Wednesday was spent hopping between final events and trying to get posts up after the first few days. Lawyer Mama had a busy day heckling anarchists and redefining community service, and we were all choking back tears during Beau Biden's introduction of his dad. Joan Garry wrote about her experience at the convention as Obama's LGBT
Finance Committee Co-Chair, taking a moment to reflect about a naive
protesters' point-of-view.
That evening, as I sat in the media tent outside the Pepsi Center, Hillary Clinton called for a vote of affirmation for Barack Obama to become president, and I couldn't help but soak in the moment - watching a woman ask another woman to call for a vote to nominate the first black man as U.S. president. Julie Lythcott-Haims, the delegate in our group, got chills from being right in the middle of the action.
Thursday, we headed to The Big Tent DIGG stage for the Ms. Foundation panel on "What Women Want, What the Country Needs", followed by "Cracks in the Glass Ceiling," put on by WomenCount and including Erin Kotecki Vest and me. Downstairs, Cynematic won a golden ticket to Invesco from Daily Kos, while Julie Lythcott-Haims was already inside Invesco reporting about preparations for the evening's event.
The rest of us had to wait for our passes to be distributed after 2:00pm to begin our journey. After walking quite a distance and standing in line for about four hours to get into Invesco field, some MOMocrats live blogged (chatted) the event as others tweeted and took video from the stands. Even from the farthest seats in the stadium, we were floored by Senator Obama's riveting speech - his boldness, sincerity, and his sense of truly grasping the issues that are important to Americans at this "defining moment" in history. As long and hard as the week was for all of us, it was a moment worth the wait.
Finally Friday, MOMocrats went after McCain's choice of VP nominee Governor Sarah Palin with guns blazing and stirred up a nice comment storm along with it. Join us for a Jobama Mama cocktail, ladies. It's been a long, thrilling week and we're going to keep going, as Hillary Clinton advised, until the last vote is cast. Yes we can.
Sarah Granger is proud to call herself a MOMocrat, and the more time she spends with the other MOMocrats, the more impressed she is by these women in every way.
]]>(Cross posted from MOMocrats.com.)
]]>MOMocrats covered the speeches from inside the Pepsi Center on the night including Julie Pippert's interview with Governor Jeanne Shaheen and Julie Lythcott-Haims' coverage of Unity sign bickering. Jaelithe hit the nail on the head in noticing that although Hillary Clinton's speech was phenomenal, it wasn't the same as the night before or her own speech earlier in the day. Still, proximity matters and she and I weren't in the Pepsi Center Tuesday night like we were on Monday. Jaelithe also wrote a detailed explanation of what it's like to be a credentialed blogger in the official events.
Somehow I had four overlapping, double-simultaneous events yesterday but I unbelievably made it to all four. I made it to an Emerge America alumni luncheon, the WomenCount launch event with Hillary Clinton where we were right up next to her liveblogging, and then I caught most of the New Democrats Network panel on technology tools in the campaign, but it was bittersweet, because I missed the speakers I most wanted to see at the EMILY's List gala.
MOMocrats Managing Editor, Glennia Campbell and I took a chance and hopped on a bus to a private event for Bay Area convention-goers at a historical mansion where we met Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and her husband (both of whom it's impossible not to adore), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and members of her staff, who were all gracious hosts, I was happily reunited with new (yippee!) Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and friends of mine who had worked on her campaign. Several more members of congress were present, in addition to family members of Nancy Pelosi's, delegates, Emerge California board members, and Netroots Nation organizers. We couldn't have felt more at home. Governor David Patterson of New York made a cameo toward the end, and Senator Chris Dodd appeared just as we were leaving.
Bay Area Obama delegate, Julie Lythcott-Haims, encountered a variety of demonstrators and took one on with her own version of free speech - this after encountering a crowd of "anarchists", later to be in a confrontation with the Secret Service.
