Hello everyone. Long time no blog. Hard to believe it has been two weeks since I have blogged. To make up for this AC 360 was on live for 2 hours Friday night to make up for the time I missed so it would seem. With Friday being the 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav heading NOLA's way it probably does not surprise anyone that Anderson was live from New Orleans. Without fail a breaking news story happens while AC is in NOLA to take most of the shows focus off of NOLA and on to something else and Friday night was no exception. There is alot to cover so let's get started.
One day after the Democratic National Convention ended, John McCain unveiled his Vice Presidential nominee. Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin. I know you must be thinking what I was thinking when I heard...WHO?!?!? I have seriously never heard of this woman in my entire life and in the matter of minutes, she became the name everyone is talking about(if that is not celebrity I don't know what is). David Mattingly took a look at the woman who may be the first woman Vice President. A mother of 5, a jock and a beauty queen, oh and by the way she is under investigation by her state. Now that is so good vetting but of course when you have only met the person who will be your number 2 a couple of times….who has time to know these things. I was never a Hillary supporter but if I had been I would be so insulted by McCain’s choice. I am reminded of the Dan Quayle/JFK reference. Sarah Palin is no Hillary Clinton! 
Obama – Biden responded by saying they were happy in the historic nature of the VP choice. David Gergen, John King, Alex Castellanos, Paul Begala join Anderson to talk about Palin choice.
Dana Bash took a look at McCain and Palin out on the campaign trail. Watching it, I thought the two seemed so odd together.
Amy Holmes, Tony Perkins, James Carville talk McCain’s choice.
Anderson is joined by David Gergen, Amy Holmes, Joe Johns and Paul Begala. Throughout the night points made by the Gerg, Paul and James hit the nail on the head for me. Never fear McCain/Palin fans, I cannot vote so the opinions expressed in this post are that of a frustrated outsider who has no say in the matter.McCain/Palin is either the biggest joke in modern politics or the greatest move in modern politics. We will have to wait and see what happens in 67 days.
After the Democratic convention is there Party unity among the Democrats. Tom Foreman took a look. Anderson talked to James Carville about the unity of his party
38 million people watched Obama’s historic nomination speech. Joe Johns went through the speech to keep Obama honest. There were a few moments that were stretched in the facts. 
Is a NOLA ready? – Anderson took a look at the new levees that have been built in the last three years. The work on these levees is not suppose to be complete until 2011. The levees are now 15 feet high and are set deep underground. The levees should hold under a Category 2 storm or lower. Unfortunately according to Chad Myers, Hurricane Gustav may become a category 4 storm at some point.Gary joined Anderson from NOLA to do the News and Business Bulletin and the shot.
Gary Tuchman took at look at a nation divided over the Clinton/Obama supporters. A lot of Clinton supporters seemed to have come over to the Obama side. Gary Tuchman spoke with many people throughout the country during convention.
In hour number 2, The Gerg, Roland Martin and Amy Holmes talk with Anderson about the Democratic Convention.Anderson did a reporter notebook to reflect on the 3rd anniversary of Katrina.
If you have not had a chance to check out the 360 blog, I strongly suggest you do. There are many blog posts related to Katrina and NOLA and all are great reads.
That is it for me. I will be back next Friday night. Have an amazing week everyone ~ Sapphire
All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.
30 comments:
I liked 360 last nite. I thought it was a really good program.
Well McCain certainly knows how to get people talking dosen't he??? He probably should have picked someone more known, but maybe people need to just give her a chance. It's just crazy though that some woman we've never heard of is the top news story and she's constantly being talked about.
Sapphire, I am gald I am not the only one who noticed that McCain and Palin looked odd together. Maybe it's because they only met once. I mean how comfotable can you be around someone you've only met once or twice???
I certainly hope NOLA is ready. Only time will tell but they don't need another disaster like Katrina.
I wasn't too wild about Anderson's reporter's notebook, then again I have never really liked his reporter's notebooks.
I hope everyone in NOLA stays safe and I hope the storm avoirds them all together.
I can't believe McCain's VP choice. Did he figure that women will vote for any woman, regardless of her lack of credentials and anti-choice political stance just to make history? So it wasn't Hillary those 18 million voters wanted, it was just any candidate without a Y chromosome. Well, he just insulted all of them, really smart going.
Gustav... I know we're all praying it chokes and falls apart. And Hanna as well.
