The SMITH Diaries Project

The Campaignster Archive

The Biggest Surprise of the Night (Finalé)

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

You should have been there.
About 500 jubilant supporters crowded the room, cheering on my victorious candidate, John Hall, after we learned that he had won a seat in Congress by the thinnest of razor thin margins. (Watch the video highlights on the Times Herald Record video page.)

The John Hall campaign was the race that shocked [...]

Mike Tyson vs. the Ballerina

Saturday, November 4th, 2006

Less than 100 hours to the polls close. And I’m watching the 6,000 pages of call sheets roll off the printer at 4 am.
Get Out the Vote weekend — GOTV — starts tomorrow. At this point, 95 percent of the electorate has made up its mind about who they’re voting for. Now its just about [...]

The Foley Comes Home to Roost

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

Twenty days until the election. They call this the homestretch, but since I’ve been sprinting since May, its hard to imagine running any faster.
After our overwhelming victory in the primary, national attention on our race has ratcheted up steadily. It helped that my surviving candidate of the two whose campaigns I’ve been working on (click [...]

The Future of Politics Are Oldsters (Like Iris & Dot)

Sunday, September 10th, 2006

Iris and Dot are my new friends.
Iris is 74. She lives in Syracuse, NY. She has six grandchildren, and they delight her, but none of them live nearby. Syracuse is driving the younger generation away, she says. I think her husband died rich.
Dot is 62. She lives in White Plains. Dot doesn’t have grandkids, and [...]

Ten Years Ago My Job Didn’t Exist

Thursday, August 10th, 2006

Campaign life is brutal. I plugged away until one in the morning yesterday, got up at seven, and started all over again. 99 days left until V-day. 99. That’s a number that gives me anxiety for two reasons: one, how the FUCK can we possibly get everything done in only 99 days! and two, 99 [...]

 
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