Giving Thanks Inside the Bubble

The Soapbox Alliance

Oren Dorell writes in USA Today this morning: "A Pennsylvania college that was the scene of a protest against Vice President Cheney is trying to start a movement to ban politicians from holding closed meetings restricted to supporters on all campuses in the nation.

"The Soapbox Alliance started by professors at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., says it is opposed to allowing politicians of any party to use colleges as a backdrop for their rallies. The alliance has sent letters to 600 other colleges and universities in the hope that they too will refuse to let their facilities be used for such events.

"Colleges have shown little enthusiasm for the idea. And political operatives question whether rallies should include people who don't support the candidate.

"'It's a nice concept, but people tend to misbehave,' says Trent Duffy, former deputy press secretary for President Bush."

From the Soapbox Alliance Web site: "By tightly controlling access to campaign events, modern political strategists are subverting the American tradition of the town hall meeting and undermining the foundation of our democracy."

A Calculated Moment of Reflection

Sherly Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "In a reflective mood as he looks toward his final year in office, President Bush delivered his first official Thanksgiving speech Monday, urging Americans to 'show their thanks by giving back' and to remember that 'our nation's greatest strength is the decency and compassion of our people.'

"For seven years, Mr. Bush has commemorated Thanksgiving with the presidential tradition of pardoning a turkey, a 60-year tradition that he planned to continue Tuesday in the Rose Garden. But this year, the White House hoped to show a more contemplative side of Mr. Bush, who, his aides say, has been struck by the goodness of the many ordinary Americans he meets during his travels. . . .

"It was a call to action, in a sense, from a president whose first instinct after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was to ask the public for 'continued participation and confidence in the American economy,' a request that has been widely interpreted as advice to go shopping.

"By contrast, Mr. Bush on Monday asked Americans to consider the 'many ways to spread hope this holiday: volunteer in a shelter, mentor a child, help an elderly neighbor, say thanks to one who wears the nation's uniform.'"

Ben Feller writes for the Associated Press: "This is not how the White House usually hails Thanksgiving. Never in his presidency had Bush devoted a speech to the holiday, let alone hours of choreographed travel. . . .

"The soft theme of the day's events also aimed to put Bush in a positive light at a time when the country is in a disapproving mood, soured by war and Washington politics."

Tim Craig writes in The Washington Post: "While Bush vowed that U.S. troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to make a stand against 'extremists and radicals,' most of his remarks were focused on a message of honoring those who serve others."