Political Celebrity
Boulder Colorado, which is only about a thirty minute drive from Denver, 45 minutes by express bus on our RTD system, played host to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft last night, and About-Denver was there to cover the events.
Boulder is a well-known breeding ground of liberal thought and, I would say, the majority of people in Boulder are quick to rise in protest to certain United States policies and people. The arrival of John Ashcroft was one of these instances.
Scheduled to speak at 7:30 pm at the Macky Auditorium at the CU Boulder campus, Ashcroft was delayed by ten minutes for reasons, I suspect, that were likely related to the protestors who shouted at the former Attorney General as he was escorted from car and to the building. I was not in the parking lot to observe this incident, but Ashcroft made a few references in response to protestor interruptions during his speech. A seemingly sensitive-to-criticism kind of man, Ashcroft had several of his own stinging responses when hecklers interrupted and shouted; one of Ashcroft’s favorite fire to fight fire was asking if, referring to the outspoken women, ‘anyone in the audience need medical attention, that they please receive it.’
Despite being in Boulder, I felt the arrival of Ashcroft and his speech was, for the most part, warmly received. There were small groups spread throughout the audience that laughed, made noises, cried out in protest, accused, etc., but overwhelmingly Ashcroft received applause at the appropriate times.
In the end, I think Ashcroft should be better prepared for a Boulder-like crowd; he had to know what he was getting into, and I don’t think it is right for him to do more than chastise those that are expressing their thoughts. At an event specifically created to hear him speak, it is not fair for the crowd to interrupt him, but his former position of power should not enable him to insult those that do.
Later this week, I’ll make an attempt to analyze the speech and the protestors for effectiveness, and give my ten cents about what each side did right, and what they did wrong (in my opinion).
other political celebrities featured on www.about-denver.com
Al Gore
picture taken from http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/john_ashcroft.jpg
December 6th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
[...] Ashcroft in Denver, pt.2 by Sean Doherty As promised, here is my young and amateur evaluation of the presentation (of both sides representing the opposing viewpoints) at CU Boulder by John Ashcroft. [...]