Political speaking a summer tradition
Last week, the politicians made the trek to the pavilion at the Neshoba Fair to try to win a few votes and maybe get a little media buzz going.
Things are more scripted these days. Some of the ah- shucks, country-boy, granddaddy-told-me lines are more likely to have been written by a professional speech writer than ‘ol granddaddy. And, there are about as many people playing with their iPhones or BlackBerries as waving funeral fans.
But, that’s OK. It is still a place that requires a candidate to stand up and talk and reveal something about himself or herself to a crowd interested in politics. People do listen and everybody critiques. It’s Southern political theater at its best.
There wasn’t much real news coming out the fair last week. The candidates were there to tease about what they might be running for next year, which always is more politically valuable than actually saying it.
David Hampton
Clarion Ledger
8/1/10
Magnolia Tribune
