Help Damon Weaver Get An Obama Inauguration Interview

***Updated, below***

One of the realities that journalists hoping to cover the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama are confronting is that there isn't going to be enough room for all of them, because Washington, DC will instead be filled by four million people and their terrible, hulking tour buses. The Politico's Sarah Abruzzese, noting that journalists are just not being laid off fast enough to avert this crisis, reports that the bad news shall be handed down to hopeful journalists very soon:

The galleries plan to start saying no this week to those who don't qualify for credentials.

"We're going to have to be very stingy this year," said Mark Abraham, the deputy director of the Senate Press Photographers' Gallery.

All of which is neither here nor there, because there is only one journalist that we actually care about: ace ten-year old reporter Damon Weaver, who famously interviewed Joe Biden, has received crowdfunding support from members of the Miami Heat, and is just, in general, two scoops of ultra-cool, smothered in awesome sauce. Let's remember his appealing appeal to the Obama transition team for access, shall we?

How can anyone say no to that? Nevertheless, Weaver's teacher, Brian Zimmerman, reports that Weaver's efforts have hit a snag:

I just received an email from the Senate Gallery that said they will not be able to give my students and I press credentials for the inauguration ceremony ... An aide from Congressman Alcee Hastings office has been in contact with the Presidential Inaugural Committee's press office. They told him they will not be able to give us press credentials for any of Presidential Inaugural Committee events. I also contacted Barack Obama's Transition Team about our request to have Damon Weaver interview him. They told me the interview will probably not happen.

All of this is happening despite the fact that Weaver has won the prestigious recognition of the Huffington Post, who named him one of the year's Ten Best Media Moments!

Anyway, to the Senate Gallery and the Obama Transition Team, I put the question: What in the world is wrong with you people? Were you all raised in a barn or something? Can you not recognize the genuine allure of having this awesome kid present at the inaugural? His level of maturity and lack of overall insipidity should be held out as a model, not excluded! Someone has to offset the presence of pop-celebrity charlatan preacher Rick Warren!

I intend to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. Should anyone like to press the various gatekeepers, and spur them to allow Damon Weaver to bring some measure of unalloyed delight to our political process, send an email to the Senate Gallery officials, the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and the Obama Transition Team. Si se puede!

UPDATE: I'm getting word that emails for the transition team and the PIC are not working. If I obtain better information on those points of contact, I shall let you know!

Comments

[larry278]

Damon has talent but that doesn't give any us the right to make him into an adult. He needs to complete school & a chance to go to college. There is another thing Damon has to do; he needs to live a few more years as a kid. He has the right to have a childhood.

[bluekatz]

Oh please this is a one in a life time chance in which he can share with his friends. This is a part of his school..geez! Apparently he enjoys what he is doing.

[postman606]

Oh Brother, get a grip.

[ZimboChick]

I think you believe what you just typed lol

[mlaiuppa]

I think they're scared. Damon can interview rings around George Stephanopolous. Katie Couric should feel threatened.

I think Oprah should get involved; bring Damon to D.C. with her. If nothing else, he can interview her and appear on her show.

[michyh]

great idea.

[westreal]

I want Damon Weaver to replace Lou Dobson on CNN.

[larry278]

I like the idea but Damon needs to complete his education & he has the right to be a kid, not a talking head. All of us have a duty to see that Damon Weaver completes his education & gets to live his life as a kid.
Lou Dobbs on CNN is a good reason to turn off your TV set off & have your evening meal when he is on the cable. If you have a family consider sharing the evening meal. There once was something called table talk.
In the event that you dine alone, there still is something called dinner music. Since I'm a culture vulture, I listen to light classical music as I dine. I'm seated so that I have a pleasant view all year long.
Back to the thread-let's see to it that Damon Weaver gets to live as a kid & he gets his education; we owe it to him & we owe that to all children too.

[westreal]

Dude, it was a joke!

[propitiousmoment]

Part of education is experiencing the activities you're learning about; this would be a terrific learning experience for Damon and his classmates. Another part of the process is getting inspired to learn; letting Damon interview Obama would not only inspire him, but countless other schoolkids, to who knows what kinds of achievement in their young lives now and future. Why crush his hopes? He's got a lot of spunk and he should get the interview. I think they should set up program so that a kid from every state gets to interview the pres over the course of the year, we could cover the whole country in 50 weeks and talk about motivation, as well as some pretty easy good p.r. for the pres. Don't be a grinch.

[Bart33]

How adorable! He's got that perfect dork thing going that will ensure he'll make a great, tenacious investigative journalist!

[kellygrrrl]

Damon is pure AWESOME!!!!!!

If he doesn't get to cover the Inauguration, I certainly hope Obama offers him a one-on-one

[babyboomerorig]

Keep pushing for that interview.

I'd love to see it happen!

[jerrypl]

Damon--you da man'! He was great when interviewed on NPR. He did interview Joe Biden. Barack--talk to the kid!

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[PippiLongstocking]

This kid is a cutiepie.

[propitiousmoment]

jeez louize, christmas is over but the grinches are out in force - too young, can't understand him, bla bla bla. give the kid the interview! he's cute, he's got moxie, and what better encouragement of education? and what better educational experience? i think every week they should let a kid from a different state interview the pres, that would be 4 from each state in 4 years, 8 if we get to keep O for 8 years. why is everybody so grinch-y?

[lisakaz2]

That's a great idea. It'd be a lot better than some of the garbage we usually see. Post it to the transition team. I can understand the kid just fine. I think they must be grinches or something.

