(Hail to the Chief- Audio Sound Bite)
I had the 'rare opportunity' to see then-candidate George W. Bush speak at a lavish fund-raiser in downtown Richmond in Februrary of 2000. I was amazed how he sounded just like the sound bites of him that would air on C-Span. Surprisingly, a Republican volunteer agreed with me when I made this comment, but he said that Bush was much 'better in person."
Today in Greensboro and the Randolph County (NC) community of Randleman which is home to Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Camp (ironically, I applied to work there over the summer), some members of the community had a chance to indeed meet President George W. Bush in person. I can imagine that if my child (I don't have any) had been at the Greensboro elementary school, I may have been happy because it is not every day that a child can meet a president. But, if my child had asked Bush a tough question, such as "When are we going to get out of Iraq?"- which few reporters from our area are likely to do (if they can even talk to him), I would be even more proud of him.
One of the amazing ironies that few local media outlets have examined is the fact that Bush visited a Greensboro elementary school to tout 'No Child Left Behind,' even though Rockingham Community College in my jurisdiction saw dramatic federal cuts in its adult education programs. As someone from the school effectively told me, "Bush may not leave any child behind, but the parents of those children are another matter." The issue was brought to the attention North Carolina Public Radio. They did a segment on RCC's plight, which aired on May 3, 2005.
Tonight, Bush will visit the former ambassador of Estonia who now resides in Greensboro. The dinner is a $1,000 fundraiser for Republican candidates. Given the fact that Republicans stand to lose one or two congressional house seats on Nov. 7 (former Redskins quarterback Heath Schuler is a Democratic candidate in the 12th district which includes Asheville), it seems likely that this year they may actually need the extra cash.
Interestingly enough, "The Vagina Monologues" author Eve Ensler, who has just published a novel (monologues is a play) is also in the Triad. She will be speaking in Winston-Salem for about $10 or $11.
For more coverage of the Bush visit (and, maybe/perhaps the Ensler visit), you can visit Greensboro's CBS-affiliate on the web:
If that is the wrong link, I guess the only I can say is..........oooops!:)
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