Nov. 15, 2008
CNN Correspondent Had Lump in Throat at Memorial
Anticipates Something Dramatic from Obama
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) -- You may have head the report just prior to President Elect Barrack Obama’s first news conference. CNN Washington correspondent, Joe Johns, told anchor, Kyra Phillips, that the honeymoon had ended. “So much for Kumbaya. Hours after Obama was elected, Rush Limbaugh, known on his show as the man who run America was breathing fire, taking Obama and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to the woodshed.”
On Friday afternoon, November 14, Johns left Capitol Hill , “A.C. 360,” and the “Best Political Team on Television” to return to his alma mater. In fact, the hard hitting journalist who unveils stories on waste and fraud admitted to having a “lump in his throat.”
Johns took the podium as the keynote speaker for the annual Marshall University Plane Crash Memorial Service, where the names of those who perished on the Wayne County hillside are read, a wreath is placed, and the Memorial Fountain is silenced… until Spring.
The sports minded young Johns arrived from Ohio into a Marshall dorm where some of the ‘Young Thundering Herd’ remained. Eligibility to play gone, but their need to pick up classes to graduate a major challenge on a solemn campus still filled with “raw” emotions of the team and community members who perished. “There was a sense people could not let go and it was just five years later.”
Linking the memories of nearly 40 years ago to impart a happening now perspective, Johns compared the worst college sports disaster to shootings at Virginia Tech. “There’s the same sense of shock, pain, a punch in the gut,” Johns explained.
During the years after the crash when the football teams kept playing -- and losing -- he believes the university sewed seeds of national prominence. The school launched the education for more and more who became household names in their respective field. In other words, the university has a reputation -- they do not give up.
Just as Marshall has celebrated a rise from the ashes of the crash, so too, the country has just voted for new leaders promising change. Calling “expectations very high” for the Obama administration, the CNN journalist admitted “nothing is going to happen overnight,” adding that the new administration is trying to convey realistic time frames but that difficult “because the people in the country are so excited.”
From his position as a professional observer, the correspondent reminded voters that the “the federal government works in two-year cycles. They have to hit the ground running [but] it’s going to take awhile and people do forget.”
Allegorically, the nation's first African-American President stands like Nate Ruffin. Ruffin, one of the players who did not make the ill fated flight, went out , recruited a bunch of young men, made them pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and keep going. While no one yet knows how successful the new administration will be, the caution is that Marshall’s young team did not go from ashes to championships over one season. They endured many years of losses.
Johns believes that President-elect Obama may do “something pretty dramatic” as a start. But “in reality where there are fewer dollars and everybody is worried about Wall Street, how long will it take to address the issues. I don’t know.”
Speaking from his experience covering Capitol Hill for NBC and CNN, Johns acknowledged “the first thing we have to worry about is getting banks lending again. After we get the bank’s lending, we’ve got to do a stimulus package to jump start the economy at large.”
How Obama’s administration handles the crucial economic issues will provide a clue into his leadership abilities and how his future decisions will be made.
“I’ve always wanted to get a sense of how any politician of any party takes the idea that got them elected and turns it into something of substance. The change this administration is looking for right now is righting the financial ship of state. That’s job one,” Johns said. They must “move swiftly, effectively, do something of substance, try to get the economy going in the right direction, and do it before the next election rolls around.” As for other issues? “Call me after we get the first job [done].”
As the forces of change line up against long time political power players, they may gain inspiration from how Joe Johns described the fabric of Marshall University: “We keep pushing. It means not to give up. You may see your darkest day, but whoever is left is going to pick up the pieces. You may think things are hopeless, somebody here is going to come up with a way to keep things moving. It’s easier to give up.”
During his speech at the fountain Johns quote from legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige could be meaningful as the new president begins working with those on Capitol Hill and beyond: "Never let your head down, never sit down, never shut up and never grieve. Find a better way. That’s what we do."
For that matter, the voters that rallied to put change on the table must too remember their charismatic President has “a lot of issues and a lot of things on his plate” to tackle.
What Joe Johns said about Marshall’s refusal to quit applies to people throughout the country. While waiting for the slow wheels of government to function in a positive direction, they too must remember that before Marshall’s football team found trophies, success, championships and glory, they endured frustration, losing seasons, and lots of setbacks.
So, as the changes begins, it’s worthy to contemplate the meaning of the words We Are Marshall. They’re not simply the title of an inspirational movie. In Joe Johns' words -- a man who has covered former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, the anthrax mailings following 9/11, in-depth reporting of the Sago Mine disaster , and broke the story of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s indictment on conspiracy charges -- “What does We Are Marshall mean? You don’t give up.”
