Ramblings

Each day I become more annoyed by my local area daily newspaper, The Tampa Tribune. It has always been a right-leaning newspaper, but in recent years has been more right-moderate. Not so this election. I expected the paper to endorse McCain, that was a given. But there has been a desperate mean-spiritedness that has permeated this campaign, not only from the editorial chief and staff, but from the editor-in-chief of the entire newspaper, as well. Articles that should be reported as straight news are published with headings intended to slur Senator Obama. A very recent one: "Obama 'Flooding' Florida -- He and his friends will barnstorm the state this week..." his "friends" in this case being Senator and former President Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson, etc., NOT the so-called "friends" from the rabidly mean McCain commercials that the Tribune hoped we would think of when thinking of Obama's friends. The headline may not seem like much, but it is one of the continued veiled and not-so-veiled attempts to denigrate Senator Obama. The only letters to the editor being published now are those that support McCain and Palin and unfairly criticize Obama; the "Letter of the Day" today is a representative sample. No mention has been made of the inflammatory and dangerous remarks at McCain/Palin rallies, which began right here in the Bay area at a Clearwater rally for Palin. Poll results published are only those that favor McCain.

In contrast, The St. Petersburg Times, published across the bay, is a moderate-to-left-leaning, six-time-Pulitzer-prize-winning, larger circulation newspaper that is S L O W L Y coming out in support of Senator Obama (they are doing it in a four-part installment). The St. Pete Times is well known as one of the nation's finest newspapers.

Our family has subscribed to the Tribune for many years, but this is the first time I have noticed a true lack of honest journalism in our local paper. We can't change it, as the Tribune is owned by a private entity and can print whatever they want. But we don't have to continue to contribute to its continued publication.

We are leaving the Tribune and subscribing to the St. Pete Times TODAY.

Also, here's a very interesting article from the Washington Post. Fascinating read: "From Outsider to Politician"

I've already voted, but of course I am always interested in hearing more about Barack Obama. Frontline on PBS will be doing their every-presidential-campaign profile of the Democratic and Republican candidates on October 14th. This one is called, "The Choice -- 2008." Below is a preview of the portion about Senator Obama.


Don't forget to record and/or tune in, but it will also be available to view online.

I first became involved in a political campaign in high school. One of my friends wanted to work to help get John Gilligan elected as governor of Ohio in 1970, but she wanted another friend and I to work with her. So we went to the campaign headquarters, where we were given straw hats, sashes to wear and lots of pamphlets and bumper stickers to hand out, and we hit the streets. We talked to many people and had a lot of fun, and I don’t know how many voters we may have influenced, but we gave it our best; anyway, John Gilligan did indeed win that year. My friends and I all received invitations to the inaugural ball; my mother said I was too young to go!

Living in South Carolina several years later, I became interested in the campaign of Charles “Pug” Ravenel, who was running for governor at that time. I was especially interested in the death penalty being abolished there and very much wanted a Democrat in the governor’s mansion, so I got behind Mr. Ravenel’s campaign. I typed letters, did filing, made phone calls, went door to door, passed out literature, and gave it my all. Mr. Ravenel WOULD have won, had he been able to meet the residency requirement for candidacy; he was a South Carolina native, but had gone north to Harvard and had done business there for some time, and he hadn’t been back in the state long enough. How disappointed we all were! (The death penalty WAS abolished for a time in S.C., though it has since been reinstated.)

After that campaign other interests crowded in; I became a registered independent, not wanting to align myself with either major party, though I voted most often for Democrats. I did not work in any campaigns. However, I recently decided to get involved again, to volunteer for Senator Barack Obama.

Grassroots campaigns capture the imagination. This is where the rubber meets the road, where families, friends, neighbors and co-workers influence each other one-on-one. Small contributions from many, many people lead to big campaign coffers. A bit of campaign work on the part of many, many individuals yields big results.

For my small contribution to the campaign, I’ve been making calls on Senator Obama’s behalf to my home state of Ohio. I don’t know how many people I’ve helped make a decision or how many will actually vote next Tuesday, but I’m giving it my best. For me there is again the thrill of being a part of the political process. It’s a great feeling!