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Not surprisingly, I was a centrist but leaning toward the conservative/libertarian camp.
First presidential vote
I cast my first presidential ballot in 1984 for Reagan. For the early years of my voting life, I was a registered independent. However, I voted Republican somewhat more often than Democrat. Eventually, I registered Republican in 1996 since I leaned in that direction anyway so why not step fully into that pond!
First campaign
I volunteered in my first presidential campaign in 1996 working in the Dole for president office in Washington DC. Made some fund raising phone calls (not very successfully), answered phone calls from the public (you can't imagine how many loons call presidential campaigns!) and prepared voter information packets for mailing.
Bob Dole had little chance against a popular incumbent in good economic times and we really didn't expect otherwise. What really amazed me was how dedicated the college-aged staffers were! They were taking time out from their school lives to work for nothing or maybe next to nothing on what was an almost sure losing campaign from the start!
As a volunteer, I got a pass to attend the party on election night in Downtown DC. Suffice to say, it wasn't very far into the evening before it was obvious Clinton would be re-elected. Senator Dole made an appearance in the massively crowded ballroom. I could barely see him on the podium as he thanked the staff and volunteers but it was quite the experience. My brief brush with political life was made quite enjoyable because of the fellow volunteers.
The wildest election in recent memory
In 2000, I worked in the Bush for president West Los Angeles office for two evenings. I spent one evening before the election doing get-out-the-vote (GOTV) phone calls. It was quite an experience! The voter lists are often out-dated as people are fairly mobile in Los Angeles. We were asked to call those marked with I (Independents) and R (Republican). Most people weren't home so I would get voice mail and I left a short message reminding them to get out and vote for Gov. Bush.
But, not surprisingly, I got my share of irate recipients saying negative things about Bush since the voter on my list was not who was living at that phone number anymore! I'd usually get off the conversation quickly by saying something like oh, isn't it great we live in a country where we can vote and express our opinions freely, have a good evening ... (click).
On election day, I was at a phone back doing get-out the vote phone calls again reminding voters we got to get out. I got my share of answering machines. I got my share of getting yelled at. And all it took was a handful of people who said, am so glad you called, I went out and voted for Gov. Bush today and am so glad there are people like you helping him out. I hope he pulls it off tonight! One of these responses could keep us volunteers going through handfuls calls where we were getting yelled at by anti-Bush voters.
The perk of volunteering is access to the election night party!
I went to the party in an LAX area hotel after the polls were closed and the phone bank operations were shut down. The energy in the room was completely different than 1996 as it was a contest. But the crowd was still a bit subdued because Florida had gone Gore than back to undecided. We had all figured that Florida was safely in the Bush column. Most of the people there knew that the key number was not the overall votes but the electoral votes. Of those who knew about the electoral vote system probably about 1/2 had a good idea of how many each state could contribute to a winning combination. I had my little note pad listing the states that were "on the fence" and their electoral votes and how many Bush would need to win the election.
The crowd went wild when both Arkansas and Tennessee were called for Bush! In our heads, we quickly added up the electoral vote numbers and realized it all came down to Florida. If Gore had held onto either his home state or Clinton's home state, Florida could go to Bush and Gore would be the 43rd president. I left the party around midnight thinking we might not have an answer until the morning. When I got home, the networks called Florida for Bush. But then the networks had to back off and both campaigns sent out spokesman saying, the votes are being counted and see you all in the morning.
Little did we realize that that night was only the end of the beginning and the nation would begin a journey that at one level showed how messy elections can be and yet showed how this nation is a nation of laws.
2004
I didn't work the 2004 campaign as I had a major health problem in October.
However, my favorite memory of that year was seeing a Bush-Cheney bumper sticker on a car at a signal light in my neighborhood. You have to understand my neighborhood is probably 5 to 1 Democrat! I saw the sticker and saw the hot looking young woman in the car and as I crossed the crosswalk, I gave her a smile and thumbs up and said Go Bush (her windows were up so I don't know if she could read lips) and she smiled back. I don't know if she made the connection that I was responding just as much to her beauty as to her wisdom regarding politics but either way it was a nice little memory for me!
Anyway, it once again came down to one state. This time it was Ohio. However, the margin was much larger than the Florida 2000 count and the issue was resolved without the drama of 2000.
The 2008 Republican Field
And so now it is 2008 and the Republicans are in a pickle. McCain is regarded as the "institutional" heir to the nomination much like Dole was in 1996. However, unlike Dole, McCain's relationship to the base of the party is somewhat weaker and so his chances don't look very good. He clearly has a great biography but concerns about his age are real ones.
Mayor Rudy is the current front runner. However, his checkered personal life has been the source of much tabloid material and we are going to hear lots more about it. Also, he might not get fully energized support from the base as he is a less conservative than many would like.
Governor Romney has put himself into contention by leveraging his biography (businessman, rescuing the Salt Lake city Olympics and Massachusetts governship) and sharp presentation skills. There is no question that Romney is telegenic which is a plus in this media society. But questions linger about him being the "robocandidate" sent from central casting... all resume but no soul. My feeling is that the key will be how he handles himself when he is under fire. At some point in the campaign, something will erupt either in world events or in his campaign when all eyes will be on how he responds and if he hits it out of the park, we might have a Mormon in the White House!
And indeed, that is the other issue being raised: is the country ready for a Mormon president? My guess is that the Mormon questions will die down. Kennedy faced the Catholic questions for a while and got past them in 1960. Joe Liebermann faced questions about his Orthodox Judaism in 2000 and eventually it became a non-issue. In the electorate there is always going to be a small group who will never vote for a fill-in-the blank-religion candidate. I don't think that number is going to be any higher for a Mormon than for a Catholic, Evangelical or Jewish candidate.
Fred Thompson is lurking in the wings. He is the recipient of a lot of the hopes of the Republicans who are unhappy with the current top three. However, Thompson's recent brush with lymphoma probably weighs on his mind about making the run. If he gets into the race, it will turn into an opportunity for Americans to hear more about the disease. Paul Tsongas had to address questions about his lymphoma battle when he ran for the nomination in 1992. Sadly, Tsongas eventually died of cancer in 1997. That fact will undoubtedly be pointed out in news stories about the health of presidential candidates.
I'll need to read more about the specific type of lymphoma Thompson had. I don't think it is the same kind as Tsongas but nevertheless, whenever we hear words like cancer or lymphoma we have a natural caution.
Of the various second tier candidates on the GOP side, I don't see any of them breaking out. I suppose Tommy Thompson has a shot since he was a pretty successful governor and cabinet member but it would be a long shot at best.
We shall see!
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