McCain is insane to put the country at risk with his vp pick of Palin knowing full well that he could drop dead at any moment and this completely inexperienced person would have to take on the toughest job in the world. Even if you hate Obama and all he stands for with the heat of 1000 suns, you must ask yourself how comfortable would you be with Palin, who is a completely unknown quantity, taking over as President. Even Republican apologist Amy Holmes couldn't come out with a full endorsement of her. Just one more reason that McCain needs to stay out of the White House. And another is that this is not a "maverick" move, Palin is just George Bush in a dress.
As more information comes out about McCain's VP choice it is clear that he is desperate to win
I find it interesting to listen to the Republicans try to spin this as a positive - This choice is an insult to women in general and specifically to those who supported Hillary -
I can only pray that this choice comes back to bite them - good going McCain - insult women but appease the evangicals - your are worse than Bush
I thought the program was good, considering the hype around McCain's VP pick that had to be covered. I don't know if anyone noticed, but it looked like AC was wearing sandals and white socks last night. If true, we can add them to the "butt ugly" shoes category. He never ceases to amaze me!
Turned on The Early Show to see if Erica was there - saw another woman who appeared to be there instead. So I turned it off. But if she was on I didn't keep it on for more than a few minutes and missed her.
Regarding McCains VP choice, there are other more qualified respected and better known woman than Palin that he could have chosen (besides Hillary).
If you are going to make the aruement Obama isn't much experienced, well if he died in office we feel comfortable with Biden at least, but if McCain died, how comfortable do we feel with Palin? Not at all.
and when quetioned about it, she has said that she hasn't given Iraq much thought. Terrific. She doesn't even haven an opinion on the matter. Doesn't sound like she is informed enough on the subject to have an opinion.
McCain's VP choice terrifies me. I believe that Obama, Biden and McCain could all do a good to decent job as President. There were a number of other people McCain could have picked that I would have been comfortable with because although I'm an Obama supporter, nothing is guaranteed and we still need qualified people on both tickets. But not this woman. Not at all. Forget foreign policy experience, she barely has foreign policy knowledge, and she'll potentially be one heartbeat away from leading this country. I'm seriously worried about that.
I've been thinking of a couple of your anonymous' mean spirited and shallow entries from yesterday. They seem pissed off that AC stays in 4 star hotels and are disparaging about his visits to NOLO.
Has anyone else gone back as many times? Do you want him to say at Super8?
He does bring attention to the area. This helps the healing...really. That's his strength and his hammer and nails. I listened to him. I went to Slidell, La last May with Habitat for Humanity. I hope never to see another pice of vinyl siding! It was an amazing experience. Oh, and by the way...I spent time in NOLO and I spent my rebate check where it counted. Wages for clerks, tips for waitresses, rental car employees and more. I don't even begrudge the money I spent at the 4star hotel, car rental etc. Money spent at the big businesses there encourages small family businesses to open and keeps the small businesses going.
Something that I didn't think about was the dozens of shops that are still shuttered. Huge shopping centers, grocery stores, dry cleaners, pet groomers, fabric stores and so on boarded up with grass flourishing. The only thing that will bring them back is money from outside.
I loved it there and will go back (and spend more money). My fingers are crossed for the dear souls on the NOLA and Mississippi coast.
Sapphire, I thought that McCain and Palin looked out of place around eachother, like they really don't know how to behave towards eachother.
I think she would have never ever been chosen if Obama had picked Hillary and that now they (Rep.) think that her voters will cross over.
I so hope that this blows up in the Republican's face!!
Thanks for the Reporter's Notebook!
I hope NOLA gets a break!
I hope that NOLA AND the Gulf Coast will be spared from this storm,god knows they do not need anything else.They are STILL trying to pick up the pieces 3 years on.
So,FEMA,the National Guard,the buses,the trains, are ALL ready to go if/when this storm hits next week?And everyone is prepared,and ready to go,as well?
We seem to have heard that 3 years ago,too,didn't we...and look how THAT turned out.
Well,it is 3 years too late for some of those NOLA residents,who had no way out of there.
We shall see if,god forbid,this hurricane hits,IF all this comes true,or ends up as another bungled disaster.
I LOVE Anderson's Reporter's Notebooks,I always have.They are very moving,emotional pieces.I still get tears when I see some of his Katrina ones.I cannot understand anyone not liking them.
I for one,wish he would do more of them.Not only that,I wish he would stick to his REAL blog posting.
