NASCAR needed a little shot in the arm as the sport closes in on the playoffs. What better place to get that than with a rain-delayed visit to the White House.
It may have seemed to some like President Obama made a short speech, worked the rope line and then gave a quick live TV interview before going back to his real job. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Among the NASCAR group at the White House were some campers from the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Kyle Petty traveled with the group and documented their trip in words and pictures on Twitter.
The kids were brought directly into the White House and met with the President. Petty wrote: The Kids were amazing! The President spent REAL time with each one...don't care where you stand, THAT was cool...
The other participants took tours of the White House with Dale Jarrett remarking on how much he enjoyed his experience. Jimmie Johnson said the atmosphere was more laid back and he appreciated making real conversation with the President.
ESPN2's NASCAR Now pushed Dennis Leary guest hosting on Mike and Mike aside to get to the White House at 4:20PM live. That was about ten minutes earlier than the DVR's and VCR's of most working NASCAR fans were scheduled to begin recording.
The pictures showed the President working the rope line and greeting Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace along the way. That certainly was an interesting dynamic to watch, but all parties seemed to have their priorities in order and Obama moved through the crowd.
Since the original schedule was off a bit, the President joined host Nicole Manske and ESPN NASCAR analyst Brad Daugherty before TV viewers heard his prepared remarks. This actually worked out well, as Daugherty and Manske allowed Obama to make his point very clearly. The following two answers really told the tale of NASCAR as far as the administration was concerned.
"NASCAR is a quintessential American sport," said the President. "I think that its fan base is now worldwide, but when you think about its roots, when you think about all the people who have such an attachment to the drivers, and when you think about the fact that right now the U.S. auto industry is going through a tough time, we wanted to make sure we highlight the fact that this is a great sport, is a great brand for not just NASCAR itself but also for America, and we thought it was a great opportunity to celebrate some champions."
Manske asked if the US automakers should remain committed to the sport. "I think that it’s about as good advertising as you can get," Obama answered. "If somebody’s excited about NASCAR, that means they’re excited about cars. And we want to make sure that people know what great American cars are, and obviously it’s understandable at a time when GM has gone through some tough times, that they may need to cut back sponsorships briefly, but over the long term, if we look 5-10 years out, I think they’re going to come back stronger than ever, and I think their association with NASCAR makes a great difference."
After the President departed, NASCAR Now played-back his prepared remarks. As with most visiting athletes, the President's staff had done a good job on his short speech. Obama asked Chad if he was pronouncing "Knaus" correctly and even took a moment in typical NASCAR style to thank the guys back at the shops who could not attend.
While pointing out Mike Helton and selected dignitaries in the crowd, it appeared that this was almost a relaxing moment away from the domestic and global issues for Obama. There were lots of jokes and laughter, including Carl Edwards refusing to divulge his conversation with the President to ESPN's reporter Marty Smith.
The next step is to get the President to a race. Richmond might be the easiest travel location but Chicagoland Speedway is right near Obama's favorite city and would certainly be a winner with the area fans.
All in all, a big win for ESPN and NASCAR on what is normally a slow day for news. NASCAR Now handled the live portions calmly after having the entire schedule changed at the last moment. The President's remarks were moved onto ESPNEWs and ESPN.com very quickly.
Shortly after the festivities were over, the Internet was filled with hundreds of domestic and international stories carrying the President's simple but effective message. The power of the global media was on display.
Click here for a replay of the video interview and an outstanding article by ESPN's Ed Hinton on the long relationship between NASCAR and the White House.
After you watch the show or see the video, we would welcome your comments on this topic. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.
64 comments:
One of the best coverage I've seen NN do, it was terrific, thanks Nicole, Brad, Marty, crew and thanks Mr. President for your genuine enthusiasm. I bet you are still looking for a ride in a race car!
Also, the SPEED coverage of the modified and truck races from Bristol tonite was awesome. I hope Kyle winning made up for missing the White House visit!
SHOCKED THAT YOU FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH ESPN TODAY JD...
COME ON - ARE YOU SLIPPING?
yea jd - this blog is not the same without some bashing of your former employer - you know the guys who never let you near the producers chair
Why did they start early and then rerun what was missed? I'm confused.
