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Democratic Party Boss's Fundraising Trip Gets Icy Reception

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By STEVE OTTO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 26, 2008

Presidential politics dominated your electronic mailbag this week. It started on the blog when I wrote about Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean coming to town looking for money.

Tina Trent of Ruskin commented, "He might as well raise some funds. He's going to need it for those relentless commercial appeals to try and convince me to come back to vote for a party that has disenfranchised me."

Robert Moore of Tampa, on the same blog, writes of the fundraising dinner, "It's almost worth a thousand bucks just to see if anything understandable comes out of his mouth. Still don't understand how a political party can override a state government election."

Howard Dean was followed into town by near-nominee Barack Obama and a Wednesday column that drew this from Lorna Michaelson of Tampa: "I enjoy most of your columns but you were way off today. Let's remember WHY Obama didn't come to Florida. It was because the Legislature decided not to heed announced Democratic Party regulations regarding primary dates. All they had to do was wait one week, until Feb. 5, and we Floridians would feel our votes truly counted. The change in primary dates was not Obama's doing.

"Your criticism about Obama's generalities is well-taken. However, I have heard speeches from John McCain, i.e. 100 years in Iraq if necessary, support for Mr. Bush's tax cuts, a desire to undo Roe v. Wade. Those are enough to make me want and support the idea of change pronto."

History Ignored

Long-time observer of the Tampa scene Howard Hilton e-mailed "My wife, Dottie, was browsing through a folder of 'household hints' she'd saved over the years. When she turned one clipping over, she spotted an intact Tampa Tribune editorial from 2002. ... As you can see from the attached copy, the Tribune went on enumerating the weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein had inflicted on people and most of all, the editorial urged President Bush to take action against Saddam. Given this 2002 stance it's hard to see how history can be so totally ignored today.

"P.S. Please tell the Trib to change your photo which appears above your blogs."

Tributes To A Principal

There was a huge stack of letters from the wonderful students at Dover Elementary. While I was out there, I asked if they might do me a favor and do some research on the school's late Principal Willis Peters, who did so much to make that rural school one of the outstanding schools in the county. I told them I might run the best of the lot.

This one is from Javier, a fourth-grader: "Dear Mr. Otto, I enjoyed your visit to Dover last week. ... I found out that Mr. Peters was a wonderful person and the person who hired Mrs. Boyle and he loved to eat food.

"He also loved his grandchildren and he knew all of the kids in Dover. He would dance with Mrs. Vila in the office and liked to smile a lot and sing, and he also loved animals. They also named a building with his name. That's about all I know."

Marissa, also a fourth-grader, added "I found out that he was nice, tall and a firm person. He hired Mrs. Boyle and she had two of his grandchildren. I just run these things. He loved horses and the kids. He also gave good awards for perfect attendance, like a $50 savings bond. When he passed away with cancer they named the Willis Peters Exceptional Student Center after him. And in every faculty meeting he gave the teachers strawberry shortcake."

Don't you wish your boss would do that?

Trophies Need A Home

Finally there was this note from Phyllis Lamb. I'm not sure if it is a request or if she is just bragging.

"Dear Steve, Do you know where I can give away all my fishing and bowling trophies? What do people do with all of these when they don't want them any more?"

You got me Phyllis, That's never been one of my problems. I do have a great trophy from a chili-dog eating contest years ago but that sits proudly in my den in a place of honor.

Keyword: Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto's blog.

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