It was midnight before I turned off the post-Presidential Q and A. I recalled a very special interview at the historic Tampa Theatre when I hosted the weekly show, "Time of Your Life," for WFLA.
I met with famous actress Butterfly McQueen, best known by lovers of classic movies for her pregnant line in "Gone With The Wind." Terrified, maid Prissy told Scarlett O'Hara, "I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies!"
Tampa native Butterfly asked why I wanted to go over the show before the show. "Just read my resume and let's have coffee." She reasoned that telling everything beforehand would ruin the reactions on my face when she shared her best stories. I never forgot a moment of her "surprises," which I must save for another day.
There were no surprises last Friday night because our prepackaged soapbox interview had been strategically spelled out for public consumption every day for two weeks. The men appeared flawlessly handsome, well rehearsed, courteous and even balanced in height and words.
So why did the "critics" complain endlessly that there were no bell-ringers, no cute quips, or passionate pleas? Because we have come a long way since the 1960s when a TV debate was deemed "lost" because of Nixon's five o'clock shadow. I don't know the direction we have taken, but everyone was so pinned down the whole event was judged a draw. Honed, shaped and polished, my guy was better than your guy.
I wish that just once after the moderator asks, "What would you do about . . ." and the candidate replies, "I'm going to . . .," someone would ask "How?"
Is it possible to answer, "Are you safer now?" with "I don't know, it depends upon so many things, including the fact that we have had no attack since 9/11." The scenario for ultramodern television debates is the product of the rapid revolution in information technology and the 24-hour news cycle. Whatever happens in the world's morning is stale by nightfall, including political promises. What remains and sustains us are the person and his or her imprint on our lives.
In 1933 a president said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror." How's that for a bell ringer? Another sanctified moment took place at Gettysburg when a president delivered a brief message he had scribbled on the back of an envelope. No sound bites No roar. Or wipe away a tear and chuckle at Jimmy Carter's, "I'd rather be vague than wrong."
There are no glib answers for such a complex humanity. Your voice rests in your choice.
Pat Glass, is a retired Manatee County commissioner and volunteer member of the Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board. Write to her c/o Bradenton Herald Metro Desk, 102 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL 34205.
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CITIZEN AT LARGE
Pat Glass
Bradenton.com
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