Video of the Day

August 13, 2009 by Marc Lamont Hill

Today’s video of the day shows Sheila Jackson-Lee’s recent town hall debacle. While taking a question from a cancer survivor, Jackson-Lee answered her cell phone. I haven’t heard the Congresswoman’s side of the story, nor do I know the nature of the phone call. Still, her behavior was both disrespectful and politically unwise. At a moment when the national narrative is quickly becoming “Congress doesn’t care about everyday people,” this is the last thing Obama and the rest of the Democratic Party needs.

Categories: MLH
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9 Comments

1. ~JJG~ wrote:

That was definitely rude. I personally detest when someone answers his/her cell phone in a meeting. If the call was important enough for her to answer at that particular time then she should have excused herself. Did she not hear the audience complaining? Her behavior is not politically savvy, but I don’t think it is politically damaging. I guess we will have to wait and see.

August 13, 2009 @ 12:31 pm

2. Mario wrote:

I agree that if the call was that important then she should have excused herself. That hasn’t been shown on any national news stations I’ve seen like CNN but it could spread further on Youtube and really hurt her image.

August 13, 2009 @ 12:45 pm

3. DCI74 wrote:

Politics aside this was just rude on a human level, it’s like updating your Facebook status in a conference room while your staff is sitting there waiting for you to start the meeting about layoffs. The fact that the question was being directed at her specifically makes her behavior even more egregious.

August 13, 2009 @ 1:40 pm

4. ~JJG~ wrote:

At my sorority’s bi-annual conference and annual convention you are fined if your cell phone goes off or if you are caught on your phone during a workshop or ceremony. I still can’t believe that she did that.

August 13, 2009 @ 2:36 pm

5. DCI74 wrote:

My phone rings all the time and even more so now that I’ve gotten deeper into real estate but there are definite instances when I know not to answer it. If I can’t excuse myself to answer the phone then I send it straight to voicemail but I am not going to answer it all of the time, especially if I am meeting with a client for the first time. A move like that could turn that first meeting into the very last one.

August 13, 2009 @ 2:46 pm

6. Mario wrote:

I just saw her being interviewed on CNN about the video. She claims that she was calling a hotline to get a better answer for her constituents. However, that to me sounds like a lie honestly and it doesn’t make any sense. Why is she on the phone still while the lady is asking a question and she obviously wasn’t calling to answer that lady’s question. She acted just like a politician dodging questions, and she also said that she had not seen the video so she could not clarify it. I still have no idea what she was on the phone for and now I’m sure this video will be played on MSNBC and FOX News.

August 13, 2009 @ 4:10 pm

7. VERB wrote:

How incredibly rude and tacky! Faux News will have a field day with this. smdh…

August 13, 2009 @ 6:08 pm

8. Corve DaCosta wrote:

NO matter if your independent, democrat or republican this action of politician was rude and cannot be tolerated. If she acted this way in front of the constituent I can only imagine that she will ignore this lady’s concerns and the millions of others.

August 14, 2009 @ 11:33 am

9. EminemsRevenge wrote:

GAME OVER…Obama PUNKED:
http://eminemsrevenge.xanga.com/709920626/when-the-going-gets-tough-obama-punks/

August 17, 2009 @ 8:55 am

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