John Edwards 4

Posted by jason

The senator stopped in Silicon Valley to deliver a speech, and make visits. I was asked to drive him and his staff around, and jumped on the chance.

The day consisted of renting a Buick LaCrosse, driving to South Bay, and making sure the Senator, his staff, and myself didn’t get (too) lost. I heart GPS. When the day comes that we implant GPS and Google, the world’s average IQ increases 10-20 points.

I’ve never spent more than a few minutes with someone at this level before, and usually, “elder statemen” are in a crowd, so this was a great experience. I got a glimpse of how his operations work and how issues are thought through.

He receives a short brief before each meeting, and any time not spent prepping is spent planning future work or in communications with partners, associates, friends or family. The briefing consists of a summary of who will be at a certain event, and issues that will be pertinent. For example, a technology crowd would be interested in the recent Net Neutrality debate.

It’s fascinating to see his mind, and the minds of his staff coalesce. He and his staff are smart, strategic, and organized. They spend a lot of time together, so there’s a symbiosis between them – subtle references, phrases and jokes that someone who’s new to the group wouldn’t immediately pick up on.

Did I mention the Senator’s a runner? He took time out in the middle of his day to take a jog in the California sunshine. He’s lucky to have missed last month’s 29 days and nights of rain, flood and hail.

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  1. eric – April 28, 2006 @ 02:42 PM
    So, are you going to tell us what insightful, probing questions you asked the Senator? Inquiring minds want to know.

    Or, were you mostly star-struck? He is quite handsome.

    =)

  2. Janet – April 29, 2006 @ 05:12 AM
    Hey there, Can I poke into your report a little and ask a question? What do you mean by "briefing"? Did you get a chance to know what the substance is? Does he get briefed on what to say or just the logistics such as "we have 30 minutes, etc." Do share... I'm intrigued to know. It is a rare chance to see how he works behind the cameras. What does the "prepping" consist of? I hope you'll answer. And, yes, he's a handsome guy.
  3. mbair – April 30, 2006 @ 10:19 AM

    I saw Edwards in Portsmouth, NH. It's a great speech.

    I hosted the whole thing as video, about 25 minutes, over at YouTube if you want to check it out. The clips are all about 3-5 minutes, very amateur, but ends with a brilliant metaphor to a roaring crowd. About 150+ attended in Portsmouth, NH.

    Link to videos --> OneAmerica on YouTube

    ...

  4. Jason Wong – May 01, 2006 @ 10:30 AM
    The only question I asked was "May I take a picture with you?" Edwards and his staff were talking most of the time I was in the car, and I didn't want to interrupt. I occasionally chimed in, when the conversation moved to technology issues. As for briefing, it's a short discussion of who will be at the event, and potential hot topics, and logistics.
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