Joe Trippi was just on Charlie Rose here in Philadelphia. I am not sure when it comes on in your area. More in Extended copy.
A lot of the things that he talked about were nothing new. There was one thing that he said that I thought was pretty funny. He said that the guys in the media pretty much draw straws on who goes to which campaign. Then there is some guy who is all pissed that he gets this Howard Dean guy. Then, as things start to pick up and it looks like Dean will be the nominee, they are thinking about how they will be the Whitehouse Correspondent. They are thinking that hey, the best thing that they ever did before was cover some election for Alderman in Nebraska, and now they are covering the insurgent campaign of the next President of the United States. Then they start to really get into it, and the highs and lows of the candidate are their high and lows. But when the candidate messes up, they are thinking that this guy is messing with my career, and I can't have that. I thought that it was pretty funny. And of course, Trippi said it better than I can convey it.
Seeing him on Charlie Rose made me remember the night that I met him in Iowa. It was a cold ass night in Iowa City, and the stormers were asked to leave the rally to make room for Iowans. So eventually, we got to the rope line, where Dean and Harkin made their entrance. This was the day that I realized that politics is great theatre.
I remember shaking Harkin and Dean's hands. I remember saying "we love you Howard", when Dean came by. To this day, that sounds really corny, even to me, but at that one instant, it just came out, and it made sense because of the emotion that we all had. Then I see Trippi walk by in a sort of daze that he has, especially the night before the Iowa Caucus. I got his attention, and I was so glad to be able to shake his hand and take a picture with him. But the weird thing is that it seemed like he was more happy to meet me then I was to meet him. He thanked me and told me that he really appreciated what we were doing. Imagine that. This guy is the campaign manager of one of the most influential campaigns in history, win or lose, and he is happy to meet me, and he appreciated the lowly work that I was doing. I don't think that I will ever meet a man like that in politics again.
When I grow old and get some safe boring job, like and insurance salesman or something and I have completlt sold out, I will look back on that night. I will look back on the fact that I spent 20 hours on a Bus and campaigned in the frozen tundra of Iowa to change my country. I will remember the people like Joe Trippi and Howard Dean and all the other Deaniacs, who, for one moment, were on top of the world, but are now just down on earth changing the world.