Thursday, June 4, 2009
News Roy Barnes: Tanned, rested and ready
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:55 AM
Actually, with bags under his eyes, the former governor didn't look all that rested at his afternoon press conference today. Nor did he look like he'd been getting a lot of sun lately (although InsiderAdvantage chief Matt Towery, who was in the audience, was tan enough for everybody).
But Roy certainly seemed ready. Smiling, surrounded by his family, taking questions, cracking jokes — here was a guy who makes political campaigning look like fun. And the press corps was eating it up. Because now we've really got a race to cover.
Barnes' entrance into the guv's race will shake things up in a big way. Not immediately, mind you. All three announced Democratic candidates — state Attorney General Thurbert Baker, state House Minority Leader DuBose Porter and former this-and-that David Poythress — quickly sent out terse announcements saying they weren't stepping aside. But come on. For months now, polls have shown that the front-runner's slot was Barnes' if he wanted it.
Now, after all the waiting, we know he wants it.
The first order of business, of course, was to apologize for making the various mistakes that cost him re-election against Sonny Perdue.
"Listening is something I didn't do enough of when I was governor," he said. "I tried to do too much too fast. My heart was in the right place, but I was impatient and didn't consult enough different people outside the Capitol."
Then he discussed the twin issues that will apparently form the crux of his campaign: transportation and education — two things that have gone to hell under Perdue's watch.
Roy mentioned the need for light rail, reduced classroom sizes, protecting average Georgians, etc, etc. But there'll be plenty of time for those details later. For now, speaking as a reporter, it's great to be able to look forward to a campaign season that will be dominated by a folksy, quick-witted, larger-than-life figure who makes the political beat fun and exciting.
I mean, given the choice of covering a speech by John Oxendine or Roy Barnes, which would you pick?
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
Comments (17)
Showing 1-17 of 17
Oh Scott, you forget to tell everyone about the starbursts ricocheting around the room during the press conference.
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Whether it's the presidency or the governorship, charisma is the key in elections for the executive office. Barnes has it. None of the other Democratic or Republican candidates do. I would expect Barnes to be a serious contendor to win, but then again this is Georgia......
I don't really see how a smaller classroom size is going to fix the Georgia schools. I know it's fun to say and all but is it really a solution? Leave quantitative pronouncements to penis size, it rarely solves a real, complex problem. I hope he has better transportation ideas.
Roy's friend Wayne Mason had better buy Roy's election with that $40 million profit he made from Atlanta taxpayers on the Beltline tract. (Though it was overconfidence about his excessively large campaign war chest that did him in last time.) Having been denounced by Roy - along with scores of neighbors in the council chamber - for having the temerity to oppose Mason's parking deck and highrise on Piedmont Park at 10th and Monroe, forgive me for being less than wholehearted in my Barnes worship. Still, he may be a cynic and he may always side with the rich and powerful, but he's not stupid and he's not a knee-jerk reactionary. He'd be better for us than Sonny, Mark Taylor, Cathy Cox and John Oxendine. Which would not be saying much, but this IS Georgia.
Well we know who Creative Loafing is endorsing....lol And BTW, what's the point of referencing polls? The primary isn't until August, of 2010. None of the other candidates have even started campaigning.
At least Roy is among that select group who have spoken the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet at the Shakespeare Tavern. That must count for something, surely? Two houses - Repubagues and Demopulets?
"The primary isn’t until August, of 2010. None of the other candidates have even started campaigning" Really, then why is my spambox full of stuff from Lisa Borders?
James - The Atlanta mayoral election is this November. State elections are next year.
lol at the person above who thinks small classroom sizes isn't related to quality of education. haven't spent much time in a classroom lately, i'm guessing?
Oops. Wrong re Borders. My bad. But what about that military propaganda video Poythress sent out? Ain't that campaigning?
weswhatnot-- Do you have any data to back that up? And yes, I spent some time in some large lecture halls and yet it got me into one of the most prestigious technical colleges in the entire world for graduate school. What about you? Have you done anything in your life besides perverting the King's English with LOL's?
lol @ blowhard, if this is a pissing contest, then open your mouth bro - i'm in grad school at uga now after graduating with a b.s. from gt. i haven't bothered to look up stats for u, but i have spent some time in elementary/middle and high school classrooms in the last few years, my friend. it seems that u haven't but want to force your ignorance on others anyway. good luck with that. next!
and fyi - it hasn't been the "king's english" since george VI in 1952. the last time u were IN a classroom with students, perhaps?
Wesleywhatwhat - While I don't necessarily disagree with your point, you really should link an article which supports it. That article never references teacher:pupil ratios, nor the number of students in a classroom. It talks about the size of the school population in general. It may be that they reduce the number of students without a similar reduction in teachers, but it does not say that. In fact, it specifically mentions large schools which, in some cases, simply divide into multiple units. It would seem reasonable in those cases that the same number of students and teachers are packed into the same number of classrooms. What the article does support is a smaller school body which may result in a closer connection between school employees and their customers, the students and parents, which may result in greater efficacy in serving those customers.
Funny... my first captcha word was "edu" and it was not correct. Then it was "school"
Okay, let's just air this now-- People didn't vote FOR Sonny Perdue, they voted AGAINST Roy Barnes! Why? Well, let's face it, he's a bit of a jerk; but in his defense, at least he didn't try to appear as a nice guy. NOW, let's talk about the FUTURE of the state rather than regressing to the Gov who turned the State House over to a Republican for the first time since RECONSTRUCTION?!! Am I the only person who is outraged by the idea we should all fall at Barnes' feet since he decided to run again? Uhhh no. On the other hand we have DuBose Porter. Husband/father/small business owner and tried and true Democrat! Anyone who is serious about this election I encourage you to look more into the state's best kept political secret. He has a facebook and twitter account and our starter website is up at www.porterforga.com. I personally can't wait to canvass for him. It's so often we have politicians whom we believe in; and I believe in DuBose Porter.
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