Tuesday, May 20, 2008 5:11 PM CDT
COLUMN: Clinton, Obama battle pales in comparison to 'Great A/C War'
By HARRY REYNOLDS, Editorial page editor
hreynolds@jg-tc.com
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama remain locked in a close battle for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. They’re going at it like two tomcats (let’s face it, Clinton’s one tough hombre) on the prowl.
Obama, who enjoys a close lead in elected delegates and the popular vote, got a thumping in West Virginia with Clinton rolling up 67 percent of the vote. Of course, West Virginia is a blue-collar state with a black population of roughly 4 percent. In North Carolina, Obama ripped Clinton, racking up over 80 percent of the black vote — which is considerable.
Since Tuesday blowout, Obama has been visiting states in an effort to persuade blue-collar voters he’s their man. That’s something he concentrate on because if he doesn’t the Reagan Democrats may flock to Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan and a host of other electoral-rich, blue-collar states, states are saturated with gun-loving, Bible-loving people who can be a tad suspicious of folks they don’t know, have gone Clinton. In fact, most of the big states have sided with the former first lady, and now U.S. senator from New York
John Edwards declared support Wednesday for Obama. Edwards is popular with blue-collar voters.
Obama may or may not have the Democratic nomination in the palm of his hand. But, anything can happen. The superdelegates have yet to stampede in Obama’s direction. According to recent polling of Democrats, roughly 63 percent say the feisty Clinton should remain in the race. This thing should go to the convention.
With over 60 percent of women voters solidly behind Clinton and not inclined to look with favor on any man who tries to force her out of the race, no sane male Democrat is going to be perceived as openly trying.
My heart is with Clinton. I think it’s about time the nation had a female president. But, one can also argue — with conviction — the U.S. needs a black president. Most black voters feel that way. Which explains why they flipped from 80 percent or more as Clinton supporters to over 80 percent Obama backers.
The Democratic nominee will probably face a tough fight in the fall against McCain, particularly if that man successfully convinces voters the Democratic candidate is too far to the left.
But, enough of this conjecture. The Obama-Clinton war pales in comparison with what’s been going on at the newspaper. And I’m talking about the A/C conflict.
Publisher Carl Walworth has been frantically trying to accommodate both sides in the deadly struggle. One of our editorial board meetings devolved from the benefits of economic growth to a sharp battle of words over how low the air conditioner’s thermostat should be set.
We’ve got a Goldilocks scenario at the office. Some people (mostly women) think it’s too cold in the office while most of the men folk think it’s just right.
Managing Editor Bill Lair is caught in the middle, I think. His office rivals any refrigerator. He often wears his coat while typing with icy fingers.
Most of the fighting over the thermostat centers in the newsroom. The ringleaders of the campaign to turn the newsroom from a pleasant working environment into a tropical hell are Penny Weaver, Dawn Schabbing, Candice Potter and the cold-blooded Beth Heldebrandt.
Admittedly, there have been a few times when the A/C went D/C and we found ourselves chipping ice from our drinks. During this period, Weaver would stomp over to the thermostat and turn the air conditioner down.
When those naked acts aggression were finally repelled, Weaver resorted to climbing a ladder and trying to block the ducts. This would have probably worked if not for the sharp-eyed Walworth.
On one occasion Walworth told us the A/C man said it was impossible to satisfy everybody. When the stalwart publisher told us this, he was greeted with icy glares.
The people in the advertising department don’t fight over the air conditioner. People who sell are generally warm-blooded extroverts who sally forth each day to keep this place running. The retort will be ad people spend a great deal of their time outdoors.
The adversary I most fear in this savage conflict over the A/C is Schabbing. During the long years of acquaintance, she’s proven to be both tenacious and perfectionist. It’s been that way since the days she was on the news beat.
Wednesday, we tangled over the temperature. Dawn persisted in the notion I should be shivering uncontrollably. When I dared venture I was satisfied, she fixed me with a steely (brown-eyed) gaze. Which side will emerge from the Great A/C War — the cold-blooded women or warm-blooded men — remains in doubt.
There looms the real possibility that long after the victor emerges from Clinton-Obama the newsroom will remain engaged in a battle testing the mettle of the men and the stubbornness of women.
I’m not confident we’ll win. As my wife famously says, whether we in the car or house, “It’s too cold in here. Turn the air conditioner down.”
To which I reply, “Yes, dear.”
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father bob wrote on May 16, 2008 9:21 AM:
i work part time in an office which is 90% female. i have on occasion been seriously wounded in the crossfire between the "blues" and the "reds". the blues being the younger females in their childbearing years and the reds being the older women who can Hot Flash almost on command.
i have seen notes taped to thermostats, knobs removed, switches snapped off, ducts blocked wide open or completely shut....
a mere mortal man dare not step into the path of a fast-stepping bug-eyed female on a direct path to the thermostat. just be glad you only get these forays part of the year. we have winters with lows in the 30's and highs in the 70's which of course brings out other tactics regarding heating and cooling and the appropriate switch from one to another.
i may not be the smartest man on earth, but i am smart enough to pick my battles, and the A/C War is one i stay neutral on. "