Team,
Go back in time with me for a minute. It was 16 years ago this week. I was working for John Kerry in Polk County, Iowa -- just weeks before the caucuses.
A CBS News poll came out that week that was packaged with headlines like “Dean Pulls Away in Dem Race,” but the numbers painted an even bleaker picture for us -- take a look:
Howard Dean: 23%
Wesley Clark: 10%
Joe Lieberman: 10%
Richard Gephardt: 6%
Al Sharpton: 5%
John Kerry: 4%
John Edwards: 2%
People were writing our campaign obituary. Four weeks later, the entire race turned on its head when John Kerry won Iowa (and John Edwards finished in second).
It wasn’t a miracle -- what happened was a whole lot of hard work and a little bit of well-timed momentum paid off. Right now, Cory Booker is in the middle of the best month of this campaign. The way we pull off something incredible is through each of us doing our part -- will you chip in today and help keep this momentum up through the holidays?
I bring this up because way, way, way too much of what we hear about this primary campaign is based on who’s up and who’s down in these polls. It’s not right -- because it’s often just not accurate.
I’m not saying pollsters aren’t good at what they do. I’m saying a poll only measures so much. It doesn’t predict the future. And in a state like Iowa, where things can change fast, today’s poll numbers mean a lot less than how many precinct captains you signed up -- or how many conversations you had with caucus-goers.
If I’ve learned anything from my years working with Cory Booker, it’s that I wouldn’t underestimate him. And I would say the same thing about this team.
Don’t let anyone write us off -- chip in right now, and let’s make this the best fundraising quarter of our campaign.
Thanks -- always good to time-travel with you,
Addisu |
