Aug 28
I couldn’t attend, but my wife and kids did. If I have it right, the blue arrow above points to them. Reports have attendance between 300 and 500 thousand. My wife said it was packed. At 6AM this morning she called excited to report she had met David Barton on the way to get a Diet Pepsi.
She and the kids had it easier than most attendees. They walked down from plush Dupont Circle digs and didn’t have to fight bus or metro crowds to get home.
When she Facebook’s about it, I’ll link to her posts.
August 28th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Opposite side of the reflection pond and just a little bit closer to the Lincoln Memorial.
August 29th, 2010 at 10:12 am
I saw Beck on FOX NS with Chris Wallace interviewing him, and I have to say I was underwhelmed. He just doesn’t seem very bright. He had difficulty forming thoughts, and much of what he said was banal or didnt make sense. He must be better in other settings because he did not come off well in a one-on-one interview.
August 29th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I saw the interview as well. I agree he didn’t come off well. I think there’s a few reasons why.
#1: It was at the end of an incredibly intensive build-up to this event. Just this past week alone has been very physically demanding on him and his staff. Even at the rally he seemed different. I commented to others that I found him more serious and less entertaining than at the other two venues where I saw him live. Perhaps he was tired, perhaps he felt the tone should be different.
#2: He doesn’t fit into anyone’s “box”. Wallace was trying to get him to define himself in terms that the pundits could understand. This type of event, the information and explanations that Beck puts out there don’t fit into the political commentators preconceived notions. He’s not a politician. He’s not a party hack who is out there to defend the party position no matter what. This event would be better called a religious revival and that’s not a comfortable topic for the pundits to wade into.
#3: Beck is not a “sound bite” guy. If you take him out of context and don’t see or hear the entirety of what he’s saying you will not have a favorable opinion or the spin will be something different and sometimes completely opposite of the point he was making.
He’s incredibly well-read and very bright. Furthermore, he doesn’t ask anyone to take his word for what he says. He demands you go research it yourself. Most people will be too lazy or too afraid to be proven wrong to actually do the research.
August 29th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
He is on the air so much he has to be off his game some time. I don’t watch his show very often, but his initial 20 minute monologue is impressive. I doubt Wallace could do it.
I’m not that big a fan of his, mainly because although he identifies causes correctly he has nothing real to offer on solutions. I do appreciate what he is trying to do but think he is a bit unstable and a risky horse to bet on. Something he readily admits too. But then he isn’t being asked to control nuclear weapons.
I think his recent stressing of “God” as the solution to our political/financial woes is genuine but also a reflection that he doesn’t think the problems we face are truly solvable politically. Hence the fall back to the deity. Thus, he and others can claim that whatever happens is Gods will. Well.. we knew that before hand didn’t we. So ultimately, I suppose, I suspsect he is a cop out that is making a buck along the way.
I think he is a positive force in the country, but don’t wish to stand too close to the flame(out).
August 30th, 2010 at 12:36 am
Glenn Beck has been a loud-mouthed, arrogant, self-righteous ass every time I have listened to him. The only point in his favor is he has been on the right track to the truth most of those times as well.
I think Beck is just part of a trend and he’s riding that for all it is worth. Specifically, it reminds me of a quote from Ghandi (don’t read too much into the source of the quote)
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”
First, Obama claimed to not know that the Tea Parties are happening. Now, he is laughing at Glenn Beck from vacation. I suspect the “fight” portion of the epic is November.