Come with Me to the Emily's List Gala

Alexa Pichert, Drake Journalism
Tuesday August 26, 2008

[Emily = Early Money Is Like Yeast; Emily's List = Fundraising Group for Women Progressive Candidates]

When I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel where the Emily’s List Gala was being held it seemed like there was a lot of organized chaos, which later just turned into chaos. My job was to check the media in and give them their credentials and then send them off to the Secret Service to be taken into the press box. This sounds much easier than it was.

There were 300 media outlets that applied to get a spot to cover the speakers and only 40 were allowed spots. Most outlets were only allowed to bring two people. This left us to deal with many angry and upset people that weren’t allowed in. Many of whom claimed they had received e-mails saying they could come. I had to explain to the people from CBS and FOX that they were not on the list and would have to talk to the woman in charge to try to get in. Then there were the people that would make up names and try to claim they were with a big time outlet to get in or those that would read the list form upside down and then when asked to see their identification just walk away. My favorite was the woman who said that she had been personally told by Hilary Clinton that she could come.

Dealing with the Secret Service wasn’t much better. Once the media had been checked in they had to go wait for the Secret Service to send them through security. The only problem was that no one was willing to stay in the holding area. They would walk around trying to get interviews and different angles for their stories. I felt slightly out of place telling all these big name media people to go stand against the wall like little kids.

Once everyone had gone through security and the media had all been settled into their box, we were allowed to go in and listen to the speakers. I missed most of Senator Clinton who went first, which was slightly disappointing. I was able to hear the end of her speech where she encouraged women to vote for Barack Obama because “he is on our side,” said Clinton.

“If you call up Laura Bush, she won’t be there, if you call up Michelle Obama, she will be.” Clinton said.

"Michelle Obama is looking out for women and so is Barack Obama, he will listen to our needs and he is willing to sign the bill giving women equal pay. George Bush wasn’t willing to sign that bill and neither will John McCain," said Clinton to end her speech.

After her, Nancy Pelosi came on and gave a speech pretty similar to the one I’d heard the day before, but this time there weren’t any interruptions from Code Pink. She talked about the enormous amount of pressure she felt being the first woman to sit at the table as the Speaker of the House. She said she could feel all the great women standing behind her as she sat in that chair for the first time. Pelosi said she wished more women could sit at the table with her so that they could make it equal, 50/50.

Next Michelle Oabama came out. She talked about her husband and his goals as president to help out women. “Barack used to say there are two realities: the way the world is and the way it should be,” said Michelle Obama. She said that Barack's goal is to make sure that we don’t just settle for the way it is but we fight for the way it should be. She also thanked Senator Clinton for her help and guidance over the past couple months during the campaign, about dealing with raising a family and a husband who is running for president.

The Emily’s List gala had some very interesting speakers that I’m glad I got to see. The organization of it seemed pretty much non-existent, though. With so many big names coming, I would’ve expected much better preparation and security measures of who was and wasn’t allowed in.