ANDREW NELLES writes:
It's now approaching 2:00 a.m., and my night is finally coming to a conclusion after several hours of aggravating computer problems. Unfortunately, today started with an equal amount of frustration.
First thing this morning I headed over to Obama's campaign headquarters in Davenport, Iowa, with my colleague Brent White. Our intention was to speak with officials at the headquarters and hopefully get permission to work on a piece about the activities of their volunteers on caucus day.
After driving to two wrong addresses, we eventually arrived at the campaign headquarters and were greeted by kind volunteers who were receptive to our plan, but informed us we needed clearance from an official who was tied up at the moment. When we finally met with her, she was far from accommodating and promptly put Brent on the phone with a press secretary for Obama who was rude and completely unreceptive to the idea and would not listen to any comments on the matter. I have trouble understanding why any campaign would turn away media attention during a campaign.
Early in the afternoon we proceeded over to a Joe Biden speech in Davenport, hoping to obtain some content to fill in the void from this morning's shortcoming. The event went well for the most part, but on the way out, while grabbing names for caption information, I was once again faced with an unexpectedly rude campaign staff member. The situation was justified—she needed a press secretary to clear her to speak with me—but the attitude I received was not. After that incident, I had about lost all faith with volunteers or staff affiliated with this caucus.
The caucus itself would prove to be different. When arriving at Bettendorf Middle School we were welcomed by Arthur Heyderman, a caucus volunteer who promptly provided us with credentials and invited us to do whatever we needed to do. Throughout the night Mr. Heyderman was a great help to me and the other students covering the event, even going as far as thanking me for coming out. The kindness and understanding presented by Mr. Heyderman and all of the caucus attendants I encountered at the event more than made up for the morning's troubles.
Andrew Nelles is an undergraduate photography student from Elgin, Illinois.
Posted by awiens at January 4, 2008 9:36 PM
