2008 Woodie Awards
Candidate Jim Neal draws tiny crowd
Jamie Metrick
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Forum
On Feb.12, Jim Neal, running for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, came to Guilford to meet students and talk about his campaign.
At first glance Jim Neal looked like any politician: close-cropped hair, navy suit, and a solid Democrat-blue tie. He introduced himself formally to the small group of students in Boren Lounge; he was born in Greensboro to a family of mill workers struggling to become middle class. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and went on to the University of Chicago to get his M.A. in business and became an investment banker while raising two sons as a single parent.
While his story sounds like the background of every politician trying to ring true with their middle-class, salt-of-the-earth local constituency that was where the sound bites ended. After the formalities, Neal promptly took off his jacket, loosened the blue tie, and let us direct the discussion.
For me, what went unsaid gave the best impression about Neal. Many candidates have progressive views and claim they want to make radical changes and restore fairness and equality. But Neal didn't rant about his opponent, or give out buttons and tote bags, or even a power point presentation. He urged us to ask questions on issues that we thought were important. The lack of high-profile hype was a refreshing departure from the media saturation of the presidential race.
However, the usual range of topics was brought up: immigration, climate change, education, health care, and campaign finance reform. His stance on national issues was progressive; he was against privatizing health care, against the Iraq War, and in favor of establishing a crash program for energy independence.
In North Carolina, he felt people were most concerned with the economy and immigration. Neal expressed that he does not believe in exporting jobs overseas and that the first step for dealing with immigration is not building a wall across the border, but finding people who moved here legally but are staying on expired visas.
At first glance Jim Neal looked like any politician: close-cropped hair, navy suit, and a solid Democrat-blue tie. He introduced himself formally to the small group of students in Boren Lounge; he was born in Greensboro to a family of mill workers struggling to become middle class. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and went on to the University of Chicago to get his M.A. in business and became an investment banker while raising two sons as a single parent.
While his story sounds like the background of every politician trying to ring true with their middle-class, salt-of-the-earth local constituency that was where the sound bites ended. After the formalities, Neal promptly took off his jacket, loosened the blue tie, and let us direct the discussion.
For me, what went unsaid gave the best impression about Neal. Many candidates have progressive views and claim they want to make radical changes and restore fairness and equality. But Neal didn't rant about his opponent, or give out buttons and tote bags, or even a power point presentation. He urged us to ask questions on issues that we thought were important. The lack of high-profile hype was a refreshing departure from the media saturation of the presidential race.
However, the usual range of topics was brought up: immigration, climate change, education, health care, and campaign finance reform. His stance on national issues was progressive; he was against privatizing health care, against the Iraq War, and in favor of establishing a crash program for energy independence.
In North Carolina, he felt people were most concerned with the economy and immigration. Neal expressed that he does not believe in exporting jobs overseas and that the first step for dealing with immigration is not building a wall across the border, but finding people who moved here legally but are staying on expired visas.
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