What would have been shown instead of Obama's speech repeat.
Holy moly... this is exactly the kind of mainstream media suck-up to Obama that I can't believe is still being printed. It's a guy shaking some hands and making a few prepared remarks about something he knows little - kinda like other presidents have done with NASCAR or do every day with visiting groups, whether it is the Sprint Cup Champion or the top seller of Girl Scout Cookies. Yet you make him sound like some messiah for just doing, well, nothing.
Read this column and just listen to the rapture: Oh, wow, just look at Obama work that rope line. Wow, isn't it magical the way he had "real conversation" with Jimmie Johnson (as the two stood like statues for reporters, whispering to each other like ventroloquists not trying to break camera face to say a few niceties.). Oh, isn't he just amazing, this magical Obama who walks on air and brings good grace to all he happens to meet.
Give me a break. This was a photo op, and not a great one. Yeah, Obama made it through the interview without saying "Jeff Johnson and Jimmie Gordon" but even he had to say at one point "Look, I'm not going to pretend I'm following [the Chase]".
Bush was as affable, friendly, genial, cordial, and dignified in all his meetings with the drivers. But to read this absurd post about Obama is to read someone still under a spell of Obamamania, where everything the man does is simply amazing. Wake up, already!
Stupid me taped the wrong channel for the 1:00 a.m. reair. Caught it about the time I caught it today. It must have started late this a.m. as it ran until 2:10. I especially wanted to see DJ, RW and DW in the rope line.
Thought all our boys looked very spiffy. And Pres. Obama cracked me up when he said JJ "married up" with Chandra.
If Obama hasn't been a fan, his researchers did a heckuva job for him. He sounded knowledgeable and seemed to know his stuff.
Ed Hinton's column about NASCAR and the Presidential visits were hilarious, especially with Lee Petty spilling his wine and making a mess as did many others. Sounds like they were shaking the house down.
All in all, I loved it a lot. Hope we hear more about it this race weekend.
P.S. Nicole Manske looked great even with those slightly wierd shoes. Bet she was a bundle of nerves.
And JPM's interview with Marty Smith had way less sparkle than I thought it would.
Anon 12:29AM,
NASCAR Now has been one of the biggest success stories for ESPN where the sport is concerned.
ESPN made tremendous changes during the off-season that resulted in a wonderful program.
Anon 12:31AM,
When was I supposed to be a line producer? I am happy to make my personal TV history known and have on this site for three years.
Anon 1:15AM,
You have no idea who I voted for or what my personal politics are at all. The entire point of this trip was to give NASCAR a boost through the short ceremony and then the opportunity to tie the sport to the automakers as I pointed out in the column. No matter what party or personality is in office, the simple and effective message is exactly what the sport needed right now IMHO.
JD
anon @ 12:31 am wrote
"yea jd - this blog is not the same without some bashing of your former employer - you know the guys who never let you near the producers chair"
Obviously written by a long-time espn-ite who had a little too much to drink
Me and JD don't see eye to eye with media coverage most of the time but I gotta defend him this time, people, come on! It doesn't matter one hootin or holler WHO is in the White House, the whole point of this trip was NASCAR needed this kind of exposure and ESPN did great covering it. You think it came off as "pandering" but ya know what? I don't think so and I'm a Republican. I'm experienced at watching the demeanor of guys like DJ, Petty, DW and Rusty and current drivers like Jimmie and Carl, and it all seemed genuine. And I'm chuckling right now at columnist Newton's crack that there was more GOP members on the lawn yesterday than there is in Congress. Again good job ESPN and NASCAR.
i've watched a few of the videos and i have to say: the entire event came across as relaxed, informal and enjoyable for all involved. the president's message is important for the auto companies right now and the words have travelled the internet much faster than traditional methods would have allowed. i particularly enjoyed the talk with daugherty and manske precisely because it was so different than what has been done before.
and to anon@1:15: it's obvious you have no respect for the man and that's your right. but the office of the president should always be respected. having nascar be recognized by a president, however fleeting and scripted the moment, is important. yes, it's something every president does a hundred times a day and for each group that receives the honor of meeting with the president it is a special moment. as a nascar fan, i'm pleased each and every time this event occurs, regardless of the man who holds the office at the time.
