Calling All Candidates

The addled knight Don Quixote got his kicks by tilting at windmills. I'm engaged in a similar pursuit -- beckoning presidential candidates to Lewis County. 

I don't expect to have much success, but I've issued personal requests to all six prominent candidates in both parties (Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul) to come say hi to the voters in Southwest Washington. I'll admit to using a bit of a blanket approach, sending each candidate a similar stock e-mail. Hillary's was a bit personalized, since she has been to Centralia before. Here's the e-mail I sent to her campaign the day after "Super Tuesday." 

From:   bmittge@chronline.com

Subject: Candidate visit to Lewis County, Washington?

Date: February 6, 2008 10:46:51 AM PST

To:   press@hillaryclinton.com 

Does Hillary plan to visit Lewis County, Washington before our Saturday caucus or Feb. 19 primary? She has already visited Centralia, Washington once before, on a stop in 1996 with the president, vice president and Tipper Gore. Our city is about to install a monument to that visit -- wouldn't it be great if Hillary came to help prepare the monument?

I don't expect a reply. In fact, I haven't received a reply from any of the candidates, even those, like Ron Paul and John McCain, who would only take media requests via an obnoxious form. I don't expect my e-mail was read by more than a single low-level staffer, if even that, but you would expect that any decent campaign operation would immediately send automated replies to potential supporters -- or anyone who expressed interest, for that matter. 

Well, at this point both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have announced visits to Seattle. Hillary is talking about a swing down to Tacoma. Maybe the lure of a monument to her past prominence will help bring her a bit farther south. If so, I'm taking a bit of the credit -- and the blame.