"Sens. McCain and Obama fail with firefighters’ union" -- The Hill

[SaveElmer]

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) failed to win the hearts or minds of the International Association of Fire Fighters at its presidential forum in mid-March, according to a survey taken at the time, IAFF President Harold Schaitberger told The Hill.

Meanwhile, Sens. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) all rated very highly, according to Schaitberger.

Though Schaitberger said details of the survey results are confidential and used only for internal purposes, he did say that Obama was thought to be “less on-point on our issues,” and that McCain lacked the “passion” the union members expected.

Schaitberger, in an interview with The Hill, said Obama came across as too “somber,” and “just didn’t fire them up.”

McCain, he said, was “disappointing,” because he seemed to be going through the motions in his defense of the Iraq war troop surge, “and were surprised by it.”

...

Dodd and Biden “connected” with the crowd, Schaitberger said. Clinton’s presentation was also well regarded.
“I thought Chris did a terrific job,” Schaitberger said. “He connected.”

...

But no one did as poorly as Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.).

Hagel, the only person invited to speak who has not announced a run, committed a faux pas in his opening remarks when he showered praise on volunteer firefighters, drawing some boos from the crowd of professionals.

This is the group that did not invite Dame Rudy...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) was noticeably absent from the forum. The firefighters’ union was set to send a letter to its members just prior to the forum blasting the mayor for what it said were callous and disrespectful actions following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/sens.-mccain-and-obama-fail-with-firefighters-union-2007-05-09.html

[David Dunham]

1. Obama/McCain swing and whiff -- KO'd

[Andrew_Lindsey]

3. Another very insightful dismissal of Obama.

I see a trend.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Yeah, right, Obama's doomed--because there are HOW many union firefighters across

the country? Are we talking a major voting bloc here? No, I didn't think so. The only reason anyone paid attention to the IAFF this year was because of the Rudy flap. They hate him, but that didn't seem to hurt Rudy's front-runner status, either--no one cares. Just another self-interested special-interest group, looking to see who will stroke their egos the most.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Sounds like they like the panderbears. Obama, IMO, does not pander like Hillary or Edwards.

Look at his speech on energy before the automakers in Detroit--he's not willing to kiss that much ass, which is why I like him. And Hagel getting booed for mentioning volunteers? He should've done his homework before speaking, obviously, but in most of Nebraska and many other parts of the country, volunteers are all we've got. We'd be screwed without them, including my own little town. The IAFF was essentially booing these brave volunteers--fuck them. I have no respect for them.