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January 13, 2009

Will Obama stand with Dixon?

We're getting rumblings that the details of Barack Obama's visit to Baltimore on Saturday are close to being finalized and could be announced officially today or tomorrow. As many as 150,000 people are expected to come to see him speak. Among the many questions raised by such a huge event is, will Sheila Dixon stand by the president elect on stage?

Under normal protocol, the mayor of a city Obama is visiting would probably get at least a photo op with the incoming commander in chief, and that would especially be true here given Dixon's early and ardent support for Obama, not an insignificant thing since it marked a break with Gov. O'Malley's support of Hillary Clinton.

But Dixon is fresh off a 12-count indictment on charges of perjury and theft, and that would, at the least, pose a distraction from what Obama wants to accomplish. It would certainly be embarassing for Dixon if she were told to stay away, but the interests of the president trump the interests of the mayor, and I wouldn't be shocked if these two never quite meet up in public on Saturday.

Posted by Andy Green at 10:44 AM | | Comments (2)
        

Comments

He will meet with Dixon if he wanted to commit political suicide before he takes the oath of office.

I'm more curious on how the media is going to handle this unusual turn of affairs. Will they report on where Sheila Dixon spent her hour or will they sweep this under the rug?

Posted by: Carole | January 13, 2009 11:37 AM

President-Elect Obama's political staff is going to keep Sheila as far away from him as possible! Rawlings-Blake will be on stage as will O'Malley and Brown ... but Sheila will have a cold. The Secret Service is also very ardent about convicts and those charged with crimes being near the President!

Posted by: Dr. Dana Couch-Davis | January 14, 2009 1:56 PM

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About the bloggers
Annie Linskey covers the statehouse for The Baltimore Sun. Previously, as a City Hall reporter, she covered the corruption trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon and kept a close eye on city spending. Her reporting on the city’s economic development arm led to the termination of multiple improperly bid seven-figure public works contracts and her coverage of the death of a fire department cadet resulted in overhaul of that agency’s top brass. Before that, as a crime reporter, she interviewed Bloods gang members and the police detectives who pursue them.
Originally from Connecticut, Annie has lived and reported on war crimes tribunals and landmines from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She lives in Baltimore.

Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital.

Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.

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