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August 30, 2006
Off the Stump and Into the Crowd
Old-fashioned campaigning in the post-modern era
Tennessee’s 2006 U.S. Senate election may turn out to be the most expensive ever. Millions of dollars have been raised around the state (and, as many detractors on all sides have complained, from around the nation), and there are still a couple of months to go. There is one aspect to effective campaigning, though, that might be described similarly to a certain credit card ad’s tagline. All the mailers, phone banks, and slick television ads in the world are just costly substitutes for the face-to-face meeting.
While there is much variance in candidates’ ability to transmit their relative vote-worthiness, a few downtown Chattanooga workers recently had some time with a top act. Just over thirty minutes past the scheduled hour, United States Representative Harold Ford, Jr. walked into their workplace dining area. His engaging smile and firm handshake at the ready, Congressman Ford set about on an intense campaign with the firm’s employees.
“Hey man,” he said to me as he made his way through the small knot of anxious admirers and curious types in the breezeway. “I’m Congressman Harold Ford. What’s your name?” “Joe Lance,” I said, “it’s good to see you.” “Nice to meet you, Joe Lance,” came his affable reply as we shook hands. For that period of time, his gaze never broke from meeting mine square in the eye. A split second later, he was asking the name of the PR liaison next to me, and I swear he had a subtle shift in his voice and a different look in his eye as he repeated her name. Ford, a polished politician if there ever was one, has a highly effective personalized greeting style: for the five seconds you’re talking to him, you feel like you are his number one priority. Even his opening words seem chosen as if by prescience: with some, it’s “Hi.” Others, “Hello,” “Hi there,” and so on. “Hey man” happens to get my attention the best. It’s classic charisma.
Given the national stature of this race, it seems that there would have been more people there. Did folks literally not get the memo? Even if one plans to vote for Corker, this is an unusual occurrence in the workday; and if you’re undecided, it was the perfect opportunity to learn more. A smattering or two of applause rang out as people circled the candidate and he got into answering some of their questions, but it was mostly a subdued affair, at least as compared to the type of event one might have expected with a “star” candidate like Ford.
It was fascinating to walk around in a sort of orbit with Ford as he worked the room, and to hear the exclamations of support from those whose hands he gripped. (It’s tough to say for sure, but several of these were likely Bush voters in the last two presidential elections. One man was overheard saying that Ford would be the first non-Republican ever to receive his vote.) Tennessee political blogger A.C. Kleinheider, writing at VolunteerVoters.com, admonishes against engaging with candidates this closely, precisely because of the charisma factor. “[Don’t] ever meet a politician involved in a race you haven’t decided on yet,” he chides. “Stay at arm’s length...unless you are used to dealing with famous charismatics on a daily basis.” Kleinheider’s wariness uncovers exactly why the campaigns want to put their man in front of you.
Harold Ford, Jr. gets extra credit for doggedness, too, in terms of “working it” for the vote. His handlers were past the suggestion point in terms of it being time to leave, and young Harold was still extending his handshake to doughy corporate midshipmen. Who cares about a lag in the schedule if there are more people to directly influence?
Just before he relented and made his way toward the exit, I heard him assert to a smartly dressed businesswoman with striking red locks, “I’m glad to be here; and I really like your hair!”
This is one tuned-in fellow.
(The same company is also planning a visit by Ford’s major rival, former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, in the coming weeks. Look for a comparison to the Ford event right here at the Civic Forum.)
[This column appears in the August 30, 2006 Pulse.]
Pulsations | By joe lance | 12:11 PM