This was a fund raiser.  I had $300 cash in my wallet.  I left with $300 cash in my wallet.  Didn't even buy the booze. 

The Edwards campaign still has a chance to capture my hard earned dough (though the amount is modest), and they will need a ton of modest individual contributions if they are to win - but I certainly wasn't going to part with my money for a McStump.

People working with campaigns - take notes.

was at a fundraiser during the Webb campaign.  My impression was that Edwards really didn't want to be there.  As he went around the room, he shook hands kind of robotically, repeating with no change in expression, "hi, I'm John Edwards," then moving on to the next person.  In contrast, when I first met Obama, I talked to him for about 2 minutes.  When I met Hillary Clinton, she spent nearly 5 minutes answering a question of mine.  Al Gore had a conference call for a handful of bloggers, myself included, and spent a few minutes answering my question.  So what's up with John Edwards?  I don't know, maybe that was just an off night when I met him, but your account sounds very familiar...

The grassroots matter.  They are your loyal base.  Candidates need to develop that loyalty.  You know what they say about first impressions.

I don't want to attack John Edwards because I agree with his politics.  But if his staffers are listening - NOW is the time to change this behavior while it is still early and you can still build a strong base. 

If they think they can win an election based on 30 second sound bites and good PR, they will probably be surprised at the results at such a tactic.  They need the support of the people and especially their base. 

Think of these things as throwing a party.  Your goal as a host should be to keep the guests in a good mood.  The host can't work everyone in the room - especially at a large party.  So bring people the guests would also like to meet.  For example, Mrs. Edwards.  Bring your children if they want to work on the campaign.  If you can get the support of other notables, invite them.  Ask them to mingle.  Learn the art of "working the room".  You have to learn polite ways to excuse yourself - and move on to other guests without offending.  You must learn time management.  You must learn how not to deal with impolite questions.  It is really an art. 

I think some politicians are too hands off.  It breeds the perception of an aristocracy.  Don't give us "little people" the perception that you are just too important to rub shoulders with us.

Which is why he really needs to work on other aspects of being a Presidential candidate, specifically the one you've pointed out.  Right now, I don't see it.

Here's a more informative event report, with hopes of balancing out John being such a disappointment to you:

http://www.michiganl...

"John entered and began to work the room, making sure everyone got a handshake and the opportunity to exchange a few pleasantries or ask a quick question. I stood next to our primo table (we had gotten there early and staked out the best spot) and got my second handshake."

Sounds like the entire engagement had a different format than ours.  John went straight to the stage for ours. 

I'll give John Edwards a mulligan.  When he comes back to Tampa, I'll be sure to write a diary about my second experience and not let the first alter my perception.

John Edwards' speech at the DNC winter meetings earlier this year was incredible.  It sent chills up and down my spine.  Check it out!

"Will you Stand Up?" is one of my favorite speeches!

Tampa report and the diarist was a volunteer at that event. To be fair to you, I noticed someone posted a comment who shared your experience as well :

http://blog.johnedwa...

This type of problem is a byproduct of the end of quarter harried non stop fund raising that wears someone to the bone.

I have seen John Edwards in a room of about 30 people and he was wonderful. He had time and was very attentive to everyone there.

I don't think it is a fair critique of Edwards given the time it seems he had for that event. Sometimes candidates just don't have the time to spend. Someone is going to be disappointed in the fact that the candidate was not able to speak to them. But to make a decision on whether or not to support a presidential candidate based on that fact is immature and silly.

The crack about not even buying the booze was indicative of this type of immaturity.

I feel kind of bad for poking the author here because I have felt his kind of frustration before when I was not able to meet a candidate that I was excited about. But I was able to keep my eye on the ball and still supported him. I even tossed a little money his way. (God knows it was hard to spare it)

 

I did toss money his way.  But, it was prior to going to the event.  The point is that they could have

1) created a more enjoyable event
2) generated more excitement amongst the base
3) managed to get even more contributions

I thought my critique was fair because I explained the situation.  He appeared sick, the Anne Coulter thing must be a drag, his flight was late because of weather which he can't control.  Plus it was outside and very hot.  I don't know who picked the location.

All that said, my goal wasn't to convince people not to vote for John Edwards - I said clearly that this probably won't change my support for him.  My goal is to convince the campaign to keep in mind my experience when they have these events.  Lowell appeared to have a similar experience.

