When journalists applaud Obama By John Leo

Did Barack Obama get an ovation after his speech in Chicago at Unity '08, a convention of minority journalists, or was it merely a warm reaction? It matters because "the ovation problem" hovers over the quadrennial Unity conventions. Applause levels are predictably high for Democratic politicians and low for Republicans. At the last Unity convention in 2004, John Kerry received a thunderous reception, while George W. Bush got the traditional Republican small hello, with a slight mixture of booing. At Unity '99, George W. Bush drew sour comments for not planning to attend, so he changed his schedule, made a whirlwind tour of the convention and got sour comments for not staying longer. Al Gore, on the other hand, got a wildly positive reception with the "cheering, hooting and salivating you'd expect at a campus rally," according to Michelle Malkin.

Full Article

Sphere: Related Content