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It is not known how the crowd was screened or selected. You are simply repeating an AP report (fox news was not the source). AP is reliable, but there is no detail of that 70% random selection - is this information from the white house? selected how? From democrat congressman list of "friends"? From the white house internet site? From ACORN? How was the seating selected? - were the 30% that were not random given choice seating (would explain all the smiling yes-men behind the president). Just not enough information.
I'll help you out.
Quote:
Seventy percent of the tickets were distributed by an online lottery that made computerized random choices on Saturday, and conservative activists and Obama opponents secured some tickets. But though they tried to be picked for questions by standing and wildly waving their arms, they also seemed mindful of what New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman John H. Sununu had said before the town hall: He hoped Obama would get a respectful reception.
The White House, apparently sensitive to the potential for bad optics, issued an advisory to the media that said tickets were made widely available to the public. Seventy percent of the tickets were made available through a Web site, and a computer randomly selected the recipients.
Related to the above, about a "staged" Obama town meeting in July. By the way, Helen Thomas is about as liberal a reporter (and as old) as it gets. I don't like her, but if is something in regards to manipulating or deceiving the press she is all over it.
Helen Thomas: Obama “controlling the press” - Collegenews. (http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/obama_accused_of_staging_town_hall_meeting_0702200 92236/ - broken link)
Helen (and some others in traditional media) were very upset that Obama asked a blogger a question and that the blogger knew he'd have the opportunity to ask a question.
The question however, was not pre-screened.
(hence obama dodging the question)
Sincere thanks, that is indeed additional information. But still this note from the washington post article:
"Interviews with ticket holders, however, suggested that through whatever means, a large portion of the seats went to participants who were friendly to the president's position. "
I think they might mean that the choice closest seats went to Obama supporters? Not sure. It's a confusing remark, this from ticket HOLDERS, not those that didn't win the lottery. Did those with tickets know something we didn't? But the seat issue, with his supporters up front, that is bordering the ethical edge of what I would consider screening, and would explain the friendly questions and indeed the Obama supporter with the little girl. Obama would be greeted by the site of his supporters in the front rows, while the others were in the cheap seats.
I didn't see anyone waving, opponents or otherwise, as the camera was always on him and his "yes men" standing behind him.
Also this note from the same article, which may very well be someone upset that they didn't win the lottery:
"Behind the police tape, real-estate broker Charles Wibel, 70, of Farmington said he made repeated attempts through the president's Web site to obtain a seat in the high school gymnasium.
"Nothing about this is random," he said. "We ought to have animal control here. I've never seen so many sheep.""
I think they might mean that the choice closest seats went to Obama supporters? Not sure. It's a confusing remark, this from ticket HOLDERS, not those that didn't win the lottery. Did those with tickets know something we didn't? But the seat issue, with his supporters up front, that is bordering the ethical edge of what I would consider screening, and would explain the friendly questions and indeed the Obama supporter with the little girl. Obama would be greeted by the site of his supporters in the front rows, while the others were in the cheap seats.
"Not sure" is not some license to assume whatever you please out of thin air and present that as having likely been the case. Portsmouth is a heavily Democratic area. If the tickets were randomly assigned from the website, one would EXPECT that seats close to the stage -- and everywhere else -- would be be occupied predominantly by Democrats. You are supposing nothing more than mere whimsy that is based upon no fact or data at all. Such ideas frankly aren't worth the electricity that's being used to store them on the server.
On the brighter side, such useless tripe is certainly well placed within this thread, one which has sought from the beginning to make gold out of lead and a silk purse from a sow's ear.
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