“I can’t control what other people do.” That’s what McCain said today when asked if he would admonish people who said despicable things about Obama. (These are not direct quotes but I put them in quotes because it’s what I would do if I was writing fiction and someone said something worth quoting.) What does “I can’t control or I can’t stop them” mean? It means the general election will be very ugly. David has been with McCain for a day and a half and he says “this guy will be very hard to beat.” That’s actually a direct quote.
Every four years a few elected officials decide they want to be President of the United States. And every four years political junkies, sign on to a campaign and try to try to get them elected. Sometimes the people surrounding the candidate have high ideals and a centered moral core. Sometimes the campaign staff and consultants are a little too Machiavellian for my taste. The end cannot justify the means when the end means the we are left with a lie.
I am always disheartened by an ugly campaign, but if the proverbial gloves have come off, Democrats can’t be afraid to punch with bare fists. (The second sports analogy I have ever written—does it work?) The question is, can you punch with a bare fist without hurting your own knuckles? Probably not. Confused? So am I. But I think this is where I am going with this, In 1992, having decided not to move to Arkansas, I took the gloves off and designed my own special campaign for the general election cycle. We sent serious messages about why George Bush One (doesn’t that sound a bit too British) shouldn’t be President again – the way we delivered the message was always humorous. And here on my blog, and for the first time, I will confess that yes, I crafted the incredibly hilarious counter events operation of the 1992 Presidential campaign.
Many will not remember the counter events operation. Probably because we were so subtle. We were the group that sent chickens out to haunt George Bush Senior when he wouldn’t debate Bill Clinton. Oh yes, we had chickens at every Bush event. Usually they would enter in a chicken costume and sign around their neck that proclaimed, “poultry dealers for Bush.” But once inside they would turn the sign over and it would say, “Bush is a chicken to debate”—or something equally creative. This lasted for only a short time because the chickens started to annoy the President and he yelled at one at an event in Pennsylvania. Yes, the President actually yelled at the chicken. It was not until the President of the United States started to converse with poultry that anyone realized the chickens might be a coordinated effort. But once the words were out, the President could do nothing but agree on a time and venue for a debate. It was not easy to get the effort off the ground but, here’s the first memo we sent to Clinton supporters once we decided we would be activists in sending a “Why George Bush Shouldn’t Be President” message. We consider this our initial launch effort in September 1992.
Last week, when it became clear that the first debate was not a certainty, we remembered the old John Lindsay- George Wallace debate conflict in 1972 --the theme was chickens. They did things we can no longer do because we have to protect the dignity of a living chicken -- so we're planning to use chicken paraphernalia. We will provide to working staff, someone young enough not to faint from the weight in the heat, a head to toe chicken suit with the character wearing a sign like “too chicken to debate” or a duck wearing a sign exclaiming; “Bush is ducking the issue”.
We determined chickens were funnier but an occasional duck did make an appearance. Once determined to see a successful effort, we sent a note to friends/activists, every state asking for suggestions. New Hampshire had a terrific idea which was made even better when then Governor Clinton said, “despite the fact that George Bush is refusing to show up, I am still going to Lansing.” They decided that they would hold "Debate Wait" parties instead of "Debate Watch Parties." We thought we should all wait for George Bush to stop ducking the debate. At these events voters would participate in pin the tail on the Quayle and other "Party building" games.
And so it began with a series of costumed characters, (Witch George Bush) t-shirts with faces (The Harry Truman Truth Squad), mini events (the economy on a hospital gurney) and oh so much more, played out near whatever the press area in President Bush’s events.
For the length of the campaign. I say, let the gloves come off. The Republicans can take the low (ugly) road and we will take the high (funny) road, and we will always get there before ‘ye.’