haven’t been doing well there for a while, and the situation is obviously not improving.”
“Another tour so fast on the heels of this one?” Baker said without relish.
“It seems necessary,” Ashley replied. “We can do everything else possible, but there’s nothing like personal contact, letting the people see and hear Dad in person.”
“What do you think, Joe?” Baker asked the Senator.
“I think Ashley’s right,” Fair said.
“The media are always hyping your charisma,” Damico added. “The voters can’t appreciate that from campaign rhetoric.”
Fair nodded. “Okay. Meg and Ashley, you look into it, see what you can arrange.”
Meg nodded, and Ashley made a note.
“What’s next?” Fair asked.
The meeting proceeded smoothly until Damico announced his concern over several conservative newspapers, also in the Midwest, that were treating the Senator rather shabbily.
“Don’t we have any contacts in the area, any influence we could use?” Ashley asked when Roger paused in his monologue.
“The editorial control is Republican,” Damico replied. “There’s not much we can do about that.”
“Let’s buy some advertising,” Meg suggested. “They have to sell us the space if we have the price, no matter who owns the paper.”
“What will that prove?” Damico asked. “That we can spend more money? We’re getting a bad rap for that already. I say we wait until the tour. That will have the impact we want.”
“That will take too long to arrange,” Meg replied. “We should move now. The ads will expose the readership to another point of view before Joe gets out there. They’re being inundated with slanted information. Let’s get our side of the important issues aired even if we have to pay dearly for the privilege.”
There was a silence as the assembly considered this idea.
“Do it,” the Senator said suddenly. “It can’t hurt.”
“It’s going to cost us,” Damico said. “That plus the tour will be a chunk of change.”
“Find out how much,” Fair directed him. “Work up the figures and bring them to the next meeting.”
Damico nodded, making a note on the pad in front of him.
It was now Ashley’s turn to speak. She waited until her father looked up from his agenda.
“Ash?” he said.
Ashley stood and passed out Xeroxed copies of the fund-raising calendar she had prepared.
“As you can see, Millvale is the key event during the next couple of months,” she said when everyone was reading the mimeographed sheet. “At a thousand dollars a plate, it’s our best effort so far. We also have commitments for two five-hundred-dollar-a-plate events, but one of those is shaky because I’m not sure we can get the hotel at a low enough rate to make the required profit, and the restaurant manager also wants a guarantee of eight hundred in attendance.”
“Eight hundred?” Baker said, making a face.
“I had hoped for a thousand,” Damico said.
Meg began punching numbers into her calculator, refiguring the profit from the event.
“I think we can get the bodies together,” Ashley went on, “but it will take some dickering to get the hotel down on the price. I’ll have it finalized by Wednesday, one way or the other.”
“Ashley, this is very impressive,” Fair said admiringly, his eyes scanning the sheet before him.
“Thanks.”
“You’ll be ready to discuss the final figures on this by the next meeting?”
“Yes.”
Meg raised her hand. “I hate to interrupt, but if Ashley doesn’t leave now she’s going to miss the school tour Roger has so thoughtfully arranged.”
Roger glanced up from his reading.
“And all the wonderful press coverage he’s lined up,” Meg added mischievously.
Roger shot Meg a withering look.
“I’m going,” Ashley said, rising.
“Why don’t you go with Ashley, Meg,” the Senator said. “I think she could use the company, and we’re almost done here.”
“Are you sure?” Meg asked.
“Absolutely,”
“Another tour so fast on the heels of this one?” Baker said without relish.
“It seems necessary,” Ashley replied. “We can do everything else possible, but there’s nothing like personal contact, letting the people see and hear Dad in person.”
“What do you think, Joe?” Baker asked the Senator.
“I think Ashley’s right,” Fair said.
“The media are always hyping your charisma,” Damico added. “The voters can’t appreciate that from campaign rhetoric.”
Fair nodded. “Okay. Meg and Ashley, you look into it, see what you can arrange.”
Meg nodded, and Ashley made a note.
“What’s next?” Fair asked.
The meeting proceeded smoothly until Damico announced his concern over several conservative newspapers, also in the Midwest, that were treating the Senator rather shabbily.
“Don’t we have any contacts in the area, any influence we could use?” Ashley asked when Roger paused in his monologue.
“The editorial control is Republican,” Damico replied. “There’s not much we can do about that.”
“Let’s buy some advertising,” Meg suggested. “They have to sell us the space if we have the price, no matter who owns the paper.”
“What will that prove?” Damico asked. “That we can spend more money? We’re getting a bad rap for that already. I say we wait until the tour. That will have the impact we want.”
“That will take too long to arrange,” Meg replied. “We should move now. The ads will expose the readership to another point of view before Joe gets out there. They’re being inundated with slanted information. Let’s get our side of the important issues aired even if we have to pay dearly for the privilege.”
There was a silence as the assembly considered this idea.
“Do it,” the Senator said suddenly. “It can’t hurt.”
“It’s going to cost us,” Damico said. “That plus the tour will be a chunk of change.”
“Find out how much,” Fair directed him. “Work up the figures and bring them to the next meeting.”
Damico nodded, making a note on the pad in front of him.
It was now Ashley’s turn to speak. She waited until her father looked up from his agenda.
“Ash?” he said.
Ashley stood and passed out Xeroxed copies of the fund-raising calendar she had prepared.
“As you can see, Millvale is the key event during the next couple of months,” she said when everyone was reading the mimeographed sheet. “At a thousand dollars a plate, it’s our best effort so far. We also have commitments for two five-hundred-dollar-a-plate events, but one of those is shaky because I’m not sure we can get the hotel at a low enough rate to make the required profit, and the restaurant manager also wants a guarantee of eight hundred in attendance.”
“Eight hundred?” Baker said, making a face.
“I had hoped for a thousand,” Damico said.
Meg began punching numbers into her calculator, refiguring the profit from the event.
“I think we can get the bodies together,” Ashley went on, “but it will take some dickering to get the hotel down on the price. I’ll have it finalized by Wednesday, one way or the other.”
“Ashley, this is very impressive,” Fair said admiringly, his eyes scanning the sheet before him.
“Thanks.”
“You’ll be ready to discuss the final figures on this by the next meeting?”
“Yes.”
Meg raised her hand. “I hate to interrupt, but if Ashley doesn’t leave now she’s going to miss the school tour Roger has so thoughtfully arranged.”
Roger glanced up from his reading.
“And all the wonderful press coverage he’s lined up,” Meg added mischievously.
Roger shot Meg a withering look.
“I’m going,” Ashley said, rising.
“Why don’t you go with Ashley, Meg,” the Senator said. “I think she could use the company, and we’re almost done here.”
“Are you sure?” Meg asked.
“Absolutely,”
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