Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
9:05 a.m.: Before
MSNBC’s popular morning show Morning Joe wrapped up its debate coverage
in Mizner Park, a little girl from Boca was the star of the show.With the show airing at Racks Downtown Eatery and Tavern, co-host Mika Brzezinski spotted 4 1/2-year-old Harper Greenwald, who was wearing red shoes, a red ribbon and a blue dress with American flags on it.
Brezinski invited Greenwald to sit on her lap for a portion of the show as he proud mother, Gina Greenwald watched.
After her brief taste of the spotlight, Harper was asked who she was rooting for in the election. “Obama,” she said, “because he was a good president.” Though she didn’t watch Monday night’s debate (her mom said it was on too late), she did have fun today.
As for mom, she thought “Obama did a great job. It’s exciting to see this happening in Boca Raton.”
The show wrapped up with the hosts going outside the restaurant in the middle of a mostly empty Mizner Park, where another little girl was asked by Brezinski who she thought would win.
“Romney,” the girl said, to mostly boos from the 30-40 people gathered outside.
Update 8:40 a.m.: Fresh from commentary on the ‘Morning Joe’ at Mizner Park, former chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele said he loves Boca Raton and praised presidential debate host Lynn University.
“What an opportunity for them to be in the spotlight nationally. The students should be very proud of this,” Steele said.
“It’s great to show that a small school can also play on a big stage.”
He told the morning talk show hosts that President Obama did what he had to do and challenger Mitt Romney “held his own and did no harm” which was what he needed to do, Steele said.
Gerry Ligouri and his sister Laura Ligouri were among the crowd gathered outside the restaurant. They came with signs that proclaimed “Catholics for God” and “Catholics for Romney/Ryan” and got a thumbs-up from John McCain as he passed by.
Vicki Crosby of Boynton Beach didn’t tote signs but brought campaign buttons including “Hot Chicks Dig Obama” from 2008.
UPDATE 7:30 a.m. : TIME political columnist Joe Klein has arrived.
For the second morning in a row, Mizner Park in Boca Raton was buzzing before dawn as MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ hit the airwaves.
At 7:30 a.m., the Racks Downtown Eatery and Tavern restaurant was full, Tom Brokaw was in the house and John McCain was on his way.
Co-hosts former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., and Mika Brzezinski were drawing a crowd.
‘Way Too Early’ and ‘Morning Joe’ are broadcasting from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Boca Raton resident Elissa Lejeune, 45, brought her dog Jake to catch the early morning action. “I love Morning Joe,” she said. And she’s thrilled with all the attention the community and Lynn University are getting courtesy last night’s presidential debate.
“It’s amazing to me that when I moved here it was called the College of Boca Raton. It’s amazing how it’s grown,” said Lejeune, who is among voters who had already picked their candidate before last night’s debate – though she isn’t sharing her choice.
Yesterday’s scene from Palm Beach Post staff writer Eliot Kleinberg:
America woke up Monday morning to Mizner Park.
Or, at least, the viewers of Morning Joe, the popular MSNBC news and talk program featuring former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) and Mika Brzezinski.
Monday’s predawn broadcast, at Rack’s Tavern, lighted the darkened shopping center with its strobes. The earliest spectators brought their own coffee and were lined up by 3:30 a.m. in hopes of scoring a seat inside the restaurant/set. When the doors opened around 4:30 a.m., the tables were filled in minutes.
Around 5 a.m., Willie Geist, host of the 5:30 a.m. MSNBC news snippet program Way Too Early, arrived at the restaurant with senior sidekick Mike Barnicle. Later in the morning, Barnicle held court behind the bar and joked that he loves Florida because he still gets carded here.
Lois Biello of Boynton Beach and Shellee Trossman of Davie — both “avid fans of the show,” according to Lois — said they were thrilled that the eyes of America were on Boca Raton for Monday night’s climactic faceoff.
Biello, coincidentally, is a graduate of Hofstra University, the Long Island school that hosted last week’s debate.
While many in the crowd shouted, “Obama, Obama,” — Scarborough is a Republican but the rest of the network’s talk shows lean left — Fran O’Keefe of Boynton Beach stood quietly, his “Romney” T-shirt speaking for him.
“I watch every time,” O’Keefe said, “He was actually my favorite Congressman, but he aggravates the hell out of me sometimes when he doesn’t push back hard enough.”
There were the usual people with signs — in this case folks complaining that none of the debates so far mentioned the plight of the homeless or people with HIV.
“Make HIV an issue! Say something on the show!” one man shouted as Scarborough and Brzezinski worked the crowd during a break.
Jim and Donna McGreal of Hamilton, Ontario, who winter in Fort Myers, were watching the spectacle like Yankees fans at a Marlins-Braves game.
He bemoaned the nastiness of the U.S. campaign but said with almost a sigh that it’s sometimes nasty north of the border as well.
“There just seems to be so much disrespect for the individual,” he said. “Anybody that runs for public office should be honored. Not ridiculed.”
Florida, always a make-or-break state in presidential elections, “has been the center of politics for a long time,” NBC political analyst Mark Halperin said as he walked between the tables. “It’s nice to see people engaged.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment