Olshanmania!

Bruce is gonna love this story - it's a good illustration as to why door-to-door campaigning can be fun.

I approached the home of a couple with the last name of Olshan, noting that the he was a Green Party member and the she was a Democrat. I figured that there were no votes to be had, so rather than focus on politics, I had to ask the guy: "Are you related to Mort Olshan?" He looks at me as if he's thinking "No way!" He says "the guy with the betting paper?" I said "Yea, The Gold Sheet, out on the west coast". He says "Yea, that's my grandfather's cousin". We talked Mort, Bruce, and TGS for a while.

I don't know if he'll vote for me, but I would rather have moments such as those every now and then to keep my spirits up. Today was miserable: mid-40's, steady rain. I got to Judd and Hannah Olshan's house toward the end of a 6.5 hour day campaigning in this crap. The most distressing moment was when I talked to a woman who assured me she wouldn't be voting for me because, among other things, I am "too fiscally conservative". After asking her whether cutting spending without having cut a single program - and while improving quality of services - was a bad thing, she stuttered, assured me that she knew all about what was happening, and wouldn't vote for me. After she couldn't answer specific questions, she got flustered and said that I was wasting my time - she wasn't going to vote for me. I told her that I wasn't trying to get her vote, as I knew that wasn't happening, but I did want to know what specifically she thought I had done wrong. Nothing. I asked her to send me 3 to 5 items and that I would happily respond. I am not expecting anything. Her husband is a college professor - I am sure these people are proto-lefties, which is fine as far as it goes. But if they are so superior intellectually, why won't they engage the debate?

Anyway, I am cold and miserable right now, and I am going to take a long, hot shower. But I had to pass along the Olshan story.

PS: Vote DiGiovanni: He's Too Fiscally Conservative!