Surprised by all that's going on? It's exhausting - really - you can see it in the faces of everyone in The Big Tent, slung over couches toward the end of the night. What's really amazing is that I didn't even cover all of the posts written yesterday or all of the events everyone attended. The convention is just that big. What I will mention is that the MOMocrats have been really well received here in Denver - people love the name, they seem to like us, they feel our content is quality and to credit our fearless leader, Glennia, we're - gasp - "well organized." (Glennia credits working a lot of bake sales as a mom, but I think it's more than that. From what I've witnessed, each of the MOMocrats has unique strengths and all of the MOMocrats continue to impress me the longer I work with them. We ended the day with another pow-wow in PJ's and I couldn't be happier to be spending time with these incredibly capable women.
This morning, Julie Lythcott-Haims had a cathartic, emotional moment with a Clinton supporter who just wanted to be heard during the convention - although in a different way than she had thought. That's just the beginning.
]]>With wireless coverage not as easy to find as one might hope, Twitter from mobile phones has been essential for getting across what was actually happening - from being in the middle of demonstrators to the convention hall, we've been tweeting our fingers off. So first stop for MOMocrats coverage outside of BlogHer: http://www.twitter.com/momocrats and #momocrats. (See also: #dnc08.)
Sunday, MOMocrats rolled by Michelle Obama's hybrid (supposedly), along with picking up credentials, attending receptions, and getting settled in. Monday, MOMocrats continue to celebrate at women's events, defend free speech, and confess patriotism.
When the prime time events began in the Pepsi Center, MOMocrats were there too - on the perimeter, inside, in the blogger lounge, and seated in the rear to take it all in. It was a phenomenal night seeing Michelle Obama - and her adorable children, along with a quick video cameo by Barack Obama. More to come...
Sarah Granger is blogging the DNCC for MOMocrats, BlogHer, WomenCount, Obama for America, The Political Voices of Women, and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog. What a week!
]]>Ellen Malcolm founded EMILY's List to help raise money for and train Democratic women candidates. Her piece in today's Washington Post, "Quitters Never Win", emphasizes how far we have come over Malcolm's life because of women like Hillary Clinton (and I might add because of people like Malcolm). "Over and over again the media and her opponents have claimed that she is defeated -- it's over, she can't win, she's a loser. And over and over again... female voters poured out of their homes to cast their ballots for her."
Marie Wilson, founder of The White House Project, emphasizes on their blog, "Change Everything," that "An Army of Women" is a "deeply rooted cultural fear", and that this fear is driving the media to push toward Clinton stepping aside.
In my post at MOMocrats yesterday, I wrote of The White House Project's mission and their accomplishments in training and encouraging women to "Vote, Run, Lead." I also noted that if it's true that Hillary Clinton still has a 4% chance of winning the nomination, that's a better chance than she had of getting admitted to Yale, but she was. For women to have come so far, can't we just let her say a little longer? Every day is another big step for the progress of women in our democracy.
Malcolm writes: "The first woman ever to win a presidential primary is supposed to stop competing, to curtsy and exit stage right... Why on earth should one candidate quit before the contest is finished?" "I believe Hillary also has a responsibility to play the game to its conclusion."
...
Sarah Granger graduated from the Emerge California political leadership training program, along with the EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program for Democratic women, and she is a strong advocate for The White House Project.
]]>First off, in terms of the Americans, see my posts from the U.S. Nationals Ladies Short Program and Ladies Free Skate for how things stood coming into this event. The gold and silver medalists, Mirai Nagasu and Rachel Flatt, are not at Worlds because they're too young. They went to Junior Worlds instead. (I guess this is a relatively new rule because Tara Lipinski won Worlds at age 14 a decade ago. I don't know when or why it changed, but many people are speaking out about their opinions on the change now.)
As the results stand going into the Free Skate, Kimmie Meissner, the most known name in U.S. ladies figure skating the past few years since her world title in '06, is in 9th place after the Short Program. She's had a rocky year and she skated well in the Short, but she only did a triple-double combination. It's just that other skaters had higher difficulty and also skated near perfect. So much for the American ladies having a chance at the podium.
