.jpg)
Charismatic. Amazing hair. Sex appeal. Lots of hearty laughter. Tangible ambition. An ability to connect with people instantly. Democrats love these kind of men. We fall at their feet and hand them the keys to the kingdom, even as we acknowledge their obvious arrogance, flawed sense of propriety, and their propensity to break our hearts. They are the high school quarterbacks who in spite of their popularity, talk to us – the ugly girls – and make us feel special and important.Last night was Bill Clinton's night to speak. He's the most famous example of this type of man with whom Democrats fall in love. Even though Clinton pissed so many of us off this year with his attacks on Obama during the primaries, it was difficult to hold a grudge last night as he took the stage and spoke. He's past his prime, but like fat Elvis, Bill still shows the magnetism that once sent our hopes soaring.
Appropriately, I spent some time with the next Democratic Elvis yesterday. Gavin Newsom is the mayor of San Francisco, and before long, he will be a senator, or perhaps governor of California. I state this with great certainty. You meet him and instantly know.
This is a man who opened the door to the legalization of gay marriage in California, making him a hero in the gay rights movement. A man who, at age 40, has already been the subject of a huge publicized sex scandal (having cheated on his wife with the wife of his campaign manager). A man who emerged from the shame "a changed man," and who has been largely forgiven. A politician who in spite of his flaws enjoys immense popularity among his constituents because of his passion for his job and his uncanny ability to move things in the right direction.
Gavin spent a lot of time in Studio 08 yesterday. He did half a dozen radio interviews, some television, and was drawn to all of the young reporters for YouTube and
web media. He spent almost a half hour with a high school reporter – a very generous amount of time – getting her very fired up and expressing the most heartfelt passion about the need to change the direction of the country. The girls eyes were filled with tears several times when I glanced over.I spoke to him for a little while. I didn't say much, other than to let him know that a picture with him was worth 20 "gay points," and to thank him for helping me boost my sagging score. He's really skinny, tall, and uses a whole lot of hair product. His face is less handsome up close than on TV. But, you have to admit that the package works. The guy's a star.
Which leads me to an observation. With the exception of Hillary Clinton and maybe Michelle Obama, the stars of this show are all men. Say what you will about "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling." As I've watched the parade of political movers and shakers file through Studio 08, I've really noticed how absent the women are. If there's another Hillary Clinton in the Democratic line-up, she hasn't been doing any television appearances.
It's the men that are getting everyone in an excited tizzy. A female staffer of the Democratic National Committee ran into the studio last night and yelled, "I touched Obama!" People squealed, I'm not kidding. When Deval Patrick, governor of Massachussetts, came through, it was like James Brown had entered the room. Having spoken to him briefly, I can tell you the hype is deserved. Deval is incredible (keep an eye on him, for sure).
But, there are no female Democratic leaders who get everyone tingling and excited. More than 90-percent of the political figures who have been through our studio have been men.
Sure, we have seen Claire McCaskill and Nancy Pelosi, but no one got very excited about their arrivals. No one tried to get their picture with either of them. No high school reporters in tears interviewing them.
Democrats are all about the handsome quarterback. That was the realization I had yesterday, and it made me appreciate, again, how and why Hillary was important to many women who call themselves Democrats. Bad news for you ladies – I'm truly afraid she was the exception, not the rule.
A
couple of extra pics today. Me and "Speckled Puppy" Jason, the audio guy, cheesing around with the camera. Jason is totally in love with all the painfully skinny little blondes that seem to be the dominant "type" working the media relations operations.Microphones at the radio interview stations turned incorrectly (all week). They are supposed to sit upright so the sound can flow in the side of the mic, but they have them all turned to point at
the interviewee's mouth, which is completely wrong. Terrible sound quality, Speckled Puppy tells me. Remember my previous blog about the bitchy little queen intern, David? Yeah, the radio stuff is his territory. SP, being an audio engineer, was going to let him know about this common mistake, but David's being such a little bitch we decided to let it go.I also loved th
e signs that the CNN remote camera crew put up on their tent. They've grown a bit tired of being the information booth. I meant to ask them how "Ladies Night" went. They probably saw more ladies than we did in the studio.Tonight we head to Invesco Field for the big night.
