Partying With The Senator

The Clog-wife and I attended a party last night and got to briefly meet State Senator Rod Smith. He's recently joined the slate of candidates for the Florida Gubernatorial Race, and hopes to have Jeb Bush's job come 2006. I asked him for some campaign info and a Gainesville contact, and he gave me his campaign website URL. The party host had asked her long-time friend Senator Smith, a Baptist Democrat, to offer an invocation on the party and dinner. He did just that. Your basic uplifiting invocation that didn't alienate anyone, and urged us to support and love each other, and to do the right thing.

Smith's only challenger to date is Congressman Jim Davis, who has a strong following in the crucial Tampa area, and who has already raised about a half-million dollars in the first 2 months of his campaign.

I'm no stranger to parties where local-level politicians appear for some handshaking and good old-fashioned one-on-one discussion of issues. This party wasn't a political event per se; it was a politically-themed and well-catered birthday party, complete with outspoken liberal political comedian and Air America Radio talk show host Marc Maron, who'd been flown in all the way from New York.

Mr. Maron cracked wise for a half-hour or so after dinner, and managed to reach every one of the party-goers by either making them laugh or squirm, or both. The Senator didn't laugh at all the jokes - probably felt they were way left of where he's at in public. I didn't see him squirm once. I suspect that, being a successful trial attorney, he's probably practiced his poker face for a long time.