In Boston political events–and four years ago at Gore campaign
supporter events and phone calls–Michael Whouly was often introduced
as “that great American patriot Michael Whouly” followed by
cheers. He organized field and get-out-the-vote operations for
the campaign–and was the shining success story in an otherwise poor
campaign. Now he may be doing this in Iowa for Kerry, according
to this story in TNR, courtesy of the DailyKos, picked up on
BloggerStorm.
Ahh, the importance of campaign field organizations. Television
is not the only element of winning an election. TV pundits and
“Hardball” don’t determine who an individual voter comes to know and
trust. Some other things matter, like well-led field operations,
grassroots organizations and ecosystems, plus tight working alliances
with local leaders. Within it all, each day I’m understanding to
new depth the extent that campaigns require a relentless focus on time
and discipline. In business, we talk about it as “time-based
competition.” Not sure of the equivalent term in political
organizations–but it is soo key.
To win against Bush in the fall, the combined Democratic family will need this organizational capability.
