Following around candidates is far from glamorous

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: September 11, 2008

The life of a reporter assigned to following the presidential candidates around the country sounds glamorous. You’d think they’d be in the middle of it all, inside all the exciting rallies, witnessing history. And while some of that is true, they do have a ringside seat for history, the job is anything but exciting.

Sen. Obama has now been to our area four times and he has given pretty much the same speech every time. When former President Bill Clinton traveled to Blacksburg and Roanoke to stump for his wife during the Virginia primary, he gave the identical speech (without notes) at both rallies.

You see, that’s what the candidates do. They spend a lot of time putting together a really strong stump speech and then use it at every stop they make. It’s new to the people in the audience, but it is very, very old to the reporters following the candidate from stop to stop. Imagine hearing the same speech four times a day, seven days a week for three, four, five or six months straight!

Rarely is anything new said at these rallies, and when it is you can expect it to make major news. The latest happened in Russell County when Barack Obama made his now infamous comment about putting lipstick on a pig. The line wasn’t new, but it was the first time it had been uttered by Obama since newly minted VP candidate Sarah Palin said “lipstick” during her acceptance speech.

Whether Obama intended his comment to mock Palin is up for debate. But, the audience’s reaction isn’t. They clearly made the connection and gave Obama a louder than usual cheer for that line. That reaction, coupled with the McCain campaign’s demand for an apology, led to a major news story.

Should “lipstick-gate” (and I hope you are catching the sarcasm) have been a major story? No. But, at least now you might have a better idea why it blossomed into the issue of the week.