John Berman has been at ABC since 1995, and allowed to appear on television since 2001. He covered the 2008 campaign extensively, following John McCain and Mitt Romney during the primaries and then Barack Obama in the general election. He also spent more than 20 months chasing George W. Bush around the country as a producer from 1999 until 2001, earning the clever nickname, "Pain in the Ass," from our 43rd president. He is a frequent and sometimes welcome contributor to all of ABC's broadcasts.
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Greek Tragedy?
August 27, 2008 4:10 PM
1:50 pm MT: From ABC News' Rick Klein, author of The Note: So all the buzz today was supposed to be about two big Wednesday speeches -- Bill Clinton’s and Joe Biden.
Why, then, is everyone in Denver talking about stagecraft?
It’s simple: Reporters got their first glimpse of the stage where Barack Obama will deliver his speech tomorrow night at Invesco Field. Reuters described the set as similar to a "Greek temple."
Thus a legend -- not the good kind -- was born.
Said one Democrat: "This is a disaster of mythical proportions." Said another: "It's not enough that he wants to be president -- he wants to be Zeus." Said the first: "Will he send down thunderbolts from the mountain?"
Those are the Democrats -- though assuredly not Obama partisans. Cue the Republicans: The RNC blasted around an e-mail referring to the "Temple of Obama."
"Tomorrow you're going to see Obama come down from Olympus to be among us mere mortals," Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, told reporters in Denver.
Senior Obama advisers dismiss the comparisons. There will be columns, they say, but it won’t look like a Greek temple -- or even the White House portico.
"It looks like any state capitol," one adviser tells ABC News. "It's a bunch of columns."
For the candidate who brought you his very own faux-presidential seal, this is not a good perception. Obama aides insist that the set is staying, and that it won't look as bad as it sounds right now; the real backdrop, they say, will be his supporters.
It raises anew the larger issue: After Berlin, and the "Celebrity" ads, does Obama want to accept the nomination in front of a screaming crowd of 75,000 people?
Obama folks, who see the evening as an organizing tool, say yes. There’s a real enthusiasm gap here that the Obama folks want to exploit
But I wonder: If this was being put together post-"Celebrity" -- had it not been in the works for months -- would the campaign have had such a problem with accepting the nomination inside the Pepsi Center -- just like people normally do?
August 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (75)
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Are all of you Obama cult members going to salute at the same time? Maybe there's a reason the Germans are so ga-ga over him.
Posted by: Gary | Aug 27, 2008 6:42:43 PM
Man, I think I peaked too son.
Posted by: Zeus | Aug 27, 2008 6:50:30 PM
soon - too much nectar of the gods.
Posted by: Zeus | Aug 27, 2008 6:51:07 PM
I can't wait to see the stage. I saw the diagram and it looks beyond obnoxious. This is going to to be sooooooooo funny. It already is. Obama is so full of himself that he can't see that this egotism is going to be the major thing that gets him creamed in November.
Posted by: kate | Aug 27, 2008 7:01:32 PM
Obama is rapidly become a joke. Ridiculous. Is he Zeus now? And this from a man who invented his own presidential seal.
Come to think of it, Zeus was married to Hera who in many respects resembles the domineering Michelle, so the analogy flows. Obama in a toga. Yah!
Posted by: Emily | Aug 27, 2008 7:04:12 PM
I love you republicans criticizing the "uppity" Obama -- though you are so careful to not use THAT word! Ego, Celebrity, ambitious... All seem to mean the same thing to you supporters of the "kept man" of a beer heiress worth millions.
Enough!
No Way, No How, NO McSame!
Obama 08
Posted by: jackt51 | Aug 27, 2008 7:07:42 PM
jack51, what about "clean and articulate"?
Oh wait... that was Biden that said that.
Posted by: Gary | Aug 27, 2008 7:15:29 PM
Set your clepsydras! Chariot races at 3:00. Sacrifice of 2 Clinton delegates and an Edwards supporter at 5:00. And the laurel wreath placement at 7:00.
Special appearance by Joe Biden who will serve the annointed one grapes during the epic oratory event.
Hail Obama! We who are about to die salute you!