Bebe Liang and Ashley Wagner, the 5th place and 3rd place finishers from Nationals respectively are in 10th and 11th place after the Short Program. As of the Short Program, there's a small chance one of them could make the top 5, but medal likelihood is slim. Liang skated a strong program and looked happy about her skate. Wagner skated well too; she just didn't have the difficulty she needed to contend with the top group, turning her triple-triple into a triple-double and skating without the relaxed artistry of the top skaters.
The final skating group for today includes leader from the Short Program, European Champion, Italy's Carolina Kostner, Joannie Rochette of Canada, Kiira Korpi of Finland, Yu-Na Kim of Korea (coming off an injury), Mao Asada, currently in second, and Yukari Nakano, currently in third, both from Japan. All of these ladies are solid, fantastic skaters and incredible to watch, especially the young Japanese and Korean skaters. Expect Kim, Asada and Nakano to shine along with Kostner, but don't count out Korpi. Note last year's champion, Miki Ando, is not in that group. She had a new look in her short program - very long with a more artistic flow, but she had the same problem as Meissner.
What impressed me the most about this event was how few flaws were in the top contenders' programs. They were all excellent. Mao Asada's triple lutz, triple loop combination seemed effortless and its height was superb (my Dick Button word of the day). Kostner's triple-triple was equally impressive although technically less difficult. To be totally honest, I don't know why her points were higher than Asada's. I thought Asada was better. It must've been in the footwork difficulty, spin positions and little details. Kim took an unfortunate fall, but otherwise looked incredible given that she had been off the ice for a month.
Every few years, the costumes fail to appeal to me in international events and while I admired the choices by Asada and Kim, Wagner and Sebestyen could have done better. I liked Korpi's unique choice, but the fabric selection was a bit off. I want to hire whoever did her make-up for Kimmie Meissner; it was gorgeous, and Meissner could use a bit of color for the TV. You might say that commenting about the costume and make-up choice is moot in a sporting event, but as a skater, it affects your movement and how you feel about the music. As an audience member, it affects your perception of the artistry as in a theater and it needs to be seen from the back row. As a judge, it affects how you view the appropriateness of the theme and the theatricality.
In the Mens event, American Johnny Weir, who has been on fire this year, is holding steady in a close second place behind Canadian Jeffrey Buttle. Weir reportedly had a career best Short Program. U.S. champion, Evan Lysacek, withdrew on the 13th due to an injury and equipment issues, which is a bummer to say the least, but he's looking to stay healthy for the Olympics. He was in top shape and won Nationals by a hair over Weir, but these things happen.
The pairs competition has already ended - spectacular German pair Savchenko & Szolkowy took the gold with exquisite detail and choreography, Zhang & Zhang (winners of the Short) of China took the silver, and Canadians Dube & Davison the bronze. Americans Inoue and Baldwin finished 10th, the best from the U.S. with Castile and Okolski behind them in 11th. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto came out in fourth overall, a disappointing finish compared to recent years. French team, Delobel & Schoenfelder took the gold, just ahead of Canadians Virtue & Moir, and Russians Kokhlova & Novitski inched into the bronze 0.26 points ahead of Belbin & Agosto.
Finally, to entice readers to watch the Worlds today, I will give one spoiler: we have a new Ladies World Champion. Look for the that on ABC from 3-6pm EDT/PDT today and the Men from 5-7pm tomorrow on ESPN.
Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, can't wait to teach her two year-old daughter how to do a spin on skates. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle, and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
]]>Out of the top ten skaters in the Senior Ladies division at Nationals, at least eight could be major contenders internationally. Unfortunately, we can only send three. Those ranked 6-10 after the Short Program skated in the first group tonight. As Bebe Liang completed her program, I knew the rest of the skaters must have done well. Her program was really good. Not superb, but really good. She came in fifth. I couldn't wait to see the rest skate.
Caroline Zhang, who was in 7th after the Short Program, skated after Liang. She was perfect. Her layback was exquisite, her positions gorgeous, and her jumps high and clean. She received a standing ovation. She earned fourth place with that performance - a skate that would have earned her a higher spot on the podium many years, but not this year. A perfect program and a standing ovation and fourth place. Unbelievable. After that, knowing the results, I could only assume the top three also skated incredible programs.