Kristien at 9:10 AM: Maybe they looked out of place with each other is because they barely know each other. He only met her once (back in February I believe). and then once in secret I think just this past week to offer her the position.
So he offers the vice presidential slot to a person he met ONCE!
And to think it is not uncommon for companies to interview the same person more than once before offering them a position.
I think that is the most incredulous part of it - he doesn't know her. And, she is under investigation by the state of Alaska.
I can't believe you guys are just repeating what has been said about Sarah Palins on CNN. There is no doubt that McCain picked her because he wants to attract Hillary supporters. However, why do you think Obama picked Biden? CNN used to be a respected news network, and now? There news coverage has become so biased it's almost like watching FOX news or MSNBC.
Hi all,
first offf i liked last nights 360.....the reporters notbook that Anderson does was awsome....done with great tast and it well so Anderson.....i love it....as for McCains pick 4 vp i think its it gives this campain an Awsome spin....i dont think hillary supporters should get so fisty and upset truely .....she is a breath of freash air in my eyes....not being tied to washington and all....i think every one needs to chill and give her the couple of months to prove who she is and stuff....people jump to conclusions way to soon....
**I don't know if anyone noticed, but it looked like AC was wearing sandals and white socks last night.**
IMO, I would hope he had better sense than that, being GV's son& all, LOL! I didn't catch it but it could solve the mystery about why they only filmed him from the waist up for most of the program!
In an age where so many meet up and get acquainted on things like Facebook, how does it matter for busy politicians to have fewer face to face meetings? Ever hear of email, telephones, etc? This is a Democratic talking point; if you want to talk about insulting the American public, try thinking about this "they only met once" idea.
She's fiscally conservative and a great hit. Big impact already.
Hey, a quick head's-up -- Anderson's bit on The Daily Show aired last night (they are doing Friday shows during the conventions) and I grabbed it and added it to my ATC post for today. I'm sure we will get it cross-posted to here later today, but I am racing out the door for work and just wanted to get it available ASAP.
Phebe: any chance of getting a cap of Anderson in his socks and sandles so we can study it first hand? Can't picture Anderson in sandles.
Sapphire, I really enjoy your posts, always with a funny side.
ac360 was great last night. It was great to see Anderson on location, after a while.
Loved the "They looked odd together"
Mccain is a joke!
All he cares about is getting more votes and win the election which he'll be able to serve for only one term. Is he this desperate for those Hillary supporters? He doesn't care about the security of the country or his fellow Americans. He is trying anything he can to win the election
It seems like the senate power he has,isn't enough for him.
This is "GREEDY OF POWER"
@aries moon
LOL!, Palin is George Bush in a dress?
Thanks for lighting up my mood.
@Anons 11:04 & 11:58 AM, I agree with you both. I don't think the sole reason why McCain chose Palin was to attract Hillary's supporters. Afterall, if I'm not mistaken, he had two-three other women on his short list with more experience. Senator Hutchinson is closer to Hillary on certain issues. On the other hand, Palin is a conservative who has a reputation for being a "maverick," and she is extremely popular with evangelicals. This is probably a few of the reasons why he chose her. The fact that she's also a mother sure doesn't hurt. For the first time in months, I actually heard conservatives showing support for him. In general, I was amused that the Democratic party is now overly concerned with the issue of experience. I guess they forgot that their candidate really doesn't have any either. Anyway, I'm an indepedent and neither party has earned my vote yet. I just think McCain's decision is a game changer and I can't wait to see what will happen next.
Anon 11:04: Of course Obama is gonna pick a VP who will attract voters, it would be pretty stupid if he didn't. People knew Joe Biden before het got picked, but not many had heard of Sarah Palin, so McCain's motives seem very fishy to many people. (me included)
That is MY opinion and not CNN's.
Let me start this by saying that I really do admire Anderson for his work as a journalist and for his coverage of Katrina. I'm not one of the ones who think that he hasn't spent enough time down there or hasn't kept his promise to keep it in people's minds, or even that his interest in the story is only for his own personal gain. I think he's been entirely sincere and has done a better job than most keeping New Orleans in the news.
