The 15,000

Posted at 11:27 PM on August 27, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: The political conventions

The Columbia Journalism Review has a hysterical piece that chronicles the 15,000 journalists who are here.

14,000 are wearing terrible suits
4,021 are smuggling bad-mouthing the convention
500 don't have credentials but are trying desperately to get them.
150 are in the CNN grill

He left out "fixing their hair" (see above). It appears to be all TV hosts know how to do when the camera isn't on.

(H/t: Sasha Aslanian)

The article is an enjoyable read. But a serious comment attached to it makes a stab at more serious endeavors.

The problem with such tiring criticism of the national political conventions is that it comes from critics who simply don't understand what really happens there every four years. The conventions are about a lot more than just nominating a president, selecting a vice president and adopting a platform to get them elected. National political conventions are about change. The real lasting changes take place off the convention floor, out of the camera lens' range, in each state caucus, rump session and hospitality suite. Tomorrow's leaders grab the reins, yesterday's fade into history. Ideas are exchanged between state and local government officials who learn proven new ways to solve their problems. New courses are charted at the state, county and city levels. That's what most of the reporters assigned to cover these gatherings of the nation's political leaders and volunteers are doing in Denver and will be doing in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Too bad the talking heads don't understand that.

I haven't been tagging along with the Minnesotans -- we've got plenty of reporters here to do that -- but a glance bears witness to the rising powers in the DFL. Names like Tarryl Clark, R.T. Rybak, Patricia Torres Ray contrast with the names from the 1996 convention in Chicago -- Paul Wellstone, Roger Moe, Skip Humphrey. If you're in the mood for a trip down whatever-happened-to-him lane, sift through the 1996 election story archive.

Useless convention trivia - A vice presidential candidate automatically becomes the person-to-beat to succeed the person at the top of the ticket if elected. Joe Biden will be 74 in 2016 -- two years older than Sen. John McCain is now.

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