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Outsider, insider Nervous Days in DeanvilleBy Rick Horowitz
With the early sun slanting through their window, with the commuter hum kicking into high gear right outside their door, it was a morning much like any other morning -- or so it seemed. But not for long. Not for Steve and Stacie Starbucks of 111 Latte Lane. Steve and Stacie Starbucks. Professionals. High achievers. Howard Dean fans. Things were different this morning, though they wouldn't realize it until Steve checked his Palm for the latest, and there it was, right there in black and white. (Technically, in 2.3 million colors, but who's counting?) "Have you seen this?" Steve called to Stacie. "Which this?" "About Dean -- about these endorsements." "He got more endorsements? Great!" "I don't know." It wasn't like Steve not to know. Stacie stopped in mid-makeup and returned to the bedroom. She found her husband sitting at the foot of the bed, his Palm still in his hand, a puzzled expression on his face. It wasn't like Steve to be puzzled. "Endorsements are good, Steve -- isn't that what you're always telling me? The more endorsements he gets, the better?" "I guess." "So what's the problem?" "AFSCME. They're the ones who endorsed him. And the, you know, the service employees." "SEIU?" (Once upon a time, Stacie dreamed of being a nurse.) "And AFSCME. Both of them -- together. They endorsed Dean." "I don't believe it." Steve offered his Palm. Stacie waved it off. She'd check her own Palm on her way to the firm. Then she spoke again. "Anyway, it's probably not what you think." "Of course it is." Of course it was, and Stacie knew it, too. Things were changing. She and Steve had fallen head over heels for Dean months ago, when the guy was less than a blip in the polls -- a "blipette," Steve liked to say. They'd done the Meetups, made the calls, written the letters, hung the posters. He was the kind of presidential candidate that always appealed to them -- a Bill Bradley, a Paul Tsongas. A brainy type from the upper-right-hand corner. A guy with everything going for him, and not a chance in the world. But these latest endorsements... "They know how to organize," Steve went on. "They're 'organized labor,' right? They'll be all over Iowa, all over New Hampshire, with their leaflets and their organizing and...and wearing their baseball caps!" "You love wearing baseball caps!" "Forward?!" "I see what you mean." Stacie saw exactly what he meant. One of the nicest things about the Dean campaign was how comfortable it felt: so many people who looked and talked the way they looked and talked, who got angry about the very same things they got angry about. It was like a family. Now all of a sudden, here come the in-laws. If Steve and Stacie Starbucks -- and all the people who looked and talked and got angry like Steve and Stacie Starbucks -- weren't careful, these new people would march in and change everything. Spoil everything. They might even win. Posted 11/13/03.
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Rick Horowitz
