Close elections

 I once heard a political consultant tell an audience that the worst kinds of losses are those that are close.  If the election is a blowout, you shrug and say there was nothing we could have done to change the outcome.  No need to lay awake at night thinking about it.

If the election is close you can come up with of all kinds of things you could have done differently.  After Clinton’s loss in 2016 whole books were written on what Clinton should have done to pick up those votes in Pennsylvania or Michigan or Wisconsin.  

I remember an election in CA when Tom Bradley, the mayor of L.A., was running for governor.  I was doing GOTV in my precinct in San Jose, and there was one woman on my list who hadn’t voted yet.  I thought about bagging it; I wasn’t sure if I could get her to the polls in time anyway.  Nonetheless, I picked her up and we made it with less than a minute to spare.  The next day I learned that Tom Bradley had lost by fewer than one vote per precinct.  I cannot tell you how glad I was that I picked up that woman.

Tomorrow I am taking a break from the campaign and driving to Kutztown to pick up a reconditioned saddle.  If Biden loses Pennsylvania by less than one vote per precinct, I know I will remember the day I took a break.  And I know the rules.  You do everything you can, and then you do more.