Sept. 30, 1999

Visitor to campaign offices finds
no glory but importance for interns, volunteers

By Kari Linder
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa -- As you walk through the door to any campaign headquarters here — Democrat or Republican — a certain bustling of people and a feeling of importance seem to occupy the face of every person in the room. The number of people it takes to keep a campaign running for any presidential candidate is enormous, especially in the state where the first caucuses will be held. Most of these people come in the form of unpaid volunteers or interns.

Campaigns are able to stay afloat and accomplish what they hope, only because of these people who give their unsolicited time and energy to the candidate of their choice, free of charge.

"Overall, our campaign is completely dependent on interns and volunteers," said Monte Shaw, coordinator of interns and volunteers for the Elizabeth Dole campaign in Des Moines. "We are able to do what we do because these people want to make a difference and make a little piece of history."

Almost every campaign headquarters has at least 100 volunteers who help with various jobs including clipping news stories out of the paper, coordinating press visits, working with the Secret Service when a candidate is in town and doing things as minor as stuffing T-shirts in an envelope.

At the Dole headquarters, fewer than 10 paid staff members run the program. This is obviously not enough people to come close to running the entire Iowa campaign — especially with the importance this state holds for all candidates as the site for the first caucuses.

Kristin Brast, press coordinator for the Al Gore campaign in Des Moines, described the interns and volunteers that work for her as motivated people who allow the Gore campaign to be successful — and without them would not have the possibility of success. "They are virtually the grassroots of the campaign," Brast said.

"They are the most important aspect to a campaign, and we can't do anything without them," she said.

Although at times the work that interns and volunteers do is very similar, if not exactly the same, the role of these two groups of people vary. Interns tend to hold a more definite schedule and are committed to putting a certain number of hours into the campaign per week. Volunteers give their time when they want and in the amounts they want. They can volunteer for as little as 15 minutes or as long as 40 hours a week.

"Because more of a commitment is expected from interns, we have the chance to give them more responsibility and more ownership to what we are doing here," Shaw said. Eric Woolson, press coordinator for the George W. Bush campaign in Des Moines, described the role of an intern as more of a two-way street.

"We're here to answer questions about the political process, provide references and help these students to stay involved," Woolson said. "We help them just as much as they help us. As I get further into my career, I have found it very enriching to work with these people who want to mentor you, learn from you and are so important to what we are doing."

Woolson described the typical intern as a high school or college student, but that's not necessarily true of a volunteer.

"Our volunteers range from my 8-year-old son who comes in to help sometimes, although not always willingly, to neurosurgeons who just want to give small amounts of their time to our cause," Woolson said.

Interns also bring to a campaign something that can't necessarily be found through the paid staff working for a candidate, said Woolson.

"These people typically bring an energy of a different kind to our campaign," Woolson said. "These are different people with different ideas who want to see first-hand how the process works. They feel they can benefit from that opportunity."

Because a large number of interns for the campaigns in Des Moines are college students, the one prevalent question would seem to be: Why would students who are already busy with school work be willing to give up their time for an unpaid job? Brast said that the answer should be easy for anyone working on a campaign.

"If a 20-year-old student can have an impact on what the face of America will look like, and they do, that's amazing," Brast said.

Betsy Watson, a public relations major at Drake University, is interning at the Bush campaign. Watson said she sees this as an opportunity that no one should pass up, because she has already learned so much and sees many more opportunities to come as the caucuses approach.

"The experience is great, just knowing that in the whole thing I might play a small hand or have a small connection with someone who may be the next president," Watson said. "The people you meet and connections you make are also amazing. You never know when I might need a reference for a job down the road and someone here could help me out."

Although not every moment of work on a campaign is exciting — there are always moments where all you do is stuff envelopes and answer phones — the exciting moments make the experience worthwhile, said Watson.

"The internship definitely has its low and high points," Watson said. "The high points are, of course, when Bush is here, and as an intern I get to be directly involved in the action."

The campaign headquarters in Iowa all have the same focus and goal that their interns and volunteers are working towards — a successful run at the first caucus in the nation.

"We are 99.9 percent focused on Iowa here, because the first caucuses are so important," Woolson said.

Whether it be volunteers, interns or paid staff, every campaign is working to help their candidate win the state.

"We never look outside the borders of Iowa when working at headquarters in Des Moines," Shaw said.

Brast, Shaw and Woolson agreed that volunteers and interns are not putting time into a campaign merely for personal benefit. In almost all cases, the people involved care about the candidate they are supporting ideologically and hope to see that candidate excel.

"If nothing else, this is a way for everyone to give something back to the community," Woolson said. "I would encourage everyone to pick a candidate they are interested in and want to see win, and support them with your help. Down the road, understanding this process will help anyone professionally, and you will be doing good for you community."