Tip O'Neill came up, mysteriously, in the debate last night. Here's a revealing story from "When the Good Guys Won: Notes from an Impeachment Summer" by Jimmy Breslin.
O'Neill was supporting a guy named Mike Neville for Congress--over the novice Jack Kennedy. He went door to door to door making his pitch for Neville.
"And the woman he was speaking to excused herself and went to the dining-room table and brought back a pamphlet with a picture of a PT boat on the front. "Is your Mr. Neville running against this brave young Kennedy?...[another supporter said] "oh, thanks be to God, Tom [that Kennedy isn't running against you]. We've got all this literature. Oh, what a beautiful story about the PT boat, getting lost in those islands. Dear God, I don't know how I could have voted even for you against such a wonderful, brave young man." When O'Neill got home that night, there was a phone call from candidate Mike Neville. "What are you doing?" Neville asked. "I'm taking a shower and you better do the same thing." O'Neill said.
Retail Politics only works some of the time. If they are planning on converting America one undecided teen after another, they don't seem to be having much luck: More...
Palin in NC:
Corey came over to Palin's table, this time with his daughter, a college senior, on the phone. Palin greeted her too. Dana Corey said Allie enjoyed talking to Palin but was still deciding between Obama and McCain even after the Alaska governor pushed her man on the phone.Miss Cindy with the all important "crippled children sympathy vote" in Tenn.
Just two of the youngsters in the room were close to voting age: Beatriz Zamora and her friend Anna Robertson. Both 17 and classmates in an AP government class, they’ve been following the race closely and wish they could have the chance to cast their vote.
Who would their vote go to? Beatriz cocks her head and stares intently.
“Barack Obama,” she said firmly.
Still, both girls were excited to meet the Republican candidate’s wife.
“We like the McCains too,” Anna explained. “We just like the Obamas better.”
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