California's Conservative Conservative
Unruffled by the Recall Circus, Tom McClintock Makes a Good Case for Dull
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 6, 2003; Page C01SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5
On Saturday morning, about 30 true believers in Tom McClintock are gathered in a meeting room at a Courtyard Marriott nestled in a corporate office park off the 805 Freeway. Courtyard Marriotts figure prominently in California grassroots operatics in these final days of the recall campaign: Someone is always about to appear at one or hold a debate at another, and TV cameras are often out front or inside. For every Ritz-Carlton or packed arena briefly graced by the presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger, there's a Courtyard Marriott with a Tom McClintock vibe to it.
(snip)
The crowd does its best to get pumped up, and they start chanting, "Go, Tom, Go," but for all the world it sounds like "Go, John Doe." Tom keeps going anyhow, out to the parking lot, utterly convinced he's the one.
It's probably not a good time to tell him we have a crush on him, but we all sorta do, and anyway, he kinda knows. (snip)