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September 08, 2005
A carefully scripted event in New Jersey
During last year’s presidential election, most of President Bush’s campaign appearances were closed to anyone who did not first sign a form declaring his or her support for the President. This ensured that there would be no unpleasant surprises amid the cheering crowds at pro-Bush rallies and the softball questioners at heavily scripted “town hall meetings.” President Bush was not forced to confront his critics, and nothing marred the image being presented for the cameras.
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe isn’t being quite that extreme. No loyalty oaths will be needed to attend the town-hall meeting (“consejo coumitario”) he will hold with Colombians living in the United States, in the New York suburb of Elizabeth, NJ, on September 18. (Uribe will be in the area after attending next week’s annual kickoff of the UN General Assembly.) The meeting is modeled on the nationally televised consejos that Uribe holds throughout Colombia, in which he answers questions or hears complaints from local citizens.
But don’t think that this means you can just show up at Elizabeth’s Ritz Theater and ask a tough question or make a critical comment. Taking a page from the Bush campaign’s playbook, the meeting’s organizers are carefully staging it.
You can only attend the event if you have first called [(212)798 9012, (212)798 9019 or (212)798 9041] and arranged to have an invitation mailed to you. You will only be allowed to ask a question if you have first faxed it in [(908) 245 6969] and had it approved.
The President's handlers hope to project images of a can-do president spontaneously fielding questions from concerned citizens. But what they are putting together is a publicity stunt with hand-picked questions from a pre-arranged crowd.
Posted by isacson at September 8, 2005 01:58 PM
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