Three Parks Dems Welcome <i>Nation</i> Editor

Despite a demographic consisting largely of those 50 or older, the energy and excitement was equal to that of a school playground at Wednesday’s Three Parks Democrats meeting as Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor and publisher of The Nation, took the floor.

Vanden Heuvel spoke on the key issues and trends emerging in the primaries, and the role the media has played so far in the elections. The meeting was noteworthy for its air of enthusiasm, as attendees called out their approval of vanden Heuvel’s words and squirmed in their chairs to ask questions.

The evening began with an uplifting mood as vanden Heuvel reflected on the exciting elements she claimed are present in this year’s Democratic primaries.

“What has been the best part for me is the sense of energy, the incredible turnout, the sense of a new generation, including not just young people but also those who had lost interest returning to politics,” she said.

Vanden Heuvel described Barack Obama as the candidate who has repeatedly attracted diverse supporters, noting that his most recent sweep of wins “broke through demographic barriers, an indication of his success among Latinos, older men, and independents.”

But she also attributed the sweep to Obama’s changing focus, calling attention to his increased effort to send a more concrete message. Recently, she said, he has been building sharper and tougher themes into his speeches by connecting the costs of the war to the growing needs at home.

As the topic moved to the role of the media, discussion quickly shifted to Hillary Clinton. Vanden Heuvel said she was dispirited by what she perceived as sexism in the media’s coverage of Clinton’s campaign, especially during the tear incident before the New Hampshire primary.

“Clinton was held to a double standard that day,” she said. “Male politicians tear up, Bush did the day before.”

But vanden Heuvel said she was unsure if people’s uncertainty about Clinton derived from her gender or the perceived divisiveness of her candidacy.

More generally, vanden Heuvel expressed frustration at not seeing more examination of the new forms of coverage that have become ubiquitous during this primary.

“My view is there are five or six media Americas existing now, including blogs, internet, Facebook, and Youtube,” she said. “The whole infrastructure has become more progressive, and too little has been discussed of how campaigns are being run.”

Following her talk, the discussion became a more personal evaluation of the election so far as the audience offered several questions about the speaker’s own opinion. When asked to discuss the main political issues surrounding this years primary, vanden Heuvel noted that while Republicans and Democrats seem to have different agendas, both have focused largely on the economy, a point with which she took issue.

“What I don’t understand is how staggering war costs, health care, and the rest of our domestic needs have not been automatically included in a discussion of our economy,” she said.

gus.hagen-dillon@columbiaspectator.com