The woman in the red pants and in the photo above is Maria Isabel who was later questioned about that Che Guevara flag. Here is the transcript of the interview but to fully appreciate her incredible squirming under pressure you need to see the video:
REPORTER: ...flag or aware of that...
ISABEL: I don't listen to the internet. I don't watch the news. I'm sorry. I'm just on the news. I just don't watch the news.
REPORTER: Do you think it is something that has been blown out of proportion?
ISABEL: Uh, what is it?
REPORTER: The Cuban flag. Having a Cuban flag out of the office.
ISABEL: It's a distraction. I don't have time to talk about the Cuban flag. There is so much going on. This whole town is just bursting at the seams. My phone won't stop ringing. America wants a change and they really trust Obama and everyone seems to think, that I'm talking to, that Obama can bring that change and it's just awesome. It's just...I am so proud of the people of ...um, everywhere. That people are voting for...
REPORTER: In order to give yourself a chance to respond because there has been a lot of criticism out there...
ISABEL (interrupting): I don't have time to talk about the flag...
REPORTER: What is your connection to Cuba?
ISABEL: I am Cuban. I was born there. Cuban-American.
REPORTER: So do you see a problem with...
ISABEL (interrupting): I don't to talk about...I am so busy really. You want to talk about the Cuban flag? Uh...(nervous laughter)...and I am really busy. I have an appointment in about a half an hour. And I got to talk to these people here. My posse.
REPORTER: But do you realize that there are over 2000 blogs angry at you right now?
ISABEL: Uh, I don't have time to talk about that right now. And I don't pay any attention to that. I'm sorry. You know what? You need to call my publicist. There is someone in charge at cammes (?) that can talk to you about that. Okay? Got to go!
REPORTER: Do you want to apologize though?
ISABEL: Apologize about what?
REPORTER: Do you think it was a poor judgement?
ISABEL: I think this is a waste of time. That this is a...
At this point Isabel took off her mike and walked off the interview. A bit of investigation online of Maria Isabel shows her to be no mere obscure Obama volunteer who made an "error" in hanging that Che Guevara flag on the office wall. In fact, Isabel has been flying (at least until this controversy) a larger version of that Che Guevara flag from the balcony of her apartment according to the Houston-based Rice Crispy Blog:
The Che Guevara flag that is flying in the Barak Obama Houston Headquarters is no doubt the work of Maria Isabel, who I have talked alot about in this blog. She and her husband Barry Norman fought the historic preservation regulations that Old Sixth Ward residents were pushing hard for. They demolished the historic 1890 Valentine house.
...I have seen the flag flying over their apartment on Washington Avenue. You can see it from Center street.
It turns out that Maria Isabel is a real piece of work. Here is a video revealing her as a complete hypocrite in her rationale for opposing local historic preservation zoning efforts including this money quote by Isabel:
It’s wrong to try to implement restrictions in my private property. I own this piece of land. This is America. I should be able to do anything I want with it.
One wonders if Maria Isabel ever considered just how much property rights she would have had she remained in the Cuba of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.
Although the MSM continues to ignore the controversy stirred up by Maria Isabel, you can find in-depth coverage of this issue at the Babalu Blog. Once again, the blogosphere leads where the MSM fears to tread.
