.

By: Keith Hood

Keith Hood — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:06:25 +0000

How different from the Obama event in Toledo that I attended on Sunday. It, too, was cold and the doors were supposed to open at 2:15 PM but they started letting people in before 1 PM. 10,000 people were let into the auditorium and 5,000 people were not able to get in. Obama, as he always does, spent time greeting and talking to some of the people who could not get in even though it made him late for the memorial service for the college students killed in the recent tragedy in his home state, Illinois. Obama has run a much more organized campaign than Hillary Clinton. Why should we believe that she’d be ready to run the country on day one when she has so mismanaged her campaign? Why should we trust her with our tax dollars when she can’t even manage her own campaign budget?