Campaigns Develop A Flow - Mine Are No Exception

I always get up at least 2 hours before the first scheduled event, maybe earlier if I left things undone the day before.  The two hours is to read, pray, write and get my heart and mind ready for the day. 

Basically, in politics you have to have the on switch pushed for the full length of the day. Yesterday was typical.  Up around 4:30, the first interview was by phone at 7:15.

Then we headed over to a 9 am interview on Bob Clark, then to a meeting with media consultants here in ABQ, then to lunch with New Mexico Republican Party Chairman, Harvey Yates and Executive Director, Ryan Cangiolosi to discuss the upcoming state convention.  One focal point was this year’s consideration of the Party Platform.

I had more ideas than solutions and I could see that my info was overloading them, so I tried to check myself...yeah, right...ask my wife how successful I am at shutting off ideas. Immediately we were off to see the new Mayor of Albuquerque, RJ Berry.  It was a forthright and factual conversation.

I may have made other moves in certain areas, but the overall feeling I left with was that in the American system of electing people to make decisions for us, I am reassured by the fact that he is there and engaged in the process.  He brings calmness, thoughtfulness and a good sense of business to the job, which is remarkable given that he is in charge of a city that has a $55 million short in its budget.  We discussed how to encourage new jobs and businesses in the area to increase revenues. We discussed slashing spending. I was encouraged that he was not talking about tax increases.

Job creation should be the first focus of any government that is short of money

A short drive and we were at the Albuquerque Journal for a meeting with the editorial board.  I always find these discussions invigorating.  The press is not always friendly...meaning they don't just take everything I say without comment, but I found the writers yesterday to be informed, inquisitive and engaged.

As we left that interview, I could feel the energy battery starting to drain, so I made myself take a brief nap on the way to the next radio interview with Phil Marquez at KIVA 1550. A scheduling conflict had us departing his show  and going directly to Jim Villanucci for an hour of Q & A from callers.

Jim had the quote of the day...I was commenting that we had taken 15 questions in the first half of the show which put us on a pace for an Olympic Record if not a World Record.

Jim observed that I had gotten much better at keeping my answers short... I guess that is the equivalent to shortening the time in the pit for a NASCAR driver.

Jim commented, "You used to get in the weeds a lot...A WHOLE LOT!"

My wife and staffer laughed out loud. I work hard to know how things work in DC. The problem with understanding lots of policy,  is that in an open mike, question and answer show, the question comes from the caller and the computer screen in my head fills up with things that are relevant.  I used to go thru the whole screen of info.

I would only stop when I saw Jim fall asleep at his microphone.  A couple of times it took him falling out of the chair before I got the idea.  My lovely wife has always encouraged me..."just because you can't give a good answer does not mean you can't give a short answer."

Well, after all the hype and constructive criticism, I lost valuable seconds in the second half of the show and did not set the Olympic or World Record for number of answers in a one hour Villanucci show.... We had to hustle out of the building, dinner plans were just minutes away.

We were joined by an Albuquerque business guy.  He knows construction (that's Latin for Jobs!), banking, regulations, and government policy.  We discussed the factors that were hindering the recovery, that slow the job creation.  We discussed the background of the banking failures.  He is the sort of resource that the nation needs.

If we are going to cure the economic woes we face, a process has to be devised that engages people across the nation.  We need to empower them to be part of the solution generation phase.  Then we need a process to make those solutions be adopted.  The old political way of doing things is dead. 

Technology has bypassed our process.  It is imperative that we redesign government.  I am interested in your ideas how to protect the Constitution and redesign this decision making process.

When we do that our great country will once again be the light shining on the hill for new generations of immigrants wanting to come here to fulfill their dreams. We were back in the hotel room by 9.  I had finished checking emails and notes for the day and was in bed by 11 pm. That’s more or less an average day on the campaign trail.

Yesterday was a great day, but it doesn’t come together like that without a lot of coordination from the campaign staff.  They make a lot of calls to line up meetings and ensure everything fits well in the schedule, so every hour of the day is put to good use.  Staff that travels with me makes sure I leave events and meetings on time, so we make it to the next place at the correct time.

When I wake up in the morning and begin to think about the day ahead, the staff is already many steps ahead of me and has the entire day planned and is ready to roll.

This morning we start a little earlier, so I was up by 4. Another day in the campaign has started.