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CNN Correspondent Had Lump in Throat at Memorial
Anticipates Something Dramatic from Obama
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) -- You may have head the report just prior to President Elect Barrack Obama’s first news conference. CNN Washington correspondent, Joe Johns, told anchor, Kyra Phillips, that the honeymoon had ended. “So much for Kumbaya. Hours after Obama was elected, Rush Limbaugh, known on his show as the man who run America was breathing fire, taking Obama and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to the woodshed.”
On Friday afternoon, November 14, Johns left Capitol Hill , “A.C. 360,” and the “Best Political Team on Television” to return to his alma mater. In fact, the hard hitting journalist who unveils stories on waste and fraud admitted to having a “lump in his throat.”
Johns took the podium as the keynote speaker for the annual Marshall University Plane Crash Memorial Service, where the names of those who perished on the Wayne County hillside are read, a wreath is placed, and the Memorial Fountain is silenced… until Spring.
The sports minded young Johns arrived from Ohio into a Marshall dorm where some of the ‘Young Thundering Herd’ remained. Eligibility to play gone, but their need to pick up classes to graduate a major challenge on a solemn campus still filled with “raw” emotions of the team and community members who perished. “There was a sense people could not let go and it was just five years later.”
Linking the memories of nearly 40 years ago to impart a happening now perspective, Johns compared the worst college sports disaster to shootings at Virginia Tech. “There’s the same sense of shock, pain, a punch in the gut,” Johns explained.
During the years after the crash when the football teams kept playing -- and losing -- he believes the university sewed seeds of national prominence. The school launched the education for more and more who became household names in their respective field. In other words, the university has a reputation -- they do not give up.
Just as Marshall has celebrated a rise from the ashes of the crash, so too, the country has just voted for new leaders promising change. Calling “expectations very high” for the Obama administration, the CNN journalist admitted “nothing is going to happen overnight,” adding that the new administration is trying to convey realistic time frames but that difficult “because the people in the country are so excited.”
From his position as a professional observer, the correspondent reminded voters that the “the federal government works in two-year cycles. They have to hit the ground running [but] it’s going to take awhile and people do forget.”
Allegorically, the nation's first African-American President stands like Nate Ruffin. Ruffin, one of the players who did not make the ill fated flight, went out , recruited a bunch of young men, made them pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and keep going. While no one yet knows how successful the new administration will be, the caution is that Marshall’s young team did not go from ashes to championships over one season. They endured many years of losses.
Johns believes that President-elect Obama may do “something pretty dramatic” as a start. But “in reality where there are fewer dollars and everybody is worried about Wall Street, how long will it take to address the issues. I don’t know.”
Speaking from his experience covering Capitol Hill for NBC and CNN, Johns acknowledged “the first thing we have to worry about is getting banks lending again. After we get the bank’s lending, we’ve got to do a stimulus package to jump start the economy at large.”
How Obama’s administration handles the crucial economic issues will provide a clue into his leadership abilities and how his future decisions will be made.
“I’ve always wanted to get a sense of how any politician of any party takes the idea that got them elected and turns it into something of substance. The change this administration is looking for right now is righting the financial ship of state. That’s job one,” Johns said. They must “move swiftly, effectively, do something of substance, try to get the economy going in the right direction, and do it before the next election rolls around.” As for other issues? “Call me after we get the first job [done].”
As the forces of change line up against long time political power players, they may gain inspiration from how Joe Johns described the fabric of Marshall University: “We keep pushing. It means not to give up. You may see your darkest day, but whoever is left is going to pick up the pieces. You may think things are hopeless, somebody here is going to come up with a way to keep things moving. It’s easier to give up.”
During his speech at the fountain Johns quote from legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige could be meaningful as the new president begins working with those on Capitol Hill and beyond: "Never let your head down, never sit down, never shut up and never grieve. Find a better way. That’s what we do."
For that matter, the voters that rallied to put change on the table must too remember their charismatic President has “a lot of issues and a lot of things on his plate” to tackle.
What Joe Johns said about Marshall’s refusal to quit applies to people throughout the country. While waiting for the slow wheels of government to function in a positive direction, they too must remember that before Marshall’s football team found trophies, success, championships and glory, they endured frustration, losing seasons, and lots of setbacks.
So, as the changes begins, it’s worthy to contemplate the meaning of the words We Are Marshall. They’re not simply the title of an inspirational movie. In Joe Johns' words -- a man who has covered former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, the anthrax mailings following 9/11, in-depth reporting of the Sago Mine disaster , and broke the story of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s indictment on conspiracy charges -- “What does We Are Marshall mean? You don’t give up.”
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