Rachel Flatt, who took the ice after Kimmie Meissner, completed seven triple jumps including a triple lutz, triple toe-loop combination and a triple flip, double toe-loop, double loop combination along with another triple lutz with a very difficult set-up, giving her even more points. And it wasn't just about the jumps. Her footwork, spiral position, connecting moves, speed and spins were all excellent. She received another standing ovation and when the numbers came up later, won the Free Skate. But not the gold.
Ashley Wagner followed, also with seven triples planned for the first time. She opened with a giant triple lutz, triple loop, followed almost immediately by a double axel. The amount of strength and energy required for that is amazing. And after she finished the last of the jumps, she still looked just as strong as she did at the beginning of the program. Her jumps were all high and strong. Another flawless program and another standing ovation. She scored in second place in both events, but she took the bronze medal. This shouldn't get her down though. She reminds me of Sarah Hughes. I think she's one of those sleeper skaters who could come out a World or Olympic champion in the future.
Mirai Nagasu, the last skater on the ice, leader after the Short Program, reigning Junior U.S. champion, the first time she ever competed with a four minute program, following three standing ovations, came in with a tiny bit of pressure on her. She opened with gorgeous spirals, but then had an odd fall on a double axel. After that, she skated cleanly and because she had such a strong lead after the Short Program, her points carried her through to earn the gold medal. Her overall presentation, her spin positions, and her characterization of her music all played a part as well. She wasn't smiling in the long program like in the short - she clearly knew she had to skate perfectly after that fall. She still earned a standing ovation. After she saw her scores and heard the results, she said, "What?!" Very exciting. According to Scott Hamilton commentating, the last time someone went from Junior champion to Senior champion in one year was 1938. "I'm just happy and without words," Nagasu said on TV.
I was able to connect with this year's Chief Announcer, Robert Richmond, who had what he called "the privilege of announcing the Free Skating Competition." Richmond summarized the field nicely by saying: "There were some interesting surprises in the talent of the younger Senior Ladies." Oddly enough, of the top four skaters at the U.S. Nationals, three can't go to the World Championships because they're too young. In my post about the Short Program, I alluded to this, but I really thought Meissner would pull through for the podium. Flatt missed the cut-off by 20 days, and Nagasu and Zhang are both 14. They must be 16 to go. Instead, they will return to Junior Worlds as veterans.
Most surprising was the finish of Kimmie Meissner, the 2007 national champion. She took 7th place in the Free Skate, nearly 25 points behind Flatt. Overall, she came out 43 points behind Nagasu. This was a result of a fall in the Short as well as three falls on her most major point jumps in the Free Skate. The benefit of the TV time delay for writing this post, however, is that the World team has now been named and Meissner made it due to her past rankings. She, Liang, and Wagner will be going the World Championships March 18-23 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
For those skeptical about the new point system, I want to illustrate something. In this event, in order to name the winner, we had what was very close to a three-way tie, but the point system proved definitively who took what place. Remember the 2002 Olympics that prompted the new judging system? Part of the reason why was the outcome of the ladies' event. Sarah Hughes, Michelle Kwan, and Irina Slutskaya essentially had a three-way-tie and the ordinals broke it. This year, the way the points lined up at Nationals, there was no way to dispute who won. If you want to understand a little better why the placements worked out as they did, here's some information I found about "How the International Judging System Works".
Richmond, who gets one of the best seats in the house explained. "The IJS (International Judging System) has a remarkable amount of technology and areas of redundancy to it that makes the decisions, perhaps much more precise than the audience realizes. At the risk of using an imprecise example, it is like the referee in the NFL reviewing a challenge for every play. There are Technical Specialists with vast amounts of skating knowledge and judging experience, and fast video replay technology that is utilized to assist to make, and if need be, review decisions. The programs are known in advance and can be judged on their execution etc. The level of expertise of the judges and referees is amazing."
In the other categories, McLaughlin & Brubaker won the Pairs event with a phenomenal program aside from one fall, Inoue & Baldwin took the silver (after he proposed on the ice just after their Free Skate), Castile & Okolski the bronze, and Vise & Trent the pewter. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto won their fifth title, Davis & White came in second, Navarro & Bommentre in third with Samuelson & Bates taking fourth.
