Dyngus Day and the Presidential race

by Don Wheeler

There's no point in sugar coating it - the Dyngus Day event at the South Bend West Side Democratic club was stacked against Barack Obama's campaign. Compare the signage in the photo array post, add a dash of a large Clinton campaign staff contingent handing out event signs (no comparable effort for Obama), compare the speaker list and it certainly appears the Obama campaign (for the most part) thought it wise to sit this one out.

They were not absent, I should be clear. I was not in the building - which sounded as though it was dominated by Clinton supporters - but outside there was a healthy contingent of Obama supporters. In addition, former Congressman Tim Roemer made a powerful speech on his behalf.

But later, when Mr. Roemer attempted to recap the speech to those of us outside, no microphone was provided and for several minutes he had to compete with very loud polka music over the PA system. Eventually, someone finally prevailed upon county party chair Butch Morgan to ask the music be cut off while Congressman Roemer spoke. But it was nearly impossible to hear him.

First up for the Clinton campaign was former Mayor of South Bend, Lt. Governor and Governor of Indiana - Joe Kernan. Joe is as beloved a man among local Democrats as anyone, I suspect. His job was to introduce Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (daughter of RFK) who proved to be a powerful and intriguing speaker.

In the first part of her speech she shared very personal glimpses of life with her parents and her memories of her father's visit to South Bend and Dyngus Day in 1968. I didn't live here then, but her words still impacted me. Maybe I've lived here long enough that my sense of community predates my actual physical presence here.

In the second part (and there was a clear division) she explained how Hillary Clinton's arc of life and her campaign for the Presidency dovetailed with Robert Kennedy's efforts in his short life. It was powerful.

Then it was Chelsea Clinton's turn. She spoke briefly about what she saw as her mother's strengths and how she intended to help the effort to elect her. The person I most clearly remember as an awkward teeenager is now a polished speaker. Perhaps a better public speaker than her mother.

But Chelsea's main job was to introduce her father.

Bill Clinton has a particular talent for compressing serious information into a short format. He also tends to bing up a tibit of information many of us who thought we were paying attention have/had never heard. On this occassion, he claimed that 90 percent of people in foreclosure never missed a payment. That sounds mighty compelling until you think about how that could be possible. Most foreclosures occur when borrowers are seriously behind on payments. I guess we need to read the footnotes.

He made a few other somewhat dubious claims, but in general he made a very strong case for Hillary by clearly defining our challenges and framing her proposals as solutions. This was a stark contrast to Rep. Roemer's Obama talking points which tend to be more based on personality and less on policy. Mr. Clinton also highlighted some specific examples indicating an electoral advantage (in defeating McCain) vs. Obma - based on some recent polling.

I don't know if this is a fair assessment, but I have the impression that the Hillary Clinton campaign may well have fared better by having him here than her. Who can know?

In any case, it sure looked like a Clinton event - with others invited. Still...very interesting.

Here's a short clip from Countdown on the topic: