Kabuki Theater, only Stupider

David Weigel | August 26, 2008

To paraphrase this week's keynote speaker Matthew Perry, could this convention be any better for Republicans? For a relatively low investment, they're getting about half the coverage here—all of it on the Clinton-Obama divide. But as you can see above, the Hillary dead-enders are barely even here. A lone person (I thought male, then I heard a larynx make noises I couldn't ID) with a giant Hillary sign walked from a hotel to the convention center as cameras clicked. Over at the center, youngish McCain people joined in. More cameras clicked. Last night McCain people held a "Hillary happy hour" to woo faithless delegates.

The joke amongst fellow journalists today was that it would be 50 of us standing around the one Hillary supporter who showed up to consider voting for John McCain. [ed - I was one of these fellows.] Instead, I was surprised to find the actual ratio to be quite different. Though the party was largely filled with McCain supporters, there were several undecided Democrats in attendance.

Several! That's... slightly more than one. There's a lot more action among the 9/11 Truthers. But we reporters are gazing into the abyss, and the abyss is gazing also into us. Half the time we're bellyaching about the stupid coverage of the Hilltards, and half the time we're covering them.

That impacts our other coverage like this: Some of the delegates hate us. Multiple Hillary delegates refused to talk to me yesterday, worried they'd "get in trouble." Louisiana Hillary delegate Nate LaTour told me he'd vote for Obama, chided me for being part of "this typical media foolishness," then walked away.