I was in Crawford, Texas last Monday. - Democratic Underground

Boogie

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Sun Feb-18-07 11:56 AM
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I was in Crawford, Texas last Monday.

Edited on Sun Feb-18-07 12:42 PM by Boogie

It was a cold, windy, gray day. I wanted to see where all of this was happening, where all of this was going on. I drove out from Waco around 8:00 am. My first stop was the large "Welcome to Crawford" sign outside on the outskirts of town. It had a large blown up photo of George and Laura Bush on it and a flag map of the U.S. with a star where Crawford would be.

My next stop was the cafe across the street from the Yellow Rose. There I found pictures of Bush mingling with the common folk and three cardboard cutouts of George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Babs Bush that you can get your picture taken with. I took a shot of the "W" cut out with my middle finger prominent in the photograph.

The Yellow Rose was closed so I mosey on down to the Crawford Peace House. Nobody was in sight and it was colder than hell. I walked around the place reading the various messages people had left. Despite no activity and nobody at the Peace House I found the place to be very welcoming. I was determined to walk the labyrinth in the back yard but I only made it around the outer perimeter before I succumbed to the cold and wind.

From the Peace House I decided to stop by Crawford Middle School and try to see if I could check out where the Whitehouse press corp hung out when Bush is in town. I parked in front of the older part of the Middle School and followed the signs that direct press and visitors to the office. The office was typical of any Middle School administrative office except there was an autographed picture of Snowjob on the wall. There was also a framed American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol building for some occasion. Pretty standard school office except for the fact that Tony Snow occasional hangs out there.

The secretary asked me how she could help me. I explained my plight and she told me I have to speak with the principal. Jason Bunting the principal at Crawford Middle School came out to greet me. His first reaction to me was with skepticism but he warmed up to me as we began to talk about the school. I told him I would like to see any sites associated with the Whitehouse press briefings.

We began our tour at the gymnasium which is a part of the old section of the school, I asked him if he could fire up the lights so that I could take some better pictures and he told me that it takes too long as the lighting is on a very old system. He explained the layout of the press briefings, print publication on one side and main stream media on the other side of the gym with the podium almost directly beneath the basketball backboard.

From there we went to a closet which is off the lobby of the old entrance to the school. A small plaque indicated "WHITEHOUSE" and Principal Bunting told me that he can't open the locked closet but it contains the equipment used by the Whitehouse Communications Agency and is used by the military personnel who attended to the President's communications needs.

We walked outside and positioned ourselves directly in front of the old entrance. At this point the principal told me that he has never met Bush. He has been principal of Crawford Middle school for three years and Bush has never taken the time out to meet this gentleman. He told me that several prominent press members have stayed at the school after press briefings and done presentations for the children. He acknowledged that the experience is a unique one for the children and one which gives them an insight they might never have gotten had Bush not chosen Crawford as his "Western Whitehouse". I ask him if Cindy Sheehan had ever come to the school and he tells me "no" but a few times some protesters had gathered on the grounds. He says that when they asked the protesters to leave they complied and there had never been an "ugly" situation.

The principal told me that he had one other thing to show me. As we walked toward the athletic fields on the side of the school we started to talk about politics. I asked him, "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question? What is your political affiliation? Do you support Bush?" As we walked further he cautiously replied, "Let me just say this, I voted for him. But not now, no, not under the current situation."

On the periphery of the baseball fields there were several carport tents lined up in a row. Principal Bunting told me that this is where the press shot all of their "Live from Crawford" tape for the evening news. All the carport tents looked out over a bunch of ranch equipment lying around on an adjacent property with an old barn and another dilapidated building. He said that Prairie Chapel Ranch is actually thirteen or fourteen miles from there and that the press isn't even aloud out there. He explained to me that they shoot from this position with the ranch equipment in the background to give the illusion that they are on the Bush ranch but acknowledged that the whole thing is a deception. I actually detected a slight note of disgust in his voice as he told me this.

All in all, the experience was an eye opener, Principal Bunting and his staff were most accommodating and the people of Crawford were very friendly. Next installment: A visit to Camp Casey and a sit-in at the office of Representative Chet Edwards.