Today I saw Joe Biden in Parma, Ohio. He talked about 9/11 with a tiny crowd of 42 firefighters and cops. I spent most of the morning snickering in the back with a guy from Fox News.
This guy had covered every election since Nixon. He made many wry comments about his treatment by the Obama campaign, yet in an unguarded moment, he wondered aloud, "Isn't the whole thing so much fun?!"
"The campaign?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's totally disorganized but look how everyone [he points to the press corps, the secret service, the local campaign team] works together and makes it happen!"
I must say, the traveling press corps seemed like a total blast. They basically act like fraternity brothers, joking and winking at each other behind the public view.
I didn't bother to get in line to meet JB. To me, the real stars of the show were the Secret Service, and above all, the bomb-sniffing dog, a huge, hyper German Shepherd.
I was very much caught off guard when the whole bank of news reporters bowed respectfully during a prayer for the victims of 9/11. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. Packed together in that small square American Legion hall with a man a few steps from being the most powerful man in the world, it was a scene of humility almost to the point of helplessness.
I later saw in the news that Palin was at the time arriving in Fairbanks Airport to a crowd of thousands wielding a giant confetti-shooting cannon.
Amazingly, the campaign office here shut down for 9/11, despite the critical state of the campaign and the pure hysteria of the last few days. I guess it was a chance for the FOs (field organizers) to sleep. I was able to have a bona fide 3-sentence conversation with Will, the head of the office, who has been basically catatonic since I arrived. Perhaps doing nothing is the best thing we can do at this juncture. Maybe if we quit worrying about Palin for 24 hours, her numbers will disappear by themselves.