The men skate tomorrow night, a change from previous years where the ladies always skated last. I'll post about that in the comments here tomorrow night. Meanwhile, congratulations to Mirai Nagasu, Rachel Flatt, Ashley Wagner, Caroline Zhang for their medals best wishes to all the members of the senior and junior world teams.
Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, won a bronze medal at a U.S. Adult Nationals by skating with a stuffed R2-D2. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle & the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
]]>I never competed at Nationals, nor was it ever really a goal of mine. I didn’t have that kind of discipline, motivation, talent or athleticism and I wasn't willing to take that much time out of my daily life for one purpose. I did pass 16 tests as a child skater and another four as an Adult competitor in order to qualify and participate in the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships where I won a few medals, I’ve competed in over 20 competitions including internationally, and I worked hard for many memorable moments on the ice. When I watch competitions, I sometimes feel my muscles automatically contracting in anticipation of the jumps coming up, and I know what that look on their faces means when they lose concentration and what it will cost in their marks.
Watching Nationals has been a little different for me this year - rather than being there or watching a delayed, cropped version of the event on TV, I was able to see the entire competition live on my laptop, thanks to the icenetwork.com coverage. It felt somewhere between being there and watching on TV. I was able to see all the skaters warm-up, perform, and wait for their marks. I could actually hear the coaches giving feedback to the skaters after their programs while in the "Kiss & Cry" area. It was a whole new experience and I’m totally hooked.
Now for the Senior Ladies Short Program report... if you plan to watch the video online or TV coverage, don't read past this point because I will tell you who dazzled, who fell, and who's in the lead.
Last night, the Senior Ladies battled for top marks in the Short Program event (two minutes and forty seconds) in order to set themselves up for Saturday’s Free Skate (four minutes) where the top points add up to the title. Of the 20 competitors in the Senior Ladies event, Caroline Zhang was the first of the top contenders to skate.
Zhang, the reigning Junior World Champion, showed the nerve to attempt a high point triple-triple combination, but she stepped out of the second jump, was tentative on her double axel and slow on her footwork, leaving room for the skaters to overtake her marks. Following Zhang, Beatrisa Liang, whose bodysuit would not have been legal in competition a few years back, popped her triple lutz (stopping the attempt at rotation mid-air), but her speed and presentation moved her into the lead.
Kimmie Meissner, 2006 World Champion and 2007 U.S. champion, known for being the second U.S. lady to land a triple axel in major competition, skated in the second group. Meissner won Skate America in September but had a rocky performance at the Grand Prix Final, finishing sixth. With her title on the line and as the incoming favorite, Meissner began her program looking strong, but suffered an uncharacteristic fall on her triple flip – she just didn’t have the height to pull it off. However, due to the height on her other jumps, her speed, and the degree of difficulty in her other moves, she was able to pull into first.
Becky Bereswill, the first skater to perform a clean (no errors) program, was put into sixth at that point in the event, prompting the crowd to boo. The new judging system still leaves people confused – why not reward a perfect program? The devil’s in the details. Her elements just weren’t as difficult. She’s in 14th after the Short Program.
Alyssa Czissny, 2007 U.S. bronze medalist, known for amazing spins and artistry, skated with a cast on her wrist due to a broken thumb. She stepped-out of her triple lutz combination, two-footed her triple flip, and fell on her double axel. I give her credit just for showing-up with that cast and she still looked beautiful.
Katrina Hacker, the second competitor to skate a clean program, had a gorgeous spiral and strong jumps, putting her into second behind Meissner and warming the crowd just enough for what was to come.
Mirai Nagasu, who jumped into the top spot at the Junior level last year, skated to Gershwin’s "I Got Rhythm" in a bright pink dress with a big smile (here’s my Dick Button moment where I say she’s “my kind of skater”). Nagasu landed a gorgeous triple lutz, triple toe combination and at the end of the program, she reminded me a lot of Kristi Yamaguchi. She brought the house to their feet and she leaped nearly 13 points ahead of Kimmie Meissner. I’m no stats expert on this new system, but I don’t recall anyone recovering from that kind of point deficit in the Free Skate in order to win. It's possible, but highly unlikely.
