Impressions

It's a few minutes before 9 o'clock and I just got back from the Kerry "Jambalaya Jamboree" over at the Governor's Mansion. I now own an autographed "The Real Deal" sign, and I even managed to direct some quick comments to the Senator as he made his way through the receiving line. Senator Kerry didn't respond to what I said, although he shook my hand and patted me on the shoulder. We're about the same height, so I was able to look him in the eye.

Given the limited time, I told him two things. First, echoing RudePundit's May 4th post (fair warning: subsequent posts are definitely NC-17), I told him to let the public know that Bush isn't merely dangerous--he's also incompetent. Then I followed with something that popped into my head, that the election is for President of the United States, not president of Harken Energy. That actually got a laugh from some of the folks I was pressed against, and if the Senator ever uses it, well--you heard it here first.

I also managed to speak to Governor Blanco. I told her that my mom was also a graduate of Mount Carmel Academy in New Iberia, and she recognized her maiden name right away. Then I thanked her for her speech. Blanco comes across as sincere, that's for sure.

But onto the event itself. I'm TERRIBLE at judging crowd size, but my rough estimate would be between five hundred and a thousand. And, you know what? In spite of the big range, it wouldn't surprise me if I was WAY OFF, so don't hold me on that. The overall mood was one of polite enthusiasm, and there was plenty of diversity--blacks, whites--I think I saw a few latinos as well--and the age range was everywhere from kids to college students to older folks. There were even a few that I'd say were in my own age range--uh, thirty, uh, something.

Also I ran into an old friend that I hadn't seen since just after moving back to the gret stet. That was fortunate--often I think about giving a call and checking in on said friend, but I'm sure everyone knows how that goes. We caught up on our respective recent histories before the speeches started, and agreed to try to stay in touch...hopefully. Good friends are good to have.

Besides Blanco and Kerry, State Senator and Mayoral candidate Kip Holden was out pressing the flesh, along with Chris John. Arthur Morel and John Kennedy were also in attendence, but I didn't see them. And, for some reason, Bob Odom was there--he almost fell down when he shook my hand.

For roughly an hour, entertainment was provided by, I think, the Southern Lab School Band, followed by Les Freres Moutons, a Lafayette cajun combo. Blanco was eventually introduced by someone I didn't recognize, and the general impression was that the intro lasted a little too long. Blanco made her points--Louisiana needs a President who will help out the working poor and middle-class families, a President who will ensure that health care is a priority, and, in an issue near and dear to all us residents of the gret stet, a President who will take steps to stop coastal erosion. Good. Then the Senator had his chance at the microphone.

Kerry spoke for about forty-five minutes, often interrupted by applause. He made his usual points--that Bush is not really conservative, but in fact is a dangerous radical (hence my own comment to him), and that he has a high degree of respect for John Breaux (who, among other things, took him to Mardi Gras many years ago). Timshel will have no use for this, but Kerry drew a big cheer when he congratulated LSU on their championship football season. I wonder what he's gonna say when he visits SoCal...

There were promises on deficit reduction, a rollback of Bush's rich men's tax cuts--coupled with a tax CUT for middle and lower income folk--and a promise that he'd never send troops off to fight for oil, drawing another big cheer, along with a few calls to "bring the troops home" (count me in on that). All in all, very much his standard speech--jobs, health care, the environment, with a few references to the Mississippi River thrown in. I also liked his mentioning of Northern versus Louisiana seasons--up there, it's spring, summer, fall, and winter, while down here, it's crawfish, shrimp, oyster, and catfish. That drew another hearty cheer. He told us to make the gret stet "Kerry Country."

Can that happen? Well, to be realistic, I'd say it's a long shot. That said, I hope he puts Edwards on the ticket. I spoke with my friend about this, and we agreed: Edwards, if nothing else, would force Bush to guard his rear flank, which could open up other regions. And, who knows? John Edwards has a certain rock-star appeal, and that could possibly generate some excitement in New Orleans and Cajun Country. I think Bush has a lock on the northern parishes, but the city is a nice prize as well.

The economy will be another big issue Kerry will have to ride for a chance down here--again, to focus on New Orleans, Bush's steel tariffs were bad news for the Crescent City, because imports from south of the border were cut as a result. That might be something to hammer home.

Hmmn. What else is there to say? Oh--a few anti-choice protesters hollered at me as I drove away, but the highway noise mostly drowned out their blather. And the jambalaya was pretty good--better than the stuff I occasionally buy over at the Jambalaya Shop over on Main Street. On the whole, Kerry looked and sounded good. I keep trying to remind myself that it's still early in the campaign, but I want to believe that the Senator will remember where he put his backbone and make this a referendum on the record of George W. Bush, miserable failure. Kerry DID make mention of how Bush has already spent some $70 million dollars attacking his own record, and then added that Bush has NO record to run on. That likewise was greeted with cheers.

If all goes well, I've shaken the hand of the next President of the United States.

Outta here. I'm thinking of catching Righteous Buddha over at Chelsea's Cafe. Last night, I took in a few minutes of John Jackson's B-2 Hammond Organ, accompanied by some good drumming over at Swamp Mama's, but the full band is always a treat. Don't know when I'll post tomorrow. Later.