I wanted to share the article that was posted after the debate gathering at Chas Kelley's home last Friday evening:
By MICHELLE DeARMOND and SHIRIN PARSAVAND
The Press-Enterprise, Sept. 27, 2008
Young and old, Democrat and Republican alike settled into white plastic patio chairs and a sofa draped in a red, white and blue afghan on Friday night to watch a big-screen TV in the home of San Bernardino City Councilman Chas Kelley.
Shouts of "right on," cheers and jeers erupted in a crammed San Bernardino living room as a politically mixed, sometimes-contentious group gathered to watch the season's first presidential debate.
Kelley, a Republican, opened his event to the public and said he welcomed people of all political parties. Tim Prince, a Democratic candidate for Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis' seat, stopped by midway through the debate. But opposing sides clashed at times with dueling commentaries that drowned out the TV.
The Kelley family gathering was one of several throughout the Inland area Friday night, as John McCain and Barack Obama met in Mississippi for their first debate. Purely partisan events took place at Democratic and Republican headquarters across the Inland area, including at the Marriott in downtown Riverside, where Obama supporters charged a $5 entry fee.
The events were often equal parts social and political, with friends and strangers sharing potluck dishes and, at Kelley's home, bowing their heads in prayer at the start of the night. Families settled into chairs side-by-side, children lounging on the pale-blue carpet as family cats ran through the room.
About 40 people watched the debate in the Winery at Canyon Crest in Riverside, whose owners, Kevin and Carolyn Craig, advertised the event through the Obama campaign's Web site. The mixed crowd that included 20-somethings and senior citizens sat around wood and glass café tables and leaned against the marble bar to watch.
The crowd seemed in a cheerful mood from the start as people sipped wine, some poured from bottles with Obama's likeness on the label. There was laughter and applause as a couple of Obama supporters walked in wearing Hillary Clinton and John McCain masks.
During the debate, the Obama supporters at the winery seemed confident. Many laughed at times when Obama stung McCain, as when he turned to his opponent and said "John, 10 days ago you said the fundamentals of the economy are sound."
They booed at McCain's first mention of his running mate, Sarah Palin. Much of the time, though, the debate-watchers' faces were serious as they listened intently to each candidate's arguments.
Patricia Small, of Loma Linda, buried her head in her hands as McCain talked about Obama's willingness to meet with foreign leaders hostile to the United States, then laughed hard when McCain initially mispronounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's name.
"McCain, he wanders too much," she said.
Amy Conger, who arrived in the Hillary mask and later wore a baseball cap that said Obama Mama, said she thought Obama should have hit harder.
"Obama was too polite," said Conger, 65, of Riverside.
Greg Lewis, 25, said he found out about the winery event through an e-mail from the Obama campaign, but he's still keeping an open mind about the race.
"I'm pretty sure I'd like to vote for Obama but this is one of the ways I'll make sure," said Lewis, of Moreno Valley.
Lewis thought McCain did well with his answers on the Middle East, but he was unimpressed with McCain during the first half of the debate when the questions focused on the economy. "Total nonsequitur" was Lewis' reaction when McCain brought up his support of nuclear power.
"It seems like McCain is going off on many more tangents than Obama, especially his nuclear power tangent which didn't seem to relate to the question in any way," he said.
The San Bernardino viewers were more certain about their pick for president, saying they already knew whom they would vote for before the debate and were undeterred by the candidates' performances. Most agreed that neither candidate offered a clear, specific answer to questions about how to solve the financial crisis.
The crowd included a few first-time voters and plenty of differing opinions, fueling some testy exchanges.
Tempers flared repeatedly as one Democrat, Sam Clauder, clapped loudly, talked back to the TV and critiqued McCain amid the Republican-leaning crowd at Kelley's house. Clauder works with the San Bernardino Democratic Central Committee and several Inland Democratic campaigns. At one point, two viewers walked out in frustration when he failed to heed calls for quiet.
Debate moderator Jim Lehrer's questions about the nation's financial crisis and the war in Iraq drew starkly different responses from the viewers, with many people nodding in agreement or furrowing their brows in disgust when they disputed something one of the candidates said.
An exchange between Obama and McCain over what to do about the war in Iraq prompted more heat in Kelley's living room than on the University of Mississippi stage where the candidates stood.
Clauder and an equally loud McCain supporter shouted taunts at one another, to the irritation of other viewers, over whether the United States has made any progress in Iraq and when and how troops should leave.
"Where's Osama Bin Laden?" Clauder shouted over his shoulder to the McCain supporter, an apparent reference to the Bush administration's failure to capture the leader of the al-Qaeda.
When McCain accused Obama of being naïve about Russian politics, the McCain supporter concurred, "that's right" from a back room where a second TV broadcast the debate. The McCain backer was Robert Peters, a 48-year-old veteran from San Bernardino. Peters said he is registered with the American Independent Party but plans to vote for McCain.
"Come on now," Kelley implored good-naturedly, trying to soothe tempers, although he offered his own exuberant applause for McCain's remarks on several occasions. "Drill, baby, drill," Kelley exhorted when McCain talked about drilling for oil.
Reach Michelle DeArmond at 951-368-9441 or mdearmond@PE.com
Reach Shirin Parsavand at 951-368-9645 or sparsavand@PE.com
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