With Dad on the Fla. campaign trail

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - I'm on the campaign trail last week with Syd, who's backing (surprise!) the Democratic candidate for Florida governor, Charlie Crist. He was governor once before, as a Republican, but we are not supposed to talk about that.

Delray Beach is in Palm Beach County, home of the chads, the place where the coconuts hang in voting booths in addition to the graceful, sloping trees.

After breakfast (where he sticks me with the check), Dad gets me to drive him to three local campaign offices - one for the Democratic Party, one for Crist and one for bodacious blonde state Sen. Maria Sachs, the incumbent - where he is welcomed. A load of volunteers are at computer screens and making calls to get out the vote at her office.

Sachs is just finishing a meeting in a corner of her office, a storefront in a quiet, palm-lined shopping center. It is quiet because the Snow Birds haven't yet returned from the North.

In a tight, blue T-shirt, Sachs swivels and flashes a Mary Tyler Moore smile at Dad, who's wearing an "I Voted" sticker on his patterned shirt. He voted because Florida allows early voting two weeks before Election Day. It also allows voting by mail, by absentee ballot and on Election Day, and some say you can vote after Election Day and as many times as you like, but I'm not sure.

Dad voted for Crist with the enthusiasm he has for his daily diabetes shot.

But that's less painful than the alternative - in one case, the Republican incumbent, Rick Scott, who looks like a cadaver; in the other case, death. Democrats are divided as to whether Scott is the devil, a crook or both. The race is a dead heat, but more about heat in a moment.

There is Democratic unanimity on Crist, who had an epiphany (on the road to Tallahassee?) that transformed him from a heartless Republican into a caring Democrat. Dems agree he is too tan, even for Florida, and he has hot pants that require an electric fan blow on his genitals at public appearances. That caused a commotion at a recent debate. Democrats seem to appreciate candidates with hot pants.

Dad tells Sachs that the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that the GOP is outspending Dems in this election, but "the people" can overcome "the rich" if they organize. "Bodies over bucks," I helpfully contribute. Sachs listens patiently to Dad, nodding her head. For the record, Sachs is a millionaire.

Dad is less happy at the Democratic Party campaign office that has only a few elderly ladies, no one on the phones. He asks for a campaign poster with a picture of Crist, but they have none. A couple of the women know him because Dad has been in often.

He has handed out literature in his development, he has pushed groups he's in to endorse Crist, he's handed out absentee ballots, collected them and taken them to the collection point. This is no small matter for a 98-year-old man who lately needs a cane (not to walk, just for balance, he says).

He regales the staffers with advice, plus rah-rah about "winning." Most are charmed by him, by his sincerity and vitality. The body language of the office manager, who does not know him, suggests annoyance at his unrequested advice. After we leave, Dad mutters that it is an "amateur operation."

Dad is dedicated to democracy, but became a realist in recent decades. Being as there will not be a Socialist candidate for him to vote for (until Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders runs for president) he "settles" for Democrats.

It's tough to swallow, but he says the alternative is worse.

Phone: 215-854-5977

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