The Scene On Saturday, Eric and I went to the We The People forum, a panel made up of of Air America radio hosts. On entering the hall, we were greeted by a politician not in my district and 911 Truthers who passed out encyclopaedic fliers. Inside, various shirts played on the theme of Barack Obama for President. One of my favorites was a black shirt with bright green print that said “1/20/09 Believe.” The venue, in a word, sucked. It was a giant, echoey, flat space. 
It made Eric, who has a degree in audio engineering, grumpy. People democratically adjusted their seats for maximum vision and hearing of the panelists. 
Eric and I climbed upstairs to the balcony. I stood under a speaker while he walked around taking the lovely pictures that you see here. The Cast On my drive to and from work, I listen to AM 1090 in my little red car. When Lee Callahan took the stage to introduce the 7 radio hosts, everyone applauded and cheered. We have all been listening. 
The panelists were: Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, Sam Cedar, Rachel Maddow, Thom Hartman, Stephanie Miller, and moderated by Ron Reagan. 
Everyone had their favorite host, and by the sound of applause and cheers, fans were present in equal numbers. There was standing and sitting as each host entered the stage. For me that felt like schul. The people that followed us in were there to see Malloy. My favorite is Rachel Maddow, who looked comfortably boyish. I wonder if she wears those awesome shoes behind the desk at MSNBC.
I think it’s funny when they attempt to girlify her with eyeshadow on MSNBC. Two of the participants were the lefty-liberal wayward children of famous conservative political figures (hint: they are on the very left, laughing at you). 
The Background Noise At one point, one of the audience members walked right up to the edge of the stage and interrupted the panelists to tell them that they could not be heard in the back. The audience rightfully cheered. Thom Hartman detached the clip-on mic from his shirt and held it while he boomed “Can you hear me?” Of course you couldn’t hear him for a moment above the cheers from the audience. 
About 45 minutes into it, one of the sound guys decided to set up speakers in the back. Eric thought it would be a good idea to fire that guy. I thought it was a right-wing conspiracy. One of the highlights occurred in the ladies room. Stephanie Miller rushed in during the 15-minute break. Someone asked “You mean you don’t get your own bathroom backstage?” And it’s funny, because I had a subconscious conversation with myself: ‘I wonder if any of the radio hosts will be in the bathroom. Nah, they would have their own backstage.’ Hark back to what I said earlier in this post about the venue. She got to jump to the front of the line. She’s taller and prettier in person than on the radio. 
It was really interesting to hear the discussion as they sat in their big comfy chairs. It’s one thing to listen to 6 different radio hosts, but it’s another to see them interact with each other for a couple hours. 
The Script You can see and hear them via the AM1090 website. Click your preferred method under this heading: AM1090s “We The People” the 2008 Town Hall Forum. They polled the audience for VP selection. Biden: Yay Bayh: Nay Bayh got boos. So did Hillary Clinton, but she got yays as well. Someone shouted Wesley Clark. For McCain: Mitt Romney, Joseph Liberman, Bobbie Jindhal, and Alan Keyes. The hosts agreed that it would be awesome if it were Alan Keyes. And then they also agreed that Bobby Jindhal would be perfect too so that Stephanie Miller could do her Linda Blair impression. A classic moment came when Maddow covered her face and shook her head at Stephanie Miller’s Linda Blair impression. Then the panel ended on Maddow asking Miller to do the impression one more time.
The Epilogue
More of our pictures are here. Stephanie Miller’s website also has pictures, including a picture of the panelists greeting each other with the fist bump. Yay Rachel Maddow! She finally, finally gets her own much-deserved show! Glad I was present at this memorable event. Who will I listen to on the way home from work now? Washington Primary Election results are here. 