JD, I am glad to be able to read something about what happened in the White House and not have to sit through vitrolic hatred in the comment section. This article is about NASCAR at the White House. It was good for the sport.
Its like Petty was saying..it doesn't matter where you stand, this was a pretty cool deal.
The only negative thing I will say is this, do you think Nanske was nervous? I mean, you are used to doing sports and now you are interviewing the President on Live TV right next to the Oval office...Great stuff.
Being an adult, it's sometimes better to just leave the hatred out there for all to see.
A politician delivered a message that the sport needed at a very good time in the cycle of the season.
I hope that the exposure on CNN, Fox, ESPN and local stations around the country puts NASCAR back into the minds of some former fans who may have stepped away.
Looking forward to this weekend and I hope the weather holds.
JD
I enjoyed Hinton's article until the last few paragraphs, when he couldn't help but slip his own politics into it. Left a bad taste in my mouth after what had been an entertaining read on a little piece of NASCAR history.
Maybe the exposure will be good for NASCAR, but it won't have any lasting effect if they don't fix what's wrong with the product.
Interesting that Karen mentioned Marty's interview with JPM. I agree that Montoya wasn't excited at all. I felt like Marty tried several times to get Montoya to describe his excitment, and he didn't. At the end it looked to me like Marty was frustrated and just said screw it, I'm done with this. I don't know much about interviews, but as a fan it seemed like Montoya's problem not Marty's.
"If Obama hasn't been a fan, his researchers did a heckuva job for him. He sounded knowledgeable and seemed to know his stuff."
They do do a good job and as long as it is on the teleprompter, he sounds great. It was nothing more than a scripted PR stunt. He has far more important things to do than campaign for support from NASCAR fans.
So what was up with DW? He had a really weird look on his face before he talked to Obama.
Thanks ESPN for broadcasting from the WH and especially for replaying the driver intro's and the President's speech later in the show.
I appreciate the extra effort taken by the WH. Appears they did much more for the guests than in the past.
Nicole...black suit fine. The skirt was a little short, but the chairs did not help. Have to go back and check the shoes...didn't even notice :-)
Brad slumping...not good, but I think he was trying to make himself seem smaller so as not to make the Prez look so small.
Marty interview of JPM. Pure nothingness. Sorry that the Prez had to ask his name, only since he has won the Indy500, came from F1 and adds some diversity to NASCAR. Don't expect Prez to know everyone or specifics, but why was JPM picked to go? Not a past champion or 2008 Chase driver. Certainly someone could have briefed the Prez on a few of JPM's accomplishments.
JD, sorry for the terrible comments you had to moderate. It is sad. I am not a fan, politically, but I respect the office and can respect and can watch the non political duties of the office without bias. I thought he did well, very personable as usual and of course a big sports fan, even if not specifically to NASCAR. Hopefully that part changed today and he might catch a race inbetween all his duties.
anon @ 10:58 am wrote:
"Absolutely sickening the way you continue to delete blog comments that disagree with you, and then even more shameful the way you misrepresent the content of the deleted posts once they are gone. Terrible!"
Maybe you should submit to Huffington post instead of the Planet
Diane,
I tried to bring up Montoya's invitation a bunch of times, and JD deletes it every time.
The only reason he is going, as the New York Times points out today, he is the only non-white driver in all three major NASCAR series, and you just KNOW that mr politically correct brian france doesn't want to show up to meet the president with 15 white guys in tow. So they bring Montoya as their token of multiculuralism.
But don't ask that question on this blog -- JD will simply delete your comment and then post about how he was forced to delete your racist comments. SAD.
I don't agree with the Huffington Post's politics, but at least if you post a comment there that disagrees, they are brave enough to let it stand -- and they definitely never delete your comments and then mischaracterize its content after the fact, like JD does every day. He forgets that people read the comments before he deletes them -- so we know how ridiculous he sounds when he starts telling people who he has to delete items for "racist content". That's always his excuse, but I have screenshots of the comments he has deleted and let me tell you -- he is just trying to shape the story to fit his narrative.
West Coast Diane--they were Jimmy Choos, I think, about 4" spikes--no way she walked on the grass in them. But definitely more intense than the ones Krista Voda wore last night to walk up the banking before the CTS race at Bristol.
West Coast Diane-- PS, I posted about Montoya and was deleted, too.
They do do a good job and as long as it is on the teleprompter, he sounds great. It was nothing more than a scripted PR stunt.
Just like the ones attended by every other US president. At least Obama understand what words he's reading off the teleprompter, unlike the last resident of the office.
That's always his excuse, but I have screenshots of the comments he has deleted
Wow, you're obsessed with the content of a blog's comments.
That's just sad. Go outside.
Get a life.
Just got through watching the show. Very well done by ESPN in a venue that is about as different from what they usually encounter as possible. Also thought is was really cool to have some wounded vets there from Walter Reed as well as kids from Victory Junction. Nicole was understandably a bit nervous but thought she did fine.
This is very important for NASCAR and the auto makers and by extension all the people employed servicing the auto industry. Remember how many calls there were for the manufacturers to pull out of all racing.
As for all of the deleted comments just remember them the next time there is a story in the national media or comments by a comedian about NASCAR and it's fans. We have a long way to go to rid the sport of that image much like soccer has with the hooligan stereotype. There's a reason for that impression and when "fans" have to inject that garbage into every aspect of NASCAR, even being honored at the White House where the focus is on the racers, I really wonder if they will ever see the light and quit listening to the voices that seek to divide us as citizens for their own personal gain.
This is what the President said. Now come'on, how stupid is this?
"You know, it's fitting that you've all come here to the White House -- the American people's house -- because NASCAR is a uniquely American sport. Since its humble beginnings, when moonshiners raced on the sands of Daytona Beach during prohibition, it's grown into a sport with tens of millions of fans here in America and around the world."
Nascar running on the sand DURING prohibition?
here is the link to the full comments. I'm surprise he didn't ask when the first Prius would hit the track.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/08/jimmie-johnson-bascar-barack-obama-white-house.html
JD, ignore the naysayers. You can't cure "stupid".
I thoroughly enjoyed the White House visit by Nascar. It was relaxed and cordial except for Petty's and Elliot's inexcusable misbehavior. Some people just can't act like mature adults even in their waning years.
ESPN did a great job.
JS can cure stupid. He can delete all the stupid until the entire world is as smart as he is.
I'd like to thank ESPN for broadcasting this event. I thought they did a good job, especially seeing as televising events live like this are difficult.
The President seemed genuinely interested in NASCAR, the drivers, the auto companies and the charities involved.
I don't get the whole picking on Nicole about what she was wearing. She looked very nice in this viewers eyes. ;-)
Only flaw I saw was Marty's interview with JPM. That was definately a poor effort.
It's sad some people on here insist on posting political and racist comments. He's our President and people should be standing behind him.
Thanks again ESPN for the live broadcast.
The President seemed genuinely interested in NASCAR
Some people will believe anything, I guess.
ya know, if you wanna go argue politics, knock yourself out on the 8 billion political blogs out there where you're free to make all the ugly comments you want.
It's not what we do here. Yes, we can't help but comment on some of the content. We all know it's a 'photo op' as it is every time Olympians or Superbowl champions go to the White House; but we mostly focus on how it was covered by ESPN, and the fact that it's a rare national stage for NASCAR. I think the sense about it being more 'laid back' came largely from the comments of Richard Petty, whom we know is a Republican. I think he was simply commenting on how it was set up, and he appreciated the fact that the kids could 'get to' the president. He implied things were more formal in the past (there's nothing particularly wrong with that either, it's just a different style). I don't think it was meant as a criticism of other presidents; Richard was simply recognizing that it was a special day for the kids, sheeesh.....
I did think Nicole was a little nervous, but overall, she was okay. As I said before, I had no problem with her outfit, right down to the Jimmy Choos, lol (this is 2009, ya know?) Aren't we supposed to be more 'enlightened' now that to spend so much time on a woman's clothes? Whose shoes was Daugherty wearing, lol? I didn't notice it that much but he probably has the slouching habit as many tall people do. Maybe they should give him a lower chair.