Rachel Flatt followed by skating to “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, another Gershwin favorite, landed a nice triple lutz, triple toe combination (these triple-triples are huge in the point department) and scored 62.91 pulling ahead of Meissner into second.
Ashley Wagner, the last of the major contenders, performed a beautiful triple lutz, triple loop (more difficult than the triple lutz, triple toe), she had excellent speed in her jumps and spins and she moved into second with a score of 65.15.
At this point, another competitor performed to "Tosca", causing me to blank out due to a visceral reaction from hearing that music used in competitions so many times over the past ten years. I think it should be banned for at least ten (like the unitards), along with "Carmen".
The final skater in the event was a Minnesota local, Molly Oberstar, who skated well and took 11th place, ending the event on a high note.
Final marks for the top ten:
1 – Mirai Nagasu – 70.23
2 – Ashley Wagner – 65.15
3 – Rachel Flatt – 62.91
4 – Kimmie Meissner – 57.58
5 – Katrina Hacker – 56.87
6 – Beatrisa Liang – 55.10
7 – Caroline Zhang – 53.49
8 – Melissa Bulanhagui – 52.77
9 – Alissa Czisny – 50.58
10 – Danielle Kahle – 50.46
This translates to a solid lead for Nagasu, a battle for silver between Wagner, Flatt and possibly Meissner, and due to the closeness of the points, none of the top ten can be counted out for the bronze and the pewter medals. What makes it more complicated is that the top three spots are usually placed on the World team – unless those medalists are ineligible due to age. Nagasu, Flatt and Zhang are all too young for Worlds.
In the rare event that all three of them make the podium, that means the 4th-6th place finishers would be named to the team – good news for Meissner, even if she finishes fourth. However, one skater is missing this year – Emily Hughes, out from a hip injury. She should be recovered and training again in time for Worlds, so she could receive one of the slots for Worlds given past performance if she applies.
In a sport where athletes peak between age 15 and 19 and the premiere event (the Winter Olympics) comes every 4 years, it's nearly impossible to time it right, but most of these skaters are looking to 2010 for the world stage, not 2008, so it usually doesn’t faze them if they can’t go this year. The National title is an achievement in itself and it looks likely we’ll have a new champion.
If you’re watching the Pairs event, look for McLaughlin & Brubaker. Fresh from the junior ranks (they won Junior Nationals and Junior Worlds), they are in first place after the Senior Pairs Short Program. They're also not eligible for Worlds since McLaughlin is too young. Former U.S. champions Inoue & Baldwin are in second, just 1.3 points behind the leaders (a miniscule difference), followed by Castile & Okolski in third and Evora & Ladwig in fourth. Those two pairs are 1.85 points apart although it's unlikely either could recover enough for the gold medal. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto are solidly in the lead after the Compulsory and Original Dance events. The Free Dance will take place Saturday evening. The Senior Men skate Friday night in the Short Program and Saturday afternoon in their Free Skate.
BlogHer's month long Good Health-a-thon has one week remaining, and I think it's fitting that this is also the conclusion of National Skating Month, with the climax over the next few days as the U.S. Figure Skating Championships final events commence. Figure skating is supposedly the most popular women's spectator sport, so ladies, please join me in continuing to watch the coverage this weekend of some incredibly inspiring young athletes.
Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, took ten years to land a consistent axel. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle & the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
]]>The truth is we need all of these things. Every diet is different and you can agree or disagree with them, but the Zone Diet immediately came to my mind when I saw the results tonight from the caucuses because the Zone Diet prescribes the ratio of 40:30:30 to keep the human body working. Iowans showed us tonight that they want a mix too.
Whomever will win the Democratic nomination (and from my POV, hopefully the general election) needs to come across with some sugar - inspiring speeches, some fat - issue substance, and some protein - concrete plans for how to achieve the change so craved by the majority of American voters. (I'm just projecting here based on polling, turnout thus far, and the current administration approval level.) I know it sounds silly comparing politics to dieting, but our country has been yo-yo'ing for a while now and we need to stop.
