Nashville Pulls Out The Stops For McCain-Obama Town Hall

Nashville has been abuzz with activity this past weekend leading into this week, not only with debate preparations but with traffic generated by a dozen major events each of which, individually, would clog the streets with participants and attendees alike.

Setting The Stage

The Al-Menah Shrine Circus is in the downtown municipal auditorium while the Bluegrass Fan Fest is in the convention center. An original copy of the Declaration of Independence, transported and displayed in a case faced with bulletproof glass, is on loan from Norman Lear and available for viewing at the relatively new state-of-the-art Nashville Library.

The First Tennessee regional chain of banks is sponsoring a free day at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, a museum created from the shell of the historic downtown Post Office on upper Broadway. Not to be outdone, Regions, a competing chain of banks, is sponsoring a free day of music in the brand spanking new state-of-the-art Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

There is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (Breast Cancer) which begins at Demonbreun and 3rd Avenue South, runs through Music Square East and ends at Broadway and 3rd Avenue, a section of downtown filled with honky tonks and showbars referred to by locals as lower broad because it slopes to the nearby end where it meets the Cumberland River.

If you venture out Broadway to where it turns into West End Avenue you can participate in the Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors Tour of Homes, an event held by the upscale for the benefit of the upscale; the Celebration of Cultures Festival in Centennial Park where there is the world's only full-scale reproduction of the Parthenon; and the Belle Meade (the ultimate combination of upscale old and new money folks) Free Day at Cheekwood Museum and Gardens.

If you were to stay with Broadway instead of venturing onto West End you would come to Vanderbilt whose diversified holdings (filled with activities) are so vast they rate their own zip code. In this area you will find the ESPN College Game Day at The Commons area on the Vanderbilt Campus and, of course, the Auburn-Vanderbilt football game at Vanderbilt Stadium.

The Perfect Storm

Into the midst of this perfect storm of congestion and dazed-tourist wanderings comes the second political debate between Barack Obama and John McCain which will be held in the Curb Event Center on the campus of Belmont University Tuesday evening. One of the offshoots of this event will be massive road closings throughout the Vanderbilt, Belmont-Hillsboro area, and downtown in general.

The Tennessean, Nashville's largest daily paper, refers to this week as a "confluence of events most city tourism officials would kill for." Nashville will be teeming with as many as 25,000 visitors attending the various events. Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau President Butch Spyridon estimates that the city could see as much as $10 million from the visitors alone. Nearly all of Davidson County's 25,000 hotel rooms are booked and restaurants are running with full staffs.

At the Nashville International Airport the well-heeled campaign officials and other political folks, as well as members of the world media, will be greeted with live music. Students and faculty of Belmont's Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business will be performing in various areas of the airport.

Some folks liken it to having an extra Titans weekend; others think it might be the equivalent to the holidays; some feel that Nashville, now more than ever, has become the focal point of the country and everyone notes that it could be the topper, the ultimate week in Music City.

The Venue

Belmont University is a private liberal arts university which dates back to 1951 when it was transformed from the Ward-Belmont College, a finishing school, into an instrument of the Tennessee Baptist Conference (TBC). In late 2007, after years of wrangling and court battles, Belmont severed ties with the TBC to become a university that maintains a Christian identity but no longer specifically a Baptist one. It is now the largest Christian university in Tennessee and the second largest private university in the state.

Meanwhile, at the Curb Center itself, preparations are proceeding at a hectic pace. There are a ton of decisions that have to be made. Things like the color of the drapes behind the candidates; how far can a cable go without a booster and still be effective; how do you see to it that the massive amount of cell phone calls that will take place Tuesday on campus can be handled; and the arrangement for thousands of internet and phone hookups in the media tent.

With regard to the media tent, there must be two absolutely identical areas (one for each campaign) draped off because you cannot give one of them so much as two square inches more than the other one.

Hundreds of people are involved in getting things ready. There are vendors; parking and transportation systems; and multiple musings as to how to minimize the disruption to the neighborhood.

The Main Event

If there's a big moment in the debate, then references to what happened at the Nashville debate will go on for years. If something dramatic happens, it will increase the references to the site.

And that could very well happen. The McCain/Palin ship has, of late, been floundering while the icebergs batter their hull; it lists while the captain angrily flails about assessing blame on anyone and anything to divert the passengers from the true realization of what is going on.

If this were the civil war, McCain would be polishing his sword and dressing up in his class A uniform as he prepares for a meeting at Appomattox.

But that could change with an outstanding performance by John McCain during the town-hall style debate. If he finds the right words at the right time, McCain might be able to right the ship and set course for 270 electoral votes on November 4.

Whether he does or not the week's real winner will be Nashville, a teeming metropolis that is light years away from its occasional caricature as a small southern town whose only economic engine is a small handful of honky tonk musicians.

Comments

[R.T. Eby - Huffpost Blogger]

NOTE:

I am live blogging the debate (actually I started a while ago) and I certainly invite you to read my postings, make comments and hopefully, get answers. I blogging through the OffTheBus page which you can easily find. Or, here's the web address:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rt-eby/blogging-the-nashville-fa_b_132675.html

[ThomH]

One question that won't be asked tonight: "Given that clear majorities of both voters and physicians favor single-payer health insurance paid for by the federal government, why do you oppose it?"

A logical question, of course, for both candidates. But do not expect it to be asked by the moderator, an employee of GE, whose health insurance business would be ended by going to single payer, or by any of the audience, whose questions have all been vetted by the moderator.

What ever became of the League of Women Voters, who used to moderate these debates?

Having a presidential debate moderated by a GE employee is like having a debate on capital punishment moderated by a manufacturer of electric chairs.