If they want to win an election, they need to get people excited about the campaign.  They won't be as successful if my experience is shared by many others.  I left the event less excited than when I arrived at the event.  That means for my own personal experience, it was counter productive.

I hope others have had better encounters - and I am sure we will find more positive events as a result of this diary.  I hope Senator Edwards comes back to Tampa and I hope that the experience next time is more rewarding for everyone involved.

whether or not to support a candidate based largely on their guts impression of the person.  That's why it's so important for the candidate to be "on" whenever they're in public.  It's in their own self interest to do so, nothing more.

We need to be more mature and evalutate our candidates on what they stand for, their voting record, and who they take money from.  Just remember, when asked who you'd rather have a beer with, Gore or Bush, voters chose Bush.  It's not about beer and feeling good; it's about who best understands the needs of our country!

Edwards is a fine candidate:  intelligent, compassionate, and hard working.  He deserves the best we can give him.

But something tells me we're not going to change human nature between now and January, when people begin voting in Democratic and Republican caucuses and primaries.  Just sayin'...

But, too, I think our candidates are attractive, intelligent and communicate pretty well and hopefully those qualities will augment the "gut" feeling. 

But the bottom line is that if you don't get people excited about your campaign, agreement with policy positions isn't always enough.

Take Gore as an example.  He didn't capture enough votes - and I would argue that his ability to gain momentum/excitement was a factor.  Even though Gore was a Rhodes scholar and by just about all accounts the smarter of the two candidates, George Bush won the election - I mean selection.

Human nature is in play, and always will be.

I am still going to most likely vote for Edwards because I agree with him on his positions - however based upon my sole experience I see flaws in how the campaign operates and I now have concerns about their ability to mobilize people.

Is my experience unique?  Was it just a bad day for the Edwards campaign?  I don't know.  Hopefully other people report the opposite of what I am saying.  It could have been a fluke.

I've now had the chance to meet Edwards twice, first when he came to DC to support Andy Hurst, then when Andy threw a fundraiser for him early this year.

The first time, Andy introduced me personally and Edwards spent several minutes talking to me. Since he was not actively running for the presidency at the time, he seemed to have more time to spend and took his time with most of the people at the event.

The second time, at the Edwards fundraiser, you could tell his schedule was much tighter.  The event was scheduled from noon to 2 PM.  Surprisingly (to me), Edwards arrived at 12:15, and his staff pulled him out shortly after 1.  It really did seem like he was being dragged out of the reception.

It is a sad part of our current political system that the need to raise a lot of money consumes so much of the candidate's time.

I think most of you in the D.C. area either attended or were aware of the "Small Change for Big Change" Edwards event at 1223 in downtown D.C. The requested contribution was just $15. I think it was a perfect venue for John, and it was obvious that he really felt comfortable. He was at the upstairs bar talking casually with the folks up there before he headed down to the main floor to the stage were he spoke. As soon as he finished his very inspiring speech he started going all over the room, shaking hands, thanking everyone he could reach for supporting him, asking and answering questions. He took the time to pose for photos with numerous people. There were a couple of professionals with video cameras who recorded everey thing, including people who told him what they thought were the most important issues. I didn't realize until a few days later that the recordings were for a C-Span series about 2008 candidates. That C-Span segment covered the entire event starting with John's speech on the stage.

He was really in his element in this event. And he's doing the "Small Change for Big Change" all over the country.

And I do think that an important reason, besides the impossibly hectic schedule, that the Edwards campaign has to resort to holding large events outside even in areas prone to bad weather is that they can't afford to rent large indoor places until his campaign has more money in the bank, a bit of a Catch 22 situation for awhile. That's still doesn't fully excuse poor staff scheduling/venue decisions, though.

Just be patient for a little while. He will certainly return to places like Miami with a better format and venue. But keep sending those messages and letters to his campaign staff to help them do a better job for Edwards. They need your feedback and I think they know it.

BTW, one of our own fellow dedicated Webb campaign volunteers got recorded talking with Edwards twice and both recordings were included in the C-Span Edwards segment. I won't mention her name here for obvious privacy reasons.

Sorry about the excessively long post. I just thought I should let you know about a really positive experience.

  T.C.