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May 5th, 2008

Observations from the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

By Saja Hindi on May 5th, 2008

Politics as a spectator sport

I’ve heard throughout this campaign how politics is a contact sport, and it seemed like we were watching one Friday night at the N.C. Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. To the stage’s left, the stands were packed with people holding signs supporting their candidates. Obama and Clinton supporters alike broke into different chants and cheers. At one point the Obama fans did the wave.

“I feel like we’re at a basketball game or a pep rally where both teams are present,” Josh Mills, a recent N.C. State graduate, said.

People were eating nachos and drinking beer from concessions, and for a while it seemed like we were waiting to see “HillRod” instead of Hillary.

When Clinton did make her speech, she was well-received at first. She encountered the first boos of the night when she brought up the gas tax holiday. Obama supporters jeered when she mentioned the idea, saying it would provide relief to working-class citizens.

But she also got a few laugh lines, including one about the sound of the “moving van” taking George W. Bush out of the White House.

Easley uneasy

Gov. Mike Easley was confronted by the crowd early on, with people booing him at his entrance. He stuck it out and spoke over the noise, and eventually it died down. But some Obama fans were unhappy about his recent Clinton endorsement.

Obama closes the night

To continue the sports theme, Obama had a home-team advantage during his speech.

By the time he spoke, at about 10 p.m., most of Clinton’s local supporters had left, leaving Obama without the opposition that greeted Clinton earlier.

He received one brief chorus of “boos” when he mentioned playing basketball with the men’s Tar Heels last week, but he was next to N.C. State’s Carter Fenley Stadium.

Does music matter?

Clinton entered to John Mellencamp’s “Our Country,” and Mellencamp has endorsed both candidates.

Obama’s theme song has been Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising,” after Springsteen announced his endorsement last month.