As for Montoya...I don't like the guy much so I'm biased, I'll say it flat out. But he can be very funny and comfortable at times, and this just wasn't one of them, even though Marty tried...maybe he was having a bad day. I think we can speculate about why he was included...I don't have an issue with it though. In making up their 'contingent' I imagine all sorts of things were considered, including how well they are running this year because it is so late in the season.
All in all, I think it was a good day for most. BTW, I tuned in at 4pm because I know it's hard to time live events and I thought it might start early. But I'm glad ESPN replayed it all. I was actually enjoying some of Denis' comments about Collingsworth when it was interrupted, lol. That was probably a good show.
I enjoyed seeing the White House visit.
I chalked JPM's nonchalance at being at the White House up to his being used to all sorts of dignitaries and royalty coming to F1 races. The President is just another dignitary. No harm, no foul.
And so what if he was invited to go along as "diversity in NASCAR." I couldn't care less.
So the President misspoke about moonshiners racing on the sand, no big deal. There are some long-time fans that get our history a little mixed up. No harm, no foul.
Truth to tell, events such as this are always political in nature. Everyone in the office, Democrat or Republican, has functions like this. Every President wants to be seen as "everyman." Every President has done events like this, will continue doing them.
Personally, I like seeing my chosen sport being recognized.
When I first started writing to this site,I was excited to find other people who have followed this sport as long as I have.I try to stay with in the topic,and somtimes, like others out there,I put a lot of effort into what I am trying to say!Only to find that It has been Deleted for what ever reason JD deems justifiable..I for one enjoy the fact that ESPN has ten times the coverage then they used to have!What exactly did you do at ESPN or (BSPN), which buy the way is never deleted JD, even though this family friendly site all knows what that means!What was your job over there at ESPN?Id really like to know!I know this is your site,but what do you say we refrain from the old delete button a little..In the context of NASCAR,I think most of us can only be so offensive! Thankyou JD
please delete after Lesley reads...
Lesley, we're sick of you making pointless comments that have nothing to do with the subject at hand. You're barely literate and you don't try to stay on the subject. This site is not about 'long time fans'. It's about TV coverage, even if you've been a fan for three weeks. If you had commented on TV coverage alone, you wouldn't keep getting deleted.
BSPN stands for Baloney SPN.
Or B-o-l-o-g-n-a.
Honest. any other niks are extrapolation and many use term BS without using cusswords.
I thought it was a great show. And for all naysayers here is a news flash. Any time celebs/politicians meet other types of citizens it's called a "Photo Op". been going on since the advent of photography.
I enjoyed the show, the comments and photos on Twitter.
As I said before, I had no problem with her outfit, right down to the Jimmy Choos, lol (this is 2009, ya know?) Aren't we supposed to be more 'enlightened' now that to spend so much time on a woman's clothes? Whose shoes was Daugherty wearing, lol?
You made the point,thanks.
No one noticed what kind of shoes Brad was wearing because he dressed appropriately for the event, not for a nightclub.
I know today's kids think what you wear doesn't matter, but it does, whether they like it or not.
I put a lot of effort into what I am trying to say!Only to find that It has been Deleted for what ever reason JD deems justifiable.
Yep. His blog, his rules. Don't like it, go elsewhere or start your own.
You want your posts to stay up on the internet forever? Go start your own website.
This is JD's site and he can do whatever he likes with it. And yes, he has deleted posts of mine in the past. Probably will again in the future. Deal with it like a man (or woman...dot/karen/etc) and just move on if you don't like it.
There is no 'free speech' on the internet other than the fact that the govt can't limit your ability to say what you want to say. But in the same way that you can't stand inside Burger King and yell "this food sucks, go to Mcdonalds!" without getting shown the door, JD can set whatever limits he likes on the content of his website.
The fact that TDP is as popular as it is proves that JD knows what he's doing and should keep on doing it.
“TexasRaceLady
Truth to tell, events such as this are always political in nature. Everyone in the office, Democrat or Republican, has functions like this. Every President wants to be seen as "everyman." Every President has done events like this, will continue doing them.”
This is spot on. Anymore being read into this is off the mark i.e. support for the sport/ manufacturers. Additionally to put this much coverage on the event shows that NASCAR is not at the level of the big three (NFL, MLB, NBA) despite the never ending proclamations from NASCAR, the media, track owners etc..