Posted by: Don | Aug 27, 2008 7:28:09 PM
And, by the way, it's ironic that the Repugs -- party of Larry Craig and convening near the place of his arrest --- see Greek in the columns, rather than justice and law which so many of our American Buildings with columns represent!!!
A little Freudian, don't ya think?
Obama 08
Posted by: jackt51 | Aug 27, 2008 7:37:58 PM
A screaming crowd of 75,000 people who came to see Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen! Can't he draw his own crowd, without having opening acts?
Posted by: Linda | Aug 27, 2008 7:40:19 PM
The stage is clearly meant to resemble a typical state house. However, the visual analogy to a temple along the lines of the Parthenon is there, whether you like it or not. Even bloggers on the Huffington Post are decrying it: "Axelrod, tear down this wall!" There is clearly something to it.
We'll have to wait and see, but this could be a little like the Dukakis tank...
Posted by: Wade | Aug 27, 2008 7:53:12 PM
Gee, it's not like republicans have ever had columns at their presidential acceptance speeches:
Oops! They have! check out Bush's Temple in 2004!
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0808/Bushs_2004_temple.html
Posted by: Mike | Aug 27, 2008 8:00:12 PM
Rick Klein,
how about the media focus on whether or not the mccain camp's claims that obama loves himself over his country is true, instead of talking about how people will think this guy believes he's a god because of a stage set. its you guys with the responsibility and power or presenting this information to the people. please just present the facts and don't repeat the talking points.
Posted by: phi | Aug 27, 2008 8:30:17 PM
Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga!
Posted by: Pete | Aug 27, 2008 8:34:18 PM
Gee, nice double standard. Bush gave a speech in front of columns when he accepted the nomination in 2004, no one said a word.
I would also like to point out that those columns are reminiscent of the Lincoln Memorial. Obama is giving his speech on the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
Nice that you just cut and paste whatever comes into your inbox from the Republicans.
Posted by: debrazza | Aug 27, 2008 8:34:52 PM
Obama bin Zeus. “Open your mouth and shut your eyes and see what Zeus will send you.”
Posted by: Vituperator | Aug 27, 2008 8:53:06 PM
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great?
Posted by: don | Aug 27, 2008 9:09:10 PM
Some brilliant light said: "The stage is clearly meant to resemble a typical state house."
-------
Well, let him run for governor, then, and leave us alone!
Honestly, the day brains were passed out, you Democrats were looking in the mirror again.
Posted by: tanarg | Aug 27, 2008 9:55:19 PM
The image of Obama as Greek God has been done:
http://rightvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/worshipme.jpg
Posted by: Lisa | Aug 27, 2008 10:35:34 PM
“Obama bin Zeus. `Open your mouth and shut your eyes and see what Zeus will send you.'”
...As Bill said to Monica
Posted by: Dan Schwartz | Aug 27, 2008 10:37:38 PM
Actually, I think he's trying to mimic Lincoln Memorial to exploit the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Obama is all about and only about appearances. Pull back the curtain and you find ties to Bill Ayers, an anti-American "church," Rezko, and other rather shady leftists. But don't let the truth get in the way of celebrity worship.
Posted by: Bull Moose | Aug 27, 2008 10:49:50 PM
Will Obama wear a robe? I have some wounds I'd like to heal and maybe if I get close enough, I can touch the hem of his gown.
LOL. On a related topic, when is Saturday Night Live starting?
LOLOLOL.
Posted by: Jo | Aug 27, 2008 10:51:20 PM
Can't criticize anything about Obama, because that would be racist!
Posted by: Lily | Aug 27, 2008 11:25:26 PM
Fast forward tothe 4:00 mark and you will see Obama's temple of doom.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/08/021339.php
Posted by: Jess | Aug 28, 2008 12:27:25 AM
Criticism of Obama's popularity is pretty stupid because it is criticizing voters. It's elitist at it core to blame Obama for appealing to the lowly citizens and supporters who stand for hours to listen to him.
This attack failed for Hillary Clinton and it will for John McCain too.
Posted by: Beth in VA | Aug 28, 2008 12:45:48 AM
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