[The following italicized passages were written shortly after receiving an assignment to cover Obama's Jacksonville press conference, but before he arrived, and the non-italicized passages were written afterward. All photo credits go to Jesse Jones of the Ponte Vedra Recorder.]
…So Jesse and I are on our way to cover Barack Obama’s appearance on the riverfront here in downtown J-ville. The coverage assignment came at the very last minute, which definitely added to the excitement, and I was tasked with writing a few grafs for our new Web site, while Jesse shot photos (pictured below are credited to him)…
…This event gave us a chance to use our brand new Web site, which I believe went live today…
…We’ll see how well this process works, and hopefully our Web site will perform like it’s supposed to… we’ll see… but I’m excited to see Barack and to see what all the fuss is about…
…Hurry up and wait seems to be the M.O. here, as regional media personnel set up and calibrate their equipment-all of us sweating profusely…
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…the motorcade arrives…extremely early according to everyone’s reactions, and aside from a sizable security contingent, there are only about 15 or 20 of us…
…so who knew the campaign press detail rolls in their own motorcade? I guess it makes sense…
…there seems to be an insatiable demand for power strips as the national media junkies stumble and crawl over their equipment, jockeying for what they hope is the best position or angle…
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The buzz picked up when one of the campaign correspondent groupies called out the two-minute arrival warning.
Obama’s entrance was unceremonious and casual. He wore a white, tailored button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up, with a skinny red-patterned tie.
He stepped right up to the podium amid a decent smattering of applause from some local Jacksonvillians and launched right into his speech.
Appearing somewhat defensive, Obama criticized the idea of developing more offshore oil drilling interests in Florida, claiming benefits wouldn’t be realized anywhere from five years to more than 30. Instead, he referenced a proposal to invest more than $150 billion over the next ten years in clean, renewable and affordable energy, although he neglected specifics.
Jesse took a great collection of photos from the event, a few where the composition shows a wide-angle view of Obama at the podium, framed by a few members from the media. Standing between the St. Johns River and the press contingent, separated by a 10-foot security zone, he looked strangely isolated.
The event was short, but interesting and while I didn’t get swept up in the Obama mania, I can definitely understand the attractability of his charisma. It’s not a shocker, though, that Jacksonville or northeast Florida, in general, isn’t the most receptive area to democratic candidates.
1 Comment
August 4, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Haha! in the second picture I know the guy in the black sweater and jeans…he was an intern here…and the guy in the blue shirt is Mike Tolbert…he’s one of our reporters…
funny that they ended up on your blog!