DFL SENIOR CAUCUS AUTUMN GALA

Me and R.T. Rybak



Me and Tom Rukavina


Me and Mark Dayton

I attended the DFL Senior Caucus Autumn Gala this afternoon. What a great bunch of people those DFL Seniors are. I joined the group by paying $8.00 in dues. Not bad at all for an annual membership. I look forward to more interaction with this group.

The DFL gubernatorial candidates were there. It was the same people as were at the Veterans' Caucus yesterday (see previous blog). Today was not a forum, just a gathering, but the candidates were each given 2 - 3 minutes to tell why we should support them. I'll just give a brief comment on each candidate.

Tom Bakk - said pretty much the same thing as he did yesterday. One improvement was that he smiled when he walked away from the podium.

Mark Dayton - seemed a lot more comfortable with the Senior Caucus than at some of the other events. He's the only candidate who's a member of this group. He was at his best today. He seems to speak very effectively when he's sure of his audience. I would suggest holding the microphone about an inch further away from his mouth. (So we can read his lips better?) He used a lot of humor at the beginning of his presentation, then got serious with a Paul Wellstone type of passion in his voice. In talking with many of the Seniors before the event, I found that many were Dayton supporters.

Matt Entenza - was not able to attend today, but he did send a spokeswoman in his place. She was an excellent speaker. Maybe she should run for governor.

Susan Gaertner - was not in attendance today.

Steve Kelley - made all the same mistakes today as he did yesterday. Too loud and likes to point that finger at the audience.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher - She had a better manner of speaking today than she did yesterday. One thing she said that I clearly remember is how well she can relate to Minnesotans because she grew up on a dairy farm. Huh? I don't get it. I think she's obsessively overplaying the farmer's daughter personna. It gets annoying after awhile.

John Marty - same old, same old. Except he stepped away from his health care reform spiel long enough to point out that he's all for gay marriage. Aren't we all?

Tom Rukavina - had the room in stitches today. Gosh, he's funny. I still say he should go into standup. He's great at it. What humor! He said he should get more than three minutes because he had to drive so far to get here. He knows how to work a room, too, just as well as Rybak does, only in a different manner.

R.T. Rybak - is an excellent speaker. No crutch words, great engagement of the audience, very good eye contact, good use of his space, used stories of how he's changed Minneapolis. We want to believe everything he says. He may be glib, but if he is, he's good at it. A regular Joe Girard. I did find out that he got started in speaking before groups in grade school. The more he did it, the better he got at it. He'd make a great Toastmaster.

Paul Thissen - attended today, which was good, because he couldn't make it yesterday. Paul has a fresh way of looking at things and a clean look about him that puts everyone at ease. He's the new kid on the block. I expect we'll see great things from him in the future. Keep your eye on him.

Too bad Rebecca Otto isn't running for governor. She was the best speaker of the whole lot. She even surpassed Rybak. I'd vote for her in a heartbeat.

I had a great time today and had a big grin plastered across my face most of the day. Reminded me of the summer of 1968.