Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Interview with Robert Traynham (Part 3 of 3)




This is the third and last part of my three part interview with Robert Traynham – Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief and Host, “Roll Call TV with Robert Traynham” – CN8, The Comcast Network. Part 1, general questions, appeared in August. Part 2, on the Democratic National Convention, appeared earlier this month. These questions pertain to the Republican National Convention.

On the Sept. 5th Washington Week in Review Gwen Ifill said that at the Republican National Convention people actually shook their fists at her in anger at the press. Did you see or hear anything similar?

I did not see that. There were however a ton of people at the Republican National Convention who openly talked about their disdain for the press. They mentioned one network in particular in chants. It’s probably not appropriate for me to go any further.

How well do you think the Republican vice presidential candidate was vetted before the announcement was made?

I don’t know, and it will be interesting to see how much interaction Senator McCain actually had with Governor Palin. I suspect that we will find out sooner rather than later. But hey, there is a thing called love at first sight and for some people, there is an instant connectivity when you first meet someone. I suspect that Senator McCain and Governor Palin hit it off instantly.

Were there any questions at the convention on the background image used during McCain’s speech? (It was of a middle school in California.)

Yes, there where a ton of questions about the backdrop – why the school? Why the cornfield? I must admit it was distracting for the first 3 minutes of the speech.

Renee Amoore, Pennsylvania businesswoman and current deputy chair of the state Republican party, spoke at this year’s RNC, chaired the state delegation in 2004, and conducted the roll call of the states in 2000. Is it unusual for someone with her position in politics to have had such national exposure? How much national influence does she wield? (“Clout” Philadelphia Daily News 9/04/08)

Renee is a very talented and savvy person. She is connected and she has the right touch when it comes to playing in the politics sandbox and also being a savvy businesswoman.

At one of the conventions you were televised having a conversation with someone in French. How many languages do you speak?

Really? I did not know anyone picked up on that. I can read and speak French conversationally. I understand Spanish but cannot speak it very well. I also speak some Italian.

What surprised you the most about the Republican National Convention?

The reaction to Sarah Palin. Many think she is the next Margaret Thatcher. We shall see.

2 comments:

eRobin said...

There were however a ton of people at the Republican National Convention who openly talked about their disdain for the press. They mentioned one network in particular in chants. It’s probably not appropriate for me to go any further.


Why would that be inappropriate?

His comment about Palin being the next M. Thatcher was scary. I have had the same thought - except I'm convinced that Palin, a dominionist, would be an even bigger disaster than Thatcher. Scary. Scary. Scary.

AboveAvgJane said...

I think he just didn't want to be perceived as denigrating a competing network, but that's just my theory. Somewhere else I read the crowds chanted NBC, but meant MSNBC, Oberman and Matthews, etc.