Published: May 08, 2008 06:13 pm            

Publisher's Desk: Porches and politics

I had the pleasure the other Wednesday to see President Bill Clinton when he came to Asheboro to stump for Hillary. I had considered not going. After all, why go stand around and listen to a former president speak? That afternoon, I had to go to the post office and as is my habit, I went up Kivett and took a left onto Church. When I rode past The Gatekeepers House, I couldn't help but notice all of the commotion and the small but growing crowd.

When I got back to the office, it was a little after 4. Bill Clinton wasn't supposed to arrive until 5:30 but having attended similar events that had the potential to draw a large crowd - Jesse Jackson when he stopped in my hometown many years ago for a voting registration rally pops to mind - I knew that if one was to get a good spot from which to view, it would be smart to arrive early.

Little did I know that arriving early would turn into a four-hour stand on a riser along with several other members of the news media. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When I got back to the office, I asked Brenda (our advertising director) if she would like to go. The more I had thought about it on the way back from the post office, the more I realized it would be foolish of me to miss it. How many times in my lifetime would I get to attend an event where a former president would be less than 100 feet from me? Not many, was my quick conclusion.

Brenda and I decided we would go so we locked the paper up and took off on foot. (I came to two conclusions on that trek: First, the city really does need to work on its sidewalks and second, I need to make walking a part of my daily routine.) When we arrived, we quickly found Larry on a riser reserved for the media. Brenda and I both clamored up and took our spots. I had brought along a reporter's notebook and a pen, just in case I needed them.

And then we stood. And we stood some more. Finally someone came out to tell us that he was behind schedule and would be arriving shortly. Three hours and 20 minutes after arriving at The Gatekeepers House, the cheers went up and he arrived. Inside to change clothes and take care of some other official "president visiting the city" business and he was ready. And he was right there. I mean, right there. I was in awe.

Now before you all start deciding I am a Democrat, let me stop you right there. My political inclinations are just that - mine. As far as I know, there are only two people who know how I vote - me and God.

I have always made a conscious effort to ensure that all political matter received fair, unbiased and balanced coverage. That holds true especially in smaller towns where political leanings often serve as the dividing line between perceived right and perceived wrong. Some papers - and those who run them - don't mind making their political leanings known. This amounts to nothing more than currying favor from one party over the other. And honestly, it makes my stomach turn.

I have worked for papers that endorsed candidates. I would much rather fall face first into a pile of imported red fire ants than do that. Endorsements by newspapers do nothing but breed contempt, anger and favoritism - not to mention if the endorsee loses. That's a whole other ball of string.

To me, it is not a newspaper's job to tell readers who they think is the best candidate. Readers should be able make an informed decision based on the information put forth by the newspaper. Nothing more. Period. Even if it's in a column or an editorial, a writer has to be responsible enough, professional enough and humble enough to present an unbiased set of opinions based on fact, not conjecture.

Take for instance the fact that Bill Clinton chose The Gatekeepers House from which to address the thousands who attended the short-notice rally. True, it wasn't what some considered to be the best venue for him. It was small, woodsy and confined. There was no where to sit down and not a lot of room to turn around by the time he arrived.

But that was the whole point. In response to an e-mail I sent Mac Whatley the day after the event - in which I praised him and the Democratic Party for pulling off the event as they did - he explained to me why Clinton chose Asheboro and why The Gatekeepers House was chosen as the venue.

Hillary Clinton, it seems, has always - to quote Mac Whatley quoting Bill Clinton - "done really well in these majority Republican counties. ... We love places like this." So now you know why they wanted to come here.

The other thing Mac said in his e-mail was that all Bill Clinton asked for was a porch. He wanted the site to be different from all the others - no Bicentennial Park on his list, it seems - and he wanted to be able to do exactly what he did that night: Be as close to the voting public as he could, be close enough to shake hands, be close enough to hear questions shouted from the back.

Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did. As an individual, it was historical for me. As a journalist, it was historical for this paper to cover something like that and for a nanosecond, be a source of information about an election as important as this one. Do I care that he was late? No, not really. Does it matter that he was late? Nope. That he ran a little long with his speech? Nuh-uh. That made for some good quotes and a darn good story to boot.

Will it matter that he chose to come to Asheboro to support his wife in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination? As I write this column, no one knows the answer to that question. By the time you read this column, the whole country will know.

And if the story I wrote about his visit helped one voter make up his or her mind, regardless of which way that decision went - to John McCain, to Barack Obama or to Hillary Clinton - then we've done our job.

Sometimes, it's not the size of the porch that matters. It's what comes off it that does.



Patricia M. Edwards is the editor and publisher of The Randolph Guide. She can be reached at (336) 625-5576 or by e-mail at pedwards@randolphguide.com.

        

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