Click the Blogger button at the top of the page and you will see the following :
Create a blog. It’s free.
* Your blog. Share your thoughts, photos, and more with your friends and the world.
* Easy to use. It’s easy to post text, photos, and videos from the web or your mobile phone.
* Flexible. Unlimited flexibility to personalize your blog with themes, gadgets, and more.
Well, I wish they wouldn't have started early since I had set the DVR up to record since I couldn't be home to watch it. I thought it was a pretty good effort for a political event and photo op. the President said all the right things and seemed relaxed and well prepared for the meetings, that's fine. Obviously it doesn't hurt to plug the sport and the American auto industries considering the economic times. I thought the Nascar Now folks did a nice job, but I did notice how odd Brad's posture looked in the chair and yeah, I'm one of the people who thought Nicole's skirt was too short for the event, but that's just me, I'm a little on the conservative side of dress codes. Marty did a good job but for whatever reason, JPM just didn't feel cooperative -- a little enthusaism wouldn't have hurt him any, but then again, he's not an American so why should he care whether he met the US president or not? Overall, a good effort for Nascar Now.
I forgot to say how much I enjoyed the Whelen modified race broadcast on Speed last night. Mike Joy and the broadcast team did a great job of showing the action on the track and provided great description of the differences in this type of car. I started to watch the truck race, but I hit Waltrip overload early on and switched to other things just checking in on it once in a while.
OK, so I'm wondering, why wasn't any of this such a big deal when it was done with other Presidents? I think that's the issue, imho. Nascar drivers have been at the White House for Mr Clinton, Mr Bush and now Mr Obama, so why all the hoopla for THIS President? What makes this visit any more important or newsworthy? I guess the answer is the same as for any other story about this President and it's patently unfair to every other President who has done the same. Yes, Nascar needs the exposure, but what makes THIS exposure so much better than when other Presidents have done the same? And, fyi, absolutely nothing on this from our local TV news so it isn't earth-shattering everywhere.
anon 1:33... Has nothing to do with which president. It's the fact that ESPN chose to carry it live (probably because it fit in with their broadcast schedule and their program, NASCAR Now, whereas previous ones may not have.) NN has only been on for a couple seasons, and other networks obviously didn't consider it important enough.
Anon 1:07...fashion changes. Men aren't wearing knickers anymore...well, except golfers. And women are allowed to show 'shock, horror!' that they actually have legs these days. She wasn't dressed for a nightclub; it was no different than how many businesswomen dress these days, and they seem to be doing okay with it. Not acceptable in every industry (banking was always notoriously conservative), but many of them, and I consider television one of those. I'm certain that women have actually worn short skirts to the WH before--perhaps even some politicians. If Nicole showed up in that outfit the gal wore for the anthem last week, I might have agreed.
"OK, so I'm wondering, why wasn't any of this such a big deal when it was done with other Presidents? I think that's the issue, imho...I guess the answer is the same as for any other story about this President and it's patently unfair to every other President who has done the same."
I think you are reading too much into it.
The reason for the coverage this time around is that ESPN covered it, the automakers are in the dumps (cash for clunkers notwithstanding), NASCAR is having financial troubles of it's own (loss of sponsors, TV ratings down, manf support waning, etc), the economy is sour, and so on.
I realize that people love to jump on the "why does everyone love Obama" bandwagon. And perhaps it's true in some cases. But this isn't one of them. There are a lot of other factors at play other than whoever is in the whitehouse.
Let me clear up some misconceptions about yesterday's White House ceremony. I worked inside that building complex for over 15 years in three administrations, and was "as needed" in a fourth one. One of my duties was to schedule and execute these "meet-and-greets" at the WH. The rule generally was to stage them outside if there were more than five guests (weather permitting); otherwise one of the state rooms on the first floor would be utilized. The President would be properly briefed well in advance on both the substance of the group but also the people participating in the event.
Some personal observations that I noticed there yesterday:
The m&g started earlier than scheduled due to the threat of rain coming in from Virginia (it had rained earlier and started raining again about 5:30pm well after the event). The makeup of the group was predominately republican (me included) but at events like this it really doesn't matter. The President pulled it off very well but not any better than several of his predecessors.
