Staged Campaign Appearances

The Evansville Courier & Press' Thomas Langhorne observes one of Mitt Romney's controlled campaign appearances in Evansville yesterday. In presidential campaigns, nothing is spontaneous any more. They are carefully choreographed events right down to hand-picking the people who are allowed to enter the room to hear the candidate speak.

They erupted in cheers when he declared the federal government must stop spending far more than it takes in. They guffawed at his jokes, shouted messages of encouragement and applauded throughout his five-point program for job creation.

It wasn't exactly a tough crowd Saturday for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at Stepto's Bar-B-Q Shack in Evansville. That's because a big chunk of the audience of more than 50 people was preselected or recommended by Republican Party officials and supporters.

"I recommended (Vanderburgh GOP Vice Chairwoman) Joyce Perry and (candidate for coroner) Gary Gulledge get picked," said Republican Chairman Wayne Parke, who attended a 3 p.m. Romney fundraiser at American Patriot Group CEO Steven E. Chancellor's home after the Stepto's event.

It is a technique used by both major parties for presidential nominees whose every utterance is measured for national and even global impact. Seeking votes by the tens of millions, candidates for president don't make personal appearances to win over new supporters. They count on the news media to project their images and remarks to far larger audiences.

Broadcast and print journalists were everywhere in evidence at Stepto's on Saturday, densely packed with their equipment into a small section of an already crowded dining room.

In a separate story, Langhorne talks a little about Steven Chancellor, who is big on showing off his mansion at high-dollar campaign fundraisers he hosts at his home, including one for Romney this weekend.

Steven E. Chancellor believes the high-dollar fundraisers he has been hosting for nearly three decades now — and the personal relationships he has formed — are helping put Evansville on the national political map.

"I think it's a great opportunity for Evansville," Chancellor said of today's event benefiting presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The 3 p.m. fundraiser will be held in Chancellor's northwestern Vanderburgh County home.

"Bringing the people to Evansville that an event like this brings ... I mean, I love my city too. I was born here, lived here, never left here, been here every day," Chancellor said. "Every one of my and my wife's family live within 30 minutes of us, every one of them. ... Evansville is a big deal to me. Indiana is a big deal to me."

Chancellor, chief executive officer of American Patriot Group said Friday that he and his staff work hard to make his fundraisers memorable.

"I think it's a great opportunity for Evansville," Chancellor says. No, it's good chance for an old CIA hand to firm up his relationship with a potential president to benefit his business that relies heavily on federal contracts. The Indiana news media never has bothered to figure out just how it was that Chancellor managed to get so close to the Bush family and his relationship with the CIA. Now there's a story worth digging into, but I don't expect anyone in the mainstream media to tackle it.