If the National Mall is considered the “prime time” for rallies, then Comedy Central was not ready. I can’t say what happened, what was funny, or what was what on the stage where Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert MC’d because I couldn’t SEE or HEAR anything.
Since there was no way to get past the wall of people heading towards the Mall area, I had to go to the back of the stage, where it was pretty quiet near the production trailers and the limos parked in back. Note the word “quiet.” All the noise was on the Mall. Fortunately, I did hear the strains of the national anthem which was sung quite well by….I have no idea, because I couldn’t see anything. I did sneak a peek of the teleprompter facing the stage. Gee, it sounds funnier than it reads I guess.
There were only two Trinitrons on each side of the stage. Were they expecting 500 people and not tens of thousands? A television monitor was set up in a tent behind the stage and limos to handle “overflow.” If you weren’t within 100 yards of a giant Trinitron, you probably saw very little. I eventually squeezed my way to the south west side of the Mall. By then I could see a little bit of Ozzy Osbourne and Jon Stewart on one of the monitors, and the O’Jay’s singing “Love Train.” And I heard it too.
Overall, considering the size of the crowd and the lack of community organizing to move people around, there was a sanity to the madness. I’m sure the yelling behind closed doors will start next week when the city unpacks its figures for crowd control, transportation rerouting, street closings, and the four people who fell to the bottom of the Metro entrance because the escalator couldn’t sustain that many passengers.
Wish I had more glowing reflections of the event. A few interesting signs were carried around. Some people showed up in Halloween costumes, or maybe not. For me, the crowd provided most of the entertainment. Comedians do better on small stages. Rallies do better with more community organizing.
The President’s Weekly
The President did have his one-on-one with Jon Stewart in a smaller venue, but also had his weekly closeup to in anticipation for the day after November 2nd…and after the recounts.
Whatever the outcome on Tuesday, we need to come together to help put people who are still looking for jobs back to work. And there are some practical steps we can take right away to promote growth and encourage businesses to hire and expand. These are steps we all should be able to agree on – not Democratic or Republican ideas, but proposals that have traditionally been supported by both parties.
And for readers in the U.S., eclectique916.com asks you to
VOTE! NOVEMBER 2ND