(By the way, Hinton's story had a mistake: in 1984, we were still using the C-137C(B707) as the VC-25(B747) didn't come online until 1990.)
Hey anon.. 1:02 In case you hadnt noticed..there have been several complaints about JD deleting even your so called on topic subject matter..As for your personel attack on my grammer...Well,I will give you that..but unlike you,I bet I dont look like another sheep in the herd!
The WH event was a real honor and was appreciated by all based on the comments of those in attendance. Obama obviously wasn't knowledgeable about Nascar but did OK. I found it ironic that Manske,not Bestwick got to interview the President. I was waiting for her to step in it, but she got through it.
I enjoyed the coverage of the event. I was impressed that (1) the Pres. had devoted the time to prepare enough to be comfortable talking about the sport and well,(2) ESPN shifted gears and rebroadcast the show, and (3) ESPN had regular on-air NASCAR people handle the event rather than bring in some "big name" ESPN person like Chris Berman.
In my view the 2 high points of the event were the President's positive comments about auto industry support for and use of NASCAR for marketing and the severe indigestion I am sure that caused among the NASCAR-bashers like Ed Hinton, Lee Spencer, Mike Mulhern, and now Jerry Bronkowski who always seem eager to write NASCAR's obituary.
I for one was impressed I have seen pictures of JJ with GW but seeing this live was just way much more then that. I give ESPN big props for showing it. Nicole shoes aside (I really liked them just not sure they were right for the occasion)I thought she did a good job. It would have been nice to see AB but I guess ESPN has their reasons. I think JPM hates being in the tie (see Twitter) and just didn't want to have fun with Marty. I have 1 question was Chad actually there? I didn't see him I know he was refered to by the President but I never actually saw him.
Hey most of us have been deleted or reminded to get back on track by JD at least once, get over it already.
So it looks like we all agree: If you disagree with JD, he will delete your comment.
Some people are mad at this, and some are ok with it -- but we can all agree that JD deletes the posts he disagrees with.
Since comments on blogs are enabled to offer opinions, let me offer mine: THAT'S NO WAY TO RUN A BLOG
No we can't. I have been deleted in the past, I did not always agree with JD's reason for deleting my comment, but I was not deleted for disagreeing with JD.
I appreciate and am impressed that JD cares enough about TDP to devote the time and effort to police it. There was a no longer active blog that I was very fond of, but I learned that there was usually no point in reading it after about 15 comments because by then it had decinegrated into a food fight and name calling.
I find it the exception and refreshing to have a place where subjects can be discussed, provided it is in an adult and civil manner. Thank you JD.
no we don't agree, but you'll choose to believe what you want. I've disagreed with JD on several occasions and I don't recall ever being deleted...if I was, it wasn't anything important. He's argued the points with me, as a matter of fact, which is the reason for a blog. In retrospect, sometimes I saw his side, sometimes not. Most recently, I find ESPN's Twitter policy very reasonable, JD doesn't. I could give other examples but there's no point. I've posted on many message boards over the years, and found moderated ones to my liking. Many blogs/boards are like this--I'm sure you can find one more to your liking though (or as some have suggested...make your own.)
BTW...I enjoyed arguing about Nicole's shoes, lol. I forgot to look at them tonight...I wonder if she read these comments. It was funny that someone recognized them though.
Anon @ 6:47PM
What part of "it's JD's blog" are you having trouble comprehending?
Geez........
This certainly was one of the more memorable comments sections in recent months.
Each deleted comment contained political references that were specifically pointed out as not permitted in this blog.
Now, you can all see the reason why. The agenda of these Anon posters is control and disruption...does that sound familiar?
On one hand, I feel bad for them because they cannot join in the discussion. On the other hand, who cares what they think?
I've been an adult for a long time and had a lot worse than tormented souls with keyboards coming at me.
I can only imagine how it must be to step into the political arena every day in this new age of technology and instant communication. No thanks!
As we return to NASCAR, the doubleheader Bristol weekend is ahead and then a slow Sunday with just the evening shows on SPEED.
Thanks again for all the input and fascinating comments, it certainly does take all kinds to make a world.
JD
Post a Comment