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DEL.ICIO.USThis week’s consumer guide to candidate spotting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, this may be the optimum season for spotting presidential candidates in Georgia — perhaps the best this year.
We’re talking five White House wannabes — three Republican and two Democrat — in metro Atlanta on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, circling around a Democratic fund-raiser and a state GOP convention.
Plus one surprise appearance by a candidate’s spouse early next month.
The question is how much money you’re willing to spend in order to get the autograph on your program, or even stand in the same room.
Politician-spotting is much like collecting baseballs. Minor league signatures can be had for cheap. Established names demand big cash.
Consider this your consumer guide.
State GOP chairman Alec Poitevint has caused some rumbling in the ranks with his decision to bar all presidential candidates from addressing 1,500 or so delegates who will gather in Gwinnett County on Friday and Saturday.
Presumably, the decision was made to put more focus on local party unity, and the election of Sue Everhart as the party’s first female chairman. (Instead, the decision has pretty much guaranteed media emphasis on the party’s fight over the budget. Ah, well.)
Because of this rule, Newt Gingrich, the non-presidential candidate, will address the GOP convention delegates at the opening event. Yes, that’s the same Gingrich who on Monday declared that his candidacy was “a great possibility.”
Consumer rating: Two-and-a-half stars. Tickets for the 7 p.m. dinner are $75, with seats still available. But you have to brave rush-hour traffic in Gwinnett to get there on time, and it’s a massive room. Bring your binoculars.
Two other presidential hopefuls will be at the fringes on Friday. John Cox, a little-known GOP candidate with Chicago roots, will be hanging around the convention much of the day.
Consumer rating: One star. Personal contact with the “fair tax” advocate is almost a guarantee, but Cox’s fortunes are so dim that Fox News and the GOP in South Carolina haven’t included him in tonight’s debate.
Mitt Romney, the final presidential wannabe in the Republican camp, has three events Friday around the GOP convention. We have details on two.
At noonish, the former Massachusetts governor has a luncheon at the 1818 Club on Sugarloaf Parkway — $2,300 for the VIP reception, and $1,000 for just the lunch.
Then at 3 p.m., Romney has scheduled a 30-minute, free hand-shaking session with GOP delegates in the convention hall.
Consumer rating: Five stars, if you’ve got the cash. Or delegate credentials.
On the Democratic side, John Edwards is the keynote speaker at the state party’s Jefferson-Jackson Day fund-raising dinner on Thursday. Tickets are $200.
A same-day luncheon featuring Elizabeth Edwards has been cancelled — due to a scheduling conflict, we’re told.
Consumer rating: Three stars. Yes, we know Democrats are charging more than Republicans for dinner. But the room is likely to be much less crowded, which enhances the possibility of a personal brush with greatness.
On Saturday, Hillary Rodham Clinton is in town for what we’re told is a pair of fund-raisers. We have details on one. It’s at the Atlanta home of Caribou Coffee CEO Michael Coles. As with the Romney fund-raiser, the price is $2,300 for close contact, and $1,000 for watching from a short distance.
Consumer rating: Five stars, if you can afford it.
Note the names on the Clinton invitation detailing a “host committee in formation.” They include Attorney General Thurbert Baker; Columbus attorney Jim Butler; Jimmy Carter associate Stu Eizenstat; Clinton intimate Vernon Jordan; Valerie Jackson; former state Democratic party chairman Calvin Smyre; former Coke executive Carl Ware; and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young.
We don’t know whether an appearance on that list constitutes an endorsement. Well let them explain themselves to Michelle Obama next month.
The wife of Barack Obama has a fund-raiser in Atlanta on June 6. Here are what specifics we have. Tickets are $1,000 for a VIP reception, and $250 for the cheap seats.
Comments
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By Debbie
May 15, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this
http://www.drudgereport.com/flash6.htm Michael Moore challenges Fred Thompson to a debate.
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=611 Fred Thompson’s response.
Fred needs to be President. No question.
By Marty
May 18, 2007 11:53 AM | Link to this
John Cox with one star is one star too many.
Fred Thompson needs to get into this race NOW.