June 27, 1968
by Janine Stephenson
I find Washington to be a drag. It's dull and white and too self-important. It's also very exciting being around power. So I guess that makes me confused.
We're sitting here in the national McCarthy headquarters. The air conditioning is running high, which makes the office cold and barren. Whereas before, when we were surrounded by heat and sweat and young people who serenated us while we stuffed envelopes, now it's cold and professional. It's also too quiet. People talk in whispers, as if they're afraid of disturbing the peace.
It's all very serious. Baby John thinks that he hasn't brought the appropriate clothes for a place like this. I'm inclined to agree. He does look quite dumpy, even though he's from California. Not hippie-dumpy, but grubby dumpy. There is a difference. Someone here would think that Baby John's dirty. Really, all he needs to do is take assemble himself correctly. For instance, he probably should wear the same color socks. Whenever I've asked him about this, he tells me that there are somethings that are more important than socks. While that's certainly true, it doesn't take away from the idea that if he can't pay attention to his own feet, then how will he know where he's going?
So we sit here at National Headquarters where everyone is serious and older and far wiser than us and debate whether or not socks should match each other. We talk in whispers and try not to create a scene or make noise or be noticeable. Even Becca is quiet, which is quite a change because she's usually pretty loud and racuous. She brings a magazine to read and then slips it into a U.S. News & World Report, so it looks like she's studying world events.
When I see Ron - if I see Ron - he has his business face on. The last time I tried to talk to him while he looked like that, he told me that I should be a dear and leave him alone. He didn't say it exactly like that, but you get the idea. It was thoroughly unpleasant. Craig spends most of his time being Ron's assistant, which means working on special projects. They have yet to figure out anything special for the rest of us.
Which is funny, in a way. It's our campaign, but as Baby John says, our campaign isn't in this building.