[gretchenart]

Is this going to be a REAL townhall or some kind of typical McCain/GOP sham where all participants questions have been pre-vetted, screened, censored? Sure McCain will do well if it is an environment rigged by major media to pander to the GOP, but Obama will win hands down if it is actually real voters asking genuine questions that have not been pre-screened!

[R.T. Eby - Huffpost Blogger]

The only person who is screening the questions is Tom Brokaw, the moderator. All assurances by the independent debate committee are that it will, indeed, be a genuine town hall format. As far as attendence in the Curb Center, there will be 150 people, at most, in the audience and those tickets have been very selectively given out by the debate committee. All of this has been arranged to make sure that everything is fair and square.

[ThomH]

All kinds of steps have been taken to be sure the debate is fair and balanced. For example, all third party candidates have been excluded, so there will be no embarrassing comments about the corporatocracy now running the country through the two major parties.


And by usung a moderator employed by GE, who is vetting all questions, you can be sure no embarrassing questions will be asked about how the health insurance lobby blocks single payer health insurance, or the plans of both candidates to expand the DOD budget, or anything about the adverse effects of media consolidation, or why government single-payer disaster insurance is provided for the nuclear industry.

So don't worry. All kinds of measures have been taken to insure a fair debate.

[bluecrewman]

With McCains chief bottlewasher, Tom Brokaw "moderating", we can expect a foxy presentation.
The man is second only to McCain for relinquishing his pride and ethics by morphing from being respectable into his sad present state.

Maybe it was my jaded vision of both men.

[MsDebate]

Going to the Obama "Rock the Debate" party tonight. I know it will be a Grand Ole Time had by all. Great description of Nashville, you did us proud.

[TigerVols]

RT -- That's the best description of my hometown I've ever read -- I thought your certainly must be a native, as you got all the tricky details just right. Hell I bet you could even figure out where Harding Place ends and Battery Lane begins.

Enjoy Nashville -- head over to South Street Grill and get some great crab legs while you're in town!

[R.T. Eby - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you. I am not a native but I have lived in the Nashville area, off and on, for the better part of 40 years. In many ways I have grown up with the city and I am delighted with its growth which is measurable in many ways other than just geographical size.

[PT6]

Nashville is Great!

Lets see a "CLEAN and FAIR" debate about the Economy and Wall Street since that is where the crisis is for AMERICANS!

Stop all this "Distraction" about Keating 5 and malarkey about US terrorists it does not sell!

[gretchenart]

Keating 5 is very relevant as it is a similar crisis on a smaller scale that McCain was an intimate part of the cause of. His deregulatory anything goes stance for corporations no matter how predatory to the consumer and detrimental for overall economic stability essentially promotes greed and corruption and the robbing of the middle and lower class to feed the wealthy and corporate insatiable appetite for our dollars, no matter how many of us that sends into destitution.

[PT6]

I hope there are not a bunch of McCain PLANTS asking questions!

We need some of our own!

[LisaLisa1234]

What a great thing for Nashville, just down the Music Highway...

[katesdad]

For folks in Nashville, where does the march to Belmont start?
Fired Up, Ready to Go!

[R.T. Eby - Huffpost Blogger]

According to an article in the Nashville City Paper:

Local volunteers and supporters of Barack Obama will gather to march prior to the Oct. 7 presidential debate at Belmont. Supporters will gather at the corner of 21st Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard at 4 p.m. and then march to the Belmont campus. In a statement, organizers said the purpose of the march is to “take advantage of the media’s focus on Tennessee during the debate, and to demonstrate the strong base of support Obama has in a state that has been ‘red’ in recent elections.­”

If you are an Obama supporter and you're up for it I'm sure you would be welcome.

[JVA]

everyone in nashville be sure to join in on the march to belmont! 5:30 tomorrow! bring signs! whoo!

[Ldyandrea]

Now after all of that time and preparation, watch McCain try to cancel it again by "suspending" his campaign over something else that doesn't require his presence.

[Pamo08]

Thanks for this wonderful article about my city and alma mater. Nashville is one happening place this week!

[Matt7]

What does "town hall format" mean for this debate (in terms of rules, expectations, etc.? Can one side or the other "pack the hall" with shills or hecklers? I'm sure that the purpose was to give the various venues a try, but for some reason this one concerns me.

[R.T. Eby - Huffpost Blogger]

A "town hall" format is one in which the moderator (in this case Tom Brokaw) elicits questions from the audience in addition to questions he asks himself. For the Nashville debate there are absolutely no tickets available for the general publilc. The debate managers maintain they have been very careful to make sure that what few tickets are available are evenly distributed between the two campaigns with an allowance for undecided voter attendance. It is a format in which John McCain feels he has an advantage if for no other reason than it makes him feel more comfortable. I would seriously doubt that either side will be able to "pack the hall."

[KISHAGREEN]

Way to go Nashville! I'd like to send a shout out to the kids at Brick Church Elementary (my alma mater), maybe some of you guys can help Sen. McCain with his debate prep (hehe).

[StateofTaxes]

Hume-Fogg!(has nothing to do with anything,but brings back great memories..­.)

[bootcamp]

McCain has nowhere to go now but down. He can run away from President Bush, but he can't run away from the Republican Party. The Republicans will be regarded from now on as "the party that wrecked America." Over the weeks ahead, as carnage in the economy and the financial markets ramps up, it will become increasingly clear. It is important that this meme be spread through the internet. I urge all commentators to adopt and spread the idea that the Republicans are "the party that wrecked America." It will work because it is the truth. Use it freely. Just spread the word.