During the entire eight years of the Bush administration, no major Republican figure, including the President or Vice President, made any public appearance, anywhere, that was in an open, public venue. They never said anything or made any answers to any questions, that wasn't closely and entirely scripted before hand. These events were held at closed venues, with armed guards. Admission to these events were by ticket only and tickets were distributed through the Republican Party. Anybody that got in and made the least appearance of opposition sentiment, was menaced, thrown out and sometimes arrested. This was also true during the recent Republican Presidential campaign of John McCain. No politician has ever had access as closely controlled as that of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. During the entire campaign, she gave only four, closely controlled, one on one interviews with friendly members of the press, all scripted before hand. That these interviews didn't go well was entirely because of her own ignorance and ineptitude. She never appeared at a single event open to the general public. She still has not, to this day. Even in her native Alaska.
The current administration is hosting events where the venue is open. The Republican Party is packing these events with partisan agitators. I like that they are doing this. I don't mind the presence of large numbers of partisan agitators but you've got to take into account that this is completely different than you will ever see during a Republican administration or at a Republican sponsored event.
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