Having said that, I can't help but feel lately that his coverage and just his attitude in general toward the Katrina story has gotten a bit stale. While I always enjoy his Reporter's Notebooks and blog posts, they are so repetitive. The Reporter's Notebook last night seems to harp on the destruction of the aftermath (which I don't think should be forgotten) instead of on the rebuilding that has gone on down there. I don't see any reason why it's beneficial to continue to be so somber instead of starting to become more optimistic like it seems the region has become over the past year. Same with his most recent blog post. It sounds the same as everything he always says. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a right to his opinions, but if you don't have much new to say, I don't think it really needs to be said again. All that about how he doesn't like anniversaries, and how they've done x number of shows from there since Katrina, etc. it's all stuff he puts into every entry about Katrina, and could have been a line taken from his book, or something he said on the first anniversary or even several months after the storm for that matter.
I think to really help the people of New Orleans he should focus more on their renewed spirit and see some of the great amount of rebuilding that has gone on, while still never forgetting why this all happened to begin with. And I should add, not just him seeing it, because I believe he has, but report on it. Do a blog post or a Reporter's Notebook on the people he met down there and how they are doing now. Instead of showing that woman who he helped pull out her chair and her ceramic bear, see where she is now and how her life has gotten better, not relive the tragedy of those days after Katrina. I honestly don't think that's what these people need. Of course, they can never forget what happened, but to really rebuild their lives, the focus has to shift to looking to the future or they'll never be able to heal the past.
I always watch Jon Stewart after 360, so I caught the brief, but cute clip of anderson, doing a "360
turn," for TDS. Actually, they lifted him up at bit, if I remember correctly.
No, we are not going to "chill," about Mac's offensive, stupid, disturbing, choice for a running mate. WHAT WAS HE THINKING? He wasn't. Not about our welfare. I wouldn't want either of these idiots answering the phone at 3 AM or any other time. Judgement? He's got none. At least Reagan became senile during his last term. This guy already is. He doesn't have the country's welfare at heart. This is the best of the best??? Please, please let Obama win, if for no other reason, we can be assured he's NOT senile.
They look "odd together?" Well,...they are!
Calling all soccer moms, you too can be McCain's running mate. Just be sure you know "a little about nothing much," seem holy, and most of all look real innocent. Oh, I forgot your the most popular governor in the country. Well when there are only as many people living there as say, Brooklyn NY, that 's not saying much. So apply.
It worked for "what's her name."
if McCain wanted to win over disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters, Sarah Palin was a bad choice. Clintons's and Palin's political beliefs are on opposite ends of the spectrum. It truly looks like McCain and the Repubs are thinking 'any woman will do, no matter what her policies.'
360 had more political discussion than I like but I understand this was a big deal and they had to talk about it.
Anderson looks good in t-shirts; didn't see the sandals. He probably went right from Denver to NOLA and probably doesn't have much in his suitcase other than the on-air business suits.
Anderson was cute on The Daily Show, wish we could have seen more of him there.
Jaanza
Wow, this whole Palin thing must really have everyone distracted. Am I the only one staring at the black tee?
Then again, it's kinda nice to have the naughty bleachers to myself, for once - I get to stretch out! :-)
Seriously, interesting show last night. I just hope Gustav takes it easy on the Gulf Coast.
@Anon 3:37 PM, I think Palin is more than a hockey (not soccer) mom. If you google her name, you will find that she has had quite a few accomplishments during her time in office. She was head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She helped pass a tax increase on oil company profits. She turned down the funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere." In essence, she was just an ordinary woman who stood up against seasoned Republicans. Even if you don't agree with her politics, I think what she has done is admirable. I'm not hoping to persuade anyone to vote for her or McCain; however, I just think it's unfair that most people are stuck on the fact that she's relatively unknown. For me, I didn't even know who Obama was until last year.
I just read an article which stated that Anderson will skip the RNC if Gustav hits New Orleans or anywhere adjacent. If he's down there, I hope he'll listen to the evacuation warnings.
anon: 2:52PM is absolutely correct in reference to AC's notebook. The entire aftermath of Katrina was needless and tiresome. We all know what went wrong and have seen those clips hundreds of times. Emphasis on the cities renewal and the visionaries that are doing positive work should be his focus now.
He is a better journalist than that. I'm also tired of seeing the teenagers and college crowd under the guise of Habitat for Humanity. There are many older adults who are living there, who should be shown, interviewed, and given credit for revitalizing the city.
Hopefully, Katrina wouldn't be repeated in the wake of Gustav.
No, AC's tee shirt doesn't take front and center stage, when McCain shows the world that even though he's a heart beat away from the Presidency, he's yet to actually take this campaign seriously. His choice of running mate shows how utterly inempt he will be.
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