Missed opportunity

The Hernando Times ran an article on the Republican Unity Rally yesterday that was titled "Unified GOP front masks tensions" which was a fairly accurate assessment of the mood Friday night. One a scale from 1 to 10, this Republican rally came in at about a 3 for the excitement factor. This was due, in part, to the organization by the party, and their choice for master of ceremonies of the event.

It is really a shame that so little thought was given to the agenda of activities by the HCREC board of directors because they had a very respectable turn out for this event. The master of ceremonies who could not hold the attention of the crowd and the attendees did not quiet down when he was at the microphone except for the introduction of candidates and elected officials. None of the candidates in attendance were given the opportunity to speak to the crowd except Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite.

Ginny's presentation lasted about 12-15 minutes and focused on party unity, from the national to the local level and she had the undivided attention of every one in the hall. Ginny gave some very interesting poling data results on her race and that of the McCain/Palin ticket, as of last Friday that looks very promising for a win.

At the conclusion of Ginny's presentation, the master of ceremonies once again attempted to rally the crowd to no avail and this concluded the activities for the rally. This was really a missed opportunity by the HCREC to present a unified front. So much more could have been accomplished with their agenda, like choosing a less divisive master of ceremonies. All the candidates in attendance should have been given the opportunity to address the audience, even if it was only a quick walk on stage, with a 2 minute introduction.

Besides the dynamic presentation by Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, the only other highlight of the evening was free food, that every one seemed to enjoy as they chatted with friends.