Also posted at sairy.com.
]]>For those who see this move by Newsweek to be unorthodox or even mundane, let me say this - by putting two major figures who have shaped politics from the right and left over the recent past, we the people will have a unique angle on watching issues in this debate shift. And we will have the opportunity to hear what they think. Plus spin. I expect less spin from Kos because that's not his schtick, but Rove will undoubtedly be riding the spinwagon till the bitter end. Here are two people who are smart, articulate and knee-deep in the views of their parties' political bases. I believe they'll call it as they see it and put up some great arguments for their respective causes.
Now, about the issue the Washington Post article notes of people moving from politics to press and vice versa, I understand why there's concern - the folks in power worry about leaks and message control. But if you are a person with loyalty or integrity, that doesn't happen. As someone who works on campaigns and also is a blogger, I won't talk about the internals of campaigns I work on in any way that compromises any remotely confidential information, and I won't say anything negative about the candidates because I feel it's both ethically wrong and just plain stupid. You shoot yourself in the foot if you do that. Republicans should know by now Rove isn't going to air their dirty laundry.
In cases where it goes the other way and campaigns hire people who have worked in media, they need an agreement from the get-go what those people will and won't divulge and how, once they are working on the campaign or in the government office. It didn't work out so well for the Edwards campaign early this year, but Hillary Clinton made a good move in hiring Peter Daou in 2006 from Salon.com. With media blurring into all aspects of our lives via the Internet and citizen journalism, media and political organizations should be working together more than ever.
...
Cross-posted from sairy.com.
Hillary Clinton, in a week of initiatives focused entirely on women, released a proposal to provide greater family leave options. The press release listed key components of the plan as creating a new State Family Leave Innovation Fund that will "expand paid leave across the country". She also proposes extending FMLA to 13 Million more Americans and requiring sick leave of at least 7 days a year. (How does this work with lame PTO programs that lump vacation and sick days all into one, I wonder?) She's promoting model workplaces and a federal telecommuting initiative (woo-hoo!), she has an affordable childcare component (no details here), and she's working to prevent discrimination, particularly in the case of pregnant women.
This week, Hillary Clinton has also spoken on a number of women's issues and for women's organizations. This is a key component of her campaign, of course, since she's the first viable woman candidate for president, but I personally believe it is much more than that. Having read a great deal about her now and having talked with and read stories about people who have known her well, it is clear to me that she has a deeply rooted commitment to women and families. This is a big part of why I support her candidacy.
It's not just about Hillary Clinton being pro-choice, a woman, a mother, or particularly vocal on key issues generally identifiable as women's issues like healthcare. Reading accounts from former staffers, she walks her talk. When she was First Lady, she allowed some of the people who worked for her to take long leaves for medical, pregnancy, post partum and childcare purposes, work flexible hours and in one rare case, bring a child to work.
If someone had told me all of that before I became a mother, perhaps I would have thought it was a weak policy or unprofessional. But now I realize how hard it really is to balance work and family in a way that is both satisfactory in allowing children to be properly nurtured and cared for while allowing parents to develop meaningful careers. Work-life balance is not some pie-in-the-sky idea that can only happen for the uber-wealthy or those who make major sacrifices. Look at Europe - it is possible. Hillary's plan is just a first, much needed major step.
I am lucky to be able to attend a lunch this Monday in California that will be hosted by former California State Senator Jackie Speier, a woman who has been a long-time champion of women and families. I won't go into too much detail here because I've blogged about this before, but Jackie Speier herself is admirable in many respects through all she's been through personally. I worked for her briefly before I had to go on bed rest in my pregnancy and she was so understanding; I never would've expected that, but she knew I made the right choice in resigning my post so I could make sure my pregnancy was sustainable and that my daughter would be born healthy. I think it's very fitting that she is hosting this event for Senator Clinton after a week of women's initiatives. It shows the real commitment that Hillary has to these new proposals and I have no doubt we will make tons of progress in this area if she becomes president.
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Also posted at sairy.com
As you can see from my liveblogging, we covered topics from tax brackets to math education to healthcare translators. And Elizabeth Edwards still loves us. (After one of my fellow contributors challenged her parenting choices a few weeks ago, there was some heated exchange that got picked-up by "Good Morning America" and taught our blogger and many others a lesson in taking care of what they post. Eventually Elizabeth and Rebecca made up, but it was an interesting few days for the blog.) And we still love her. Even if some of us won't be voting for her husband.
In my casee, as much as I really like Elizabeth and John Edwards, Hillary Clinton's experience and her deep grasp of the issues is holding me strongly in her support. When it comes to national security, our place in the world, healthcare and the economy, I believe Hillary Clinton is our best choice. I like John Edward's proposals and I especially like the fact he's willing to talk about the environment and poverty more than most of the other candidates, but at the end of the day, with terrorists striking, hurricanes flooding and children dying all over the world, I'll sleep better at night knowing Hillary and Bill Clinton are in the White House than John and Elizabeth Edwards. That said, I would still sleep very well knowing John and Elizabeth Edwards were in the White House, and if John Edwards wins the nomination, I will work extremely hard to make sure he wins the election next November.
So what is it about Elizabeth Edwards that makes us all like her so much? As we noticed when we met with her last year during her book tour, she has this down-to-earth quality that shows both her intelligence and her kindness, without any superficial attitude or put-on interest. She genuinely likes to meet new people, she has a wonderfully light way about her, and she sat down with us like we were all old friends. She's also a little bit of a geek, hanging out on the blogs late at night in hotel rooms while traversing the campaign trail, which I find endearing. And she has dealt with major life challenges with the death of her son and her breast cancer, both of which have only added more depth to her persona and more commitment to the causes meaningful to her. I find her both incredibly inspiring and acutely insightful.
Where do we go now? Well, she's promised to meet with the DC Metro Moms Blog and the Chicago Moms Blog as well, so hopefully that will transpire. The SVMoms still seek to meet with other candidates and their spouses, regardless of party, and I hope to help facilitate that. Although I realize it is a long shot because Elizabeth Edwards is unique in her connection to mommybloggers, I think the other candidates could benefit greatly from the discussion with the women in our network - all of whom are highly educated, qualified people in their own right, not just moms, and all of whom represent a key group of women voters.
Some of us from the SVMoms Blog spoke today with various members of the press about our meeting, and one of the points brought up was that this event really has no precedent. The reporter in one case couldn't recall another time where a group of bloggers was given such intimate access to a candidate or candidate's wife. I think this holds great promise for blogs to provide another vehicle for kitchen table and New Hampshire-style living room meet-and-greet democracy. If we can take these small conversations taking place in person and somehow transmit that feeling through the web, we might all feel a little closer to the national political process after all. Thank you Elizabeth.
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Also posted at sairy.com.
Now, some of the mommybloggers attached to the virtual franchise, Silicon Valley Moms Blog, along with the Chicago Moms Blog, DC Metro Moms Blog, and New York Moms Blog, are working to get meetings with all of the candidates. With the women's vote so key in this election - particularly the married womens' vote, many of whom are moms, why not meet with us (disclaimer: I'm a SVMoms contributor) and show why moms should want to vote for you?
The wheels are turning. The discussion is heating up. We got an official no from Michelle Obama. We've had some online conversation with Elizabeth Edwards. Now, we may be able to meet with John Edwards. But it shouldn't stop with the Democrats. Republican contributors are saying - "we want Rudy" and more.
With the Internet shaping some key issues in the debate, particularly around families in politics, mommybloggers are right in the middle of the discussion. I ask other mommybloggers and women bloggers to help us in arranging these meetings, so we can provide greater transparency and get all of the candidates thinking and talking about issues important to us, like plastics in the environment, and affordable healthcare.
*note: If we do get these meetings, I will make sure to keep providing as much news here as possible.
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Sarah Granger directed the launch of Gary Hart's blog during the 2004 Presidential campaign.