As you watch the debate tonight - admire the set

[ehrnst]

My spouse builds the sets for the debates - and I just want to give a shout out for him for the time and skill that it takes to build a set that passes muster with the Secret Service:



and with our son, who is definitely presidential material:

[Denzil_DC]

1. Interesting insight.

Thanks. Hope you got some longer shots of your son!

[ehrnst]

3. My spouse and his co-workers always watch the SNL skits on the Debates

and are amazed at how well they get the slight changes in the podiums and backdrops right in a matter of days.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Wow and cool!

Hats off to him and his crew for an excellent job and your son is a cutie!

[ehrnst]

4. Thanks!! They're both cute. : ) (nt)

[Chorophyll]

5. Wow, very cool!

And your son looks very comfortable behind the lectern.

[myrna minx]

6. Aww, what a cutie! I must be wild to know husband is building pieces of history.

Very impressive!

[progressoid]

7. Wow. Your son has loooong legs!

Very cool. Kudos to you and your family!

[ehrnst]

9. Ha!! They had to adjust the height on Palin's podium for the 2008 debates. (nt)

[nolabear]

8. Can your son loan Biden that shirt?

Because that would be awesome!

Thanks for the post! I'll watch with more interest as Ryan chews on that set.

[progressoid]

11. Yeah, that shirt is cool!

[hlthe2b]

10. Nice... The hyper patriotic theme of these events does limit creativity...

a bit. So, extra kudos for making it interesting.

Nice pic of a future progressive President?

[Ninga]

12. DU members are awesome! Great OP, thanks for sharing, sweet young man.

[porphyrian]

13. Yay for the people behind the scenes! n/t

[lunatica]

14. My ex was a stagehand

Your kid is cool! Love that T-shirt and his serious podium style!

[ehrnst]

16. Here's a much better photo of him:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002803356

[We People]

15. I like it...nice work!

Thanks for the sneak peek, ehrnst!

[beac]

17. Very cool.

[garthranzz]

18. YAY!!

You earned this!

[GOTV]

19. I'm curious, and maybe you can't share but ...

... what's special about building a set to pass secret service guidelines?

I mean, presumably all sets are built without bombs in the podiums...

[ehrnst]

20. Actually, the podiums are bulletproof.

Like just about everything that the President uses. This year, upon inspection, they wanted different, more substantial steel plating to be integrated into the podiums. This meant that the podiums needed to be taken apart and reassembled with the new plating on very short notice.

[hockeynut57]

23. i'm assuming romneys is covered with a washable veneer

so the crew can hose it down aftr he gets done spewing all his crap

[dmr]

40. They'll need shovels & a hazmat team for that.

[MadrasT]

21. Cool!

I love behind the scenes stuff. Thanks for sharing -- looks great!

[nykym]

22. Priceless!

thanks for sharing!

[ehrnst]

24. I suggested that they flameproof Ryan's chair

For when his pants ignite...

[Cha]

46. Good One, ehrnst!

Thank you, for showing us the sets your husband built and educating us on behind the scenes!

[sarge43]

25. VP Biden should borrow your son's great T shirt.

Show 'em some tude.

[hootinholler]

26. And thank you for using the word muster instead of mustard :D n/t

[Liberalynn]

27. Nice work

[wtmusic]

28. Thanks for sharing this.

Fascinating!

[SacoMaine61]

29. I'd like overhead cameras so that we can clearly see what the debaters put on the podium /nt

[frylock]

30. pretty cool!

[ellie]

31. Nice!

[FailureToCommunicate]

32. Great job! WAY better than how it used to be...

[sharkman25]

33. Did your husband install a trap door for Romney? LOL n/t

[wtmusic]

35. No, there would be no room for the ant hill. nt

[Odin2005]

34. Cool!

[renate]

36. your son is ADORABLE

The set is fantastic, too, but mainly... your son is A-FREAKIN-DORABLE!

[ehrnst]

53. Thanks! The local girls think so, too. We may need to

keep him locked up once he reaches puberty...

[skeewee08]

37. oh my he is to cute....... very handsome young man

[treestar]

38. Cool looking set!

He does them all? That's really cool!

[Liberal In Texas]

39. Very nice.

I designed a set for the Texas gubernatorial primary debates way back when Ann Richards was running. I still have my little model mock-up around here somewhere.

Tell your spouse he did a great job.

[dmr]

41. Your son is adorable. Love his shirt,

I'm going to pretend Joe is wearing the same shirt underneath his shirt & tie.


Go Joe!

[jtuck004]

42. Tell him thank you. Your son looks really good, gives me a thought...maybe they

could send the various podiums that POTUS uses in his (or her, someday?) talks around to grade schools, show kids they could stand there too. Put it in the back of a pickup (Scott Brown may have one for sale soon), drive it around.

Or maybe just set them up in public squares, let everyone have a shot at standing there.

If we aren't gonna quit sending money to the wealthy and instead take it from them and send it to working people and those in poverty like Democrats, at least we could pretend there are opportunities, eh? One of those kids is bound to win the lottery...

[tartan2]

43. SWEET!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing

[Diclotican]

44. ehrnst

ehrnst

Maybe a US president in the making there?...

Diclotican

[ErikJ]

45. Needs a huge Fact-Check Reader at the top.

Or Pinocchio reader sign.

[cactusfractal]

47. Oh, there you are, Perry. n/t

[BadSaratoga]

48. Kudos! Rock On!

A real craftsman. These are the artisans of the trade!

[trof]

49. K&R for "That's just sweet."

[blaze]

50. I'm not seeing a photo

[ehrnst]

52. I linked to facebook photos.

I don't know if you can see them - ideally you could.

[jberryhill]

51. Your son has my vote!

[Heathen57]

54. Great Set !!

My son and I both worked for IATSE and did hundreds of set ups for all kinds of shows. Now, if we watch a concert or play, we spend more time checking out the lighting, sound, and stage than we do the performance.

drives my wife crazy. "Why do you pay to see this and you pay more attention to the setup?"

[AlbertCat]

55. Couldn't they just use a old set from Thorton Wilder's "OUR TOWN"?

I'm teasing....

besides "Our Town" is traditionally done without a set.

[goclark]

56. Congratuations!

Thanks for the photos

[SleeplessinSoCal]

57. Congrats! Love the set. Love your son at the podium.

[cheriemedium59]

58. Way cool!

[madrchsod]

59. well tell him he has my

to him for a great design.

i used to build trade show displays but nothing near that grand....