[ponderingmuch]

Here is a bit more info on the e-mail addresses Jason mentions:

saa.senate.govsaa.senate.gov (Senate Gallery officials) -- works

ptt.govtt.gov (Obama Transition Team) -- works

The seeming address for the Presidential Inaugural Committee is [e-mail], but that doesn't work. Here is that web site if anyone can find an e-mail address:
http://www.pic2009.org/

[minimalist syntax]

It looks like the email address is: [e-mail] (instead of gov)

[minimalist syntax]

Okay. I just tried it and that doesn't work either. I apologize for the inaccurate information.

[dhertzfe]

Start with the basics, get through grade school, then high school, then college and then you play with the big boys. Ya can't jump from little league to the big league in anything. Time he learns this now. Ya can't get what you want cause you are cute. Sarah Palin tried it and got kicked to the curb.

[lisakaz2]

Damon is smarter than Palin tho.

[SurrealPumpkin]

Wanna bet that Damon knows what the Bush Doctrine is?

[GAPeach99]

What country do you think this is? Plenty of folks, both talented and un-talented, who haven't paid their dues get pushed to the head of the line LOTS of times, mostly just for being in the right place at the right time (or wrong time). Ever heard of LeBron James? No? How about Joe the Plumber? Can't say I like his politics one bit and it's clear that he's not much of an expert on... uh, much, but dude is getting paid during his fifteen and a half minutes. To some, it's not fair, but moxie or boldness, whatever you wanna call it, often can you just as far, if not further, than hard work.

You say "ya can't get what you want cause you are cute..." Are you kidding? Open a magazine these days, what do you see? This IS America! Like it or not, that's the stuff dreams are made of.

[IzHePrezYet]

Good point. If Mr. Obama had listened to those who told him to come back in 8 to 12 yrs after he'd paid his dues, he'd still be the jr. Senator from Illinois rather than our 44th President. Preparation & hard work are important, sure; but confidence and boldness count too!

Go Damon Go! Do your thing, young man!

[DeadHorse]

If I'm not mistaken Sarah Palin got the basics, went through grade school, then high school, then college and then she played with the big boys and fell on her face.
So why on earth would you condemn this young man to the same fate?

Good heavens, when opportunity knocks, are you gonna stand there wrapped in a towel and say "can you wait a few years, I just got out of the shower"?

[theone718]

We fight on to get Damon an interview!!

[Supercruize]

get this li'l punks to the classroom and ask them WWOD? Obama would rather have them in class studying, not crisscrossing the country doing what journalists do.

[Classof89]

"Obama would rather have them in class studying, not crisscrossing the country doing what journalists do."


That same logic should apply to today's crop of "journalists", because it's obvious they haven't learned a thing.

[Mauimom]

***Weaver's teacher, Brian Zimmerman, reports that Weaver's efforts have hit a snag:

I just received an email from the Senate Gallery that said they will not be able to give my students and I press credentials for the inauguration ceremony ****

Perhaps Teacher Zimmerman should spend a little time brushing up on his grammar.

Should be "Give my students and ME". "Students" and "me" are the direct object of the verb "give," and thus should be objective case. "I" is nominative case, used for the subject of a sentence.

[lisakaz2]

Then why does Zimmerman's phraseology 'sound' correct to my ear? In the abstract, I find no flaw with your explanation but it does not sound right and your ear shoudl be trained to know what is correct. Usually "me" is best used after a preposition: He said this to my students and me.

[NoSandwiches]

All grammar is style.
Read The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson and you will find that there really isn't truly a right or wrong--many times there are colloquialisms that "sound" correct to some and incorrect to others. If only I had this book to use to refute the misconceptions of my high school English teacher....

[propitiousmoment]

"I" is a subject, "me" is an object. "I" ran the race. The race was run by "me".
"I" gave him an interview. He gave "me" an interview. (Just like you wouldn't say "I gave he an interview." "He" is a subject, "him" is an object, of either a verb or a preposition.)

If it's part of a phrase, as here, where the object is "my students and me" just take out everything up to the "and" - you wouldn't say "he gave I an interview", so it's wrong to say "he gave my students and I an interview."

It probably sounds right because so many people get it wrong nowadays, even in song lyrics, that you hear it everywhere. But it's still wrong. One of my pet peeves, actually.

[mlaiuppa]

Because usage does not always reflect correct grammar. "Me" sounds stupid to our ears; it sounds egocentric or illiterate. In spoken conversation, "I" has become quite common. Language usage trumps rules. The rules come after to explain the how language uses words. That is why it is constantly changing.

[postman606]

I'll bet if you ask, the people you work with think you're the biggest a-hole in the building.

[Classof89]

Wrong.

Zimmerman: "I just received an email from the Senate Gallery that said they will not be able to give my students and I press credentials for the inauguration ceremony."

Plain and simple, you have to think of it as "they said that they will not be able to give ME press credentials...", not "they said that they will not be able to give 'I' press credentials..."

Leave out "my students", and like other posters have been saying, just hear how it sounds using "me" or "I".

[gwynece1]

First of all, why rip apart a kid over grammar??? jaded, much? There's a possibility that he was nervous, but I understood everything he said. What is the harm of letting him interview Obama. Of course I hope he isn't crushed if he isn't given the opportunity....

[sanaaiman]

cosign! let's be constructive here. he's just a kid. and i'm sure he'll work hard to do even better with good support.