Runnings Campaigns Is Hard

A quick update from the campaign trail:

I love my candidate, G. He's a nice guy, works hard, and is very substantive. If he wins, he'll do a great job. Basically, he's earnest with a capitol E. But I'm coming to the realization that one of the chief virtues of a campaign manager is the ability to refrain from strangling one's candidate.

A list of his latest sins:

He hates fundraising. He won't make calls - just won't do it.

He wants to post comments on a local newspaper blog. He just can't seem to understand why this would be a bad idea.

He spends all of his time going door to door. This would be a good thing, except he won't work on press releases or make fundraising calls. Now what do you think will reach more people - knocking on their door or having them read about how wonderful you are in the paper?

He won't take days off, which means he's going to collapse 3 days before the primary in a heap. I'm going to have to take him door to door in a wheelbarrow or something.

Every time he goes to an event, he wants me to re-write his stump speech. Now the point of a stump speech is to have a well thought out basic statement that one can say over and over again so that a) the candidate can say it in their sleep, and b) the ideas will finally start to sink in. So what is the point in re-writing said speech? I can't seem to get him to understand that he can vary the delivery in front of new audiences, rather than changing the words.

I'm sure there are others, but you get the point. I hate to say it, but I was spoiled working in New York politics. Just spoiled. Waaaah.