Reporter's Notebook March 2008

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A Constant Game of Follow the Leader
by Lee Cowan

“When NBC News first assigned me to the Barack Obama campaign, I must confess my knees quaked a bit.

“The task seemed daunting. Not only would the Illinois senator land me square in the center of rough and tumble presidential politics, but his candidacy was truly historic. I wondered if I was up to the job. I wondered if I could do the campaign justice. I wondered if the experience would swallow me whole.

“It has been all those things: historic, daunting, and most of all, an experience. Barack Obama is a whirlwind of activity, and being caught in that tornado is a challenge every day.

“My life now revolves around a rather ill-kept and often odd-smelling charter bus or press plane. I board them with about 30 of my journalistic colleagues each day as we play the endless game of follow the leader. We draft the senator wherever he goes, whenever he goes.

“I haven’t been home in six weeks—and probably won’t be for several more. I eat most of my meals out of Styrofoam containers. I depend on the good graces of hotel clerks to do my laundry, and my landlord to let the rent check slide a little. And most of all, I don’t sleep much. None of us do, including the senator.

“Presidential campaigns have always been tests of endurance, but this year, with the compressed calendar of contests, the challenge is Olympic. In Iowa, when Obama had his first caucus victory, there was hardly time to savor it. His victory speech had just ended when we were all thrust back out into the cold (and there is no cold like Iowa in January) and onto another plane to fly to New Hampshire. We landed at 2 a.m. He was back campaigning by 8 the next morning, hoarse voice and all.

“I’ve become just one leg of a very tired centipede, snaking its way through the nation’s primaries and caucuses. If we come to your town, you’ll see us—just look behind the Senator. We’re all there, for the experience of a lifetime.”

A Huge Signal Around the World
by Andrea Mitchell

“I’ve covered Hillary Clinton since 1992, and that is an advantage in covering her in this year’s race. I covered her in the White House and as a senator. I traveled with her to Bosnia, China and Mongolia, and I’ve seen her interact with foreign leaders, which has been useful background for me in covering her as a candidate for commander in chief.

“A lot of people in other parts of the world are probably surprised that it’s taken us so long to have a serious woman contender for the White House, given how many women have been actively engaged for so long in politics. It probably says that our country is way behind some other countries—Britain, Germany, India, Israel, some of the Scandinavian countries—in embracing women as leaders.

“This campaign has been intense. There have been no lulls. It started earlier than anyone expected and it’s gone longer than anyone expected, including the candidates.

“And what candidates! John McCain and his remarkable comeback alone is one of the most dramatic political stories of any year. To have that, plus Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton—two candidates who have broken all barriers of race and gender—is a political reporter’s dream.

“And it’s good for the country—the energy, enthusiasm and interest in this election is extraordinary. There are kids of all ages engaged this time. The youth vote in America is finally going to be recognized.

“This campaign marks a turning point in America for inspiration, reassurance and ideas. People feel very threatened, economically and geo-politically. There’s a lot of anxiety about pocketbook issues and all the changes we’ve experienced since 9/11. These candidates, whether they like it or not, represent historic forces coming to forefront of American politics. Whichever one of them becomes the next president is going send a huge signal around the world.”

Witnessing History, Up Close and Personal
by Kelly O'Donnell

“Without a doubt, this is my dream job. I love politics and this is an extraordinary election and a chance to see a process that is more exciting than it has been in decades. To see it up close and to not know what the outcome will be is fascinating.

“There’s definitely an adrenaline surge that keeps me going, but I have to make some very conscious decisions and be really disciplined about pacing myself. It’s easy to burn the candle at both ends and get run down. So when there’s a chance to sleep, get some exercise or eat a proper meal, I take it.

There is a whole traveling organization that is unseen to most people who are watching clips of campaign events on television. Behind the scenes, there’s a group of people whose job it is to organize the buses, the plane seats, the moving of the luggage, the boxed meals, things like that. They have to keep it all moving because the candidate has to get to so many places in so little time, while simultaneously, we have to do our work, get our stories written and approved by our bosses.

“I’m not only witnessing history, I’m getting the opportunity to spend time with a candidate, see him in more casual settings and create a personal relationship with him. It’s a professional one, but it’s more up close than you might expect. With John McCain, one of the most surprising things is that he will invite reporters to sit with him on his campaign bus in between events, and as we’re driving from place to place, he will really sit and talk with us during the entire ride. Sometimes we run out of questions! We start shooting the breeze about movies or things we did when we were kids because he’s so accessible, which is unusual.

“My job is round-the-clock, seven days a week. Sometimes I find myself thinking, ‘OK, what state am I in and where are we going?’ which is actually great fun.”