Details of Hillary Clinton Visit
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 3/27/08 @ 1:01 pm - Filed Under 2008 National Elections, Featured
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton will be at Sara’s Family Restaurant in southwest Fort Wayne at 5:45 p.m. Friday for a roundtable session about the economy.
The restaurant at 5792 Coventry Lane will be open to the public, but space is limited.
Seating is limited? Yea, I’d say so…
Photo from Stephen Parker at
Around Fort Wayne
H/T: Scott Spaulding at DFWB
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13 Responses to “Details of Hillary Clinton Visit”
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Wow. The people working on her campaign and the elected officials are about the only ones there will be room for…
Can’t wait for Obama to visit Fort Fun!
I expect we will see her again…..and I suspect we will see Obama as well.
We eat at Sara’s many times on Sunday mornings. I can’t imagine packing even 200 people in there. It’s basically an old Captain D’s/Long John Silvers. . TINY.
Sara’s is a nice little place (emphasis on little), and they have great food, but does anyone know why they picked such a unlikely venue? The allure of tableside tic-tac-toe? Close to the highway if they need to make a quick getaway? Headed over to Strazlo’s afterwards to play some pool?
Is there a political connection that I’m missing?
Anthony,
I looked for a connection but didn’t find it. I’ll admit it wasn’t an exhaustive search but at least it wasn’t obvious.
I’d put my money on the Clinton campaign scrounging to find someplace “down home” or “quaint” by pretentious New York standards. I bet if the Hobby House was still on Wayne street, that would have made the short list too.
Mrs. Clinton has spent a lot of time during her presidential bid pretending to be things she’s not (much less convincingly than her husband before her…he was a master, she’s a piker by comparison). I’m sure this is nothing more than the Clinton PR machine making a vain attempt to put a neighborly, approachable face on her.
Personally, to me it comes across as being every bit as disingenuous as her Donna Reed makeup and all that smiling she’s been doing lately.
The volunteers did not get into the restaurant. Unknown to many, entry required a “wrist band” with either red stars or blue stars. This was the only way you could gain access to the event. I am not sure how or when that got decided, but unless you were at Sara’s restaurant first thing in the morning to get a bracelet, you didn’t get in.
Many volunteers (I had gone to an organizational meeting on Monday night) were told prior to the visit that we would be able to get in because we were helping. I participated from 2:00 on, but our efforts were limited to outside, and it was cold.
As to the type of venue, I can see why she prefers the small, informal setting. I watched the recap on TV, and she is very effective in that setting. She appears very comfortable and open. In larger venues, she has to strain to get her voice to carry even with microphones.
Say what you will about her reasons, but if politics is making the most of settings, then this is where Hillary excels. The downside is that it is limited and only a chosen few get to attend.
It isn’t disingenuous. If that were the criteria, no politicians would be in office.
Charlotte,
That’s unfortunate volunteers weren’t allowed in. The campaign seems to be structured so top-down that they are having a hard time managing details like this…
Does anyone remember where Dan Quayle made his rounds during 1988 and 1992 in this area?
I remember Quayle stopping at one of his cafe haunts in Huntington.
This is an example of the type of campaigning that was done in Iowa and New Hampshire. The campaign has been mixing in smaller venues every now and then. We were the third of four stops that day.
Jeff,
All campaigns are structured from the “top-down”.
Charlotte- it is clear that you understand- but I am guessing at Monday’s meeting the wristband idea did not exist yet. For those of you who do not understand campaigns- details OFTEN change at the last minute.
John Brown is right, this was one of many stops over two days- some large, some small.
She will be back!
Kevin,
There’s a huge difference between the Clinton and Obama campaigns here locally. Obama seems to empower his local staff to organize and make decisions. For example if I have a question I can call their local regional director and get it answered. When I call the Hillary camp I’m pushed off to their statewide media director who takes days to call you back (if ever).
There’s a tinge of micromanagement on the Clinton side while the Obama team appears much more free-wheeling. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Obama’s approach is getting better results - it’s the future of political campaigning…
Kevin:
The wristband idea didn’t exist at Thursday night’s meeting either. Volunteers were told to show up early, and the first 10 would get into the event.
One of my friends was at the Thursday night meeting, and she was very excited because she had signed up to volunteer.
I do understand that these things are last-minute. Had I known it required a wristband, I would have run out to Sara’s on Friday morning before work and picked one up.
I know she will be back, and I am looking forward to it. I am a little disappointed that I didn’t stay. I had been outside since 2:00, and at 5:30 when they said she was running about an hour late, I just knew my legs would not take another hour of standing. I left and watched the TV broadcast in the warmth of my living room.