If I were Sarah Palin . . .

. . . I'd look good in Manolo pumps, but let's not go there. (These hypotheticals always get me in trouble.)

Seriously, however, if I were Sarah Palin, I'd seek out the advice of Dick Armey. When I was up in New York to cover the Doug Hoffman campaign, I asked Armey -- off-the-record, by my own choice -- what he thought about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's GOP primary challenge to Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Most conservatives have backed Perry, but Armey is supporting Hutchison. Why? Given that it was off-the-record, I'd be breaking the "never burn a source" rule to go into detail, but surely Armey won't mind my sharing this basic summary: Armey admires Hutchison's professionalism as a public servant.

To an outsider, the Hutchison-vs.-Perry matchup appears to be about ideology, and conservatives support Perry because he is perceived as the more "hard core" of the two candidates. To Armey, however, Hutchison is preferred because of her competence and dedication to the arts of statesmanship.

Remember that this is the same Dick Armey whose FreedomWorks organization has backed the Tea Party movement, the same Dick Armey who gave a key endorsement of Doug Hoffman. So it cannot be said that Armey is a snob who disdains populism and "outsider" candidates. Yet in the Texas governor's race, Armey admires certain qualities in Hutchison, qualities in which (we may infer) he finds Perry deficient.

Now, let's look at what Armey recently said about you, Gov. Palin. He praised you as a "self-made woman" but then went on to offer this advice:

"So she's kind having to dig herself out of a hole if she wants to regain standing for consideration for a future nomination. And by all accounts, it doesn't appear she's doing a very effective job of digging herself out of that hole. . . .
"I think she's probably a person of greater ability than what she's given credit to. She probably has more sense than what she's given credit for. But I do think there's this whole perception-is-reality thing right now, and she's got a terribly, terribly rough row to hoe if she's ever going to regain some standing and make her competitive."

And then he said something extremely interesting:

Armey also disputed the notion that Palin stands ready to tap into the energy of the vast crowds that have come out at the kinds of "tea party" protests FreedomWorks and others have helped pull together."You don't tap into that energy unless you join it. You've got to be there, you've got to show up. And you can't remain removed and aloof and send in a memorandum or post something on your blog, and have these folks belief that you're really part of the movement," Armey said.
"You have to really go out and walk and work among them. And I've seen very few people who are willing to do that. The fact is, these folks are saying, 'You know, the problem with all you big-shot politicians is you sit on your pedestals and make your pronouncements. Why don't you join us? Get on the street. And go to work for something. Roll up your sleeves and be involved with us.' "
"And they don't have a lot of time for someone who stands removed and says, 'Right on.' They're not looking for a cheerleader; they're looking for a captain of the team," Armey said.

So, if I were Governor Palin, besides looking good in those Manolo pumps, I'd make a point of seeking out Armey's advice and following it. As a matter of fact, if I were Palin, I'd try to enlist Armey as my political sensei. (With one caveat: Armey's kind of a squish on immigration; don't let him talk you into the Cato/WSJ libertarian open-borders nonsense; "agree to disagree agreeably" on that.)

Note especially, governor, what Armey says about "rolling up your sleeves" and getting involved in the Tea Party movement. When your book tour is finished, you ought to do that. You'll make enough money on paid speaking gigs that you can afford to do a dozen or more gratis appearances at Tea Parties in 2010.

Think back to your days playing basketball, 'Cuda: Pick your shots, and make every shot count.

Don't just book the big-city major events on the Tea Party circuit. Every once in while, you should make a late RSVP to a small-town rally -- let's say, in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina, nudge, nudge -- so that three to five days before the event, the local newspaper headline reads: "PALIN TO SPEAK HERE SATURDAY." And then call in to the local talk-radio show and do a 15-minute interview with the friendly conservative host. (There is a tremendous synergy between Tea Parties and local talk radio.)

Also, governor, you should always pay attention to whatever Dan Riehl says. Dan's a straight-shooter and, whether you agree with his opinion or not, you can be sure he's not b.s.-ing you. Note his comment about your Reaganesque use of Facebook:

Reagan didn't fight with the media. The usual descriptor for what he did is, he went over the media's head directly to the American people. Is Sarah Palin really doing anything different, except for having Facebook, blogs and a great many other New Media resources today to which Reagan didn't have access? Just imagine how even more effective his communication strategy would have been if he had?
Because of media advances made in the last several years, Sarah Palin doesn't have to go over the media's head. She can go right through them.

Exactly. If you were to link and quote Dan's blog in some future Facebook posting, I'm sure he'd be grateful. That's what we call "Rule 2." You've already got Rule 5 down cold.

NY23: Travel Notes

Lord, I was born a rambling man,
Trying to make a living
And doing the best I can . . .
-- Allman Brothers Band

Other things being equal, whenever I travel, I prefer to stay at a Hampton Inn. They're ubiquitous, relatively standardized, and of a reliable quality. There will be a clean bed, a desk, good Wi-Fi, free coffee in the lobby and a decent continental breakfast in the morning.

Other journalists like Holiday Inn, and some of the big network hotdogs will fly in and bill their bosses for a really posh downtown Sheraton or Hilton, but when I'm driving several hundred miles to cover a story and free to choose my own accommodations, I'll always go for the Hampton Inn nearest the interstate exit. Accuse me of bias in this matter, if you wish. That’s just how I roll.

How, then, to explain why I spent two nights last week at the Parkview Hotel in downtown Syracuse?

When I'd laid out my itinerary for this trip to cover the Doug Hoffman campaign in New York's 23rd District, I'd been quite specific:

$145 gets me Wednesday night at a Hampton Inn near Syracuse, N.Y. $155 gets me Thursday night at a Hampton Inn near Plattsburgh, N.Y.

And that was honestly my plan. Dick Armey was scheduled to appear Wednesday night at a FreedomWorks meet-up in Cicero, near the Syracuse airport, and so I checked online and found that the nearest Hampton Inn was $145 a night.

When I called, however, I learned they were booked solid. What I hadn't anticipated was that Syracuse University was having "Parents Week," and nearly every hotel in town was full. So scratch the Hampton Inn.

Then, en route to the Wednesday night event, I talked to a source and learned Armey's schedule for his New York trip. After the FreedomWorks meet-up in Cicero, he'd travel Thursday morning to Watertown to announce his endorsement of Hoffman. They would then immediately travel back to Syracuse for a private luncheon, followed by an afternoon press conference where Hoffman would endorse the flat tax. (Syracuse is not in NY23, but is the regional media center covering most of the district.)

This schedule meant I'd have to scratch my itinerary. It made no sense to check out of a Syracuse-area hotel Thursday morning, travel to Watertown, travel back to Syracuse, and then drive several hours to Plattsburgh, arriving late Thursday night. No, clearly the thing to do was to make Syracuse the base for two days, then make a day trip to Plattsburgh on Friday.

An ability to improvise is essential to surviving in the news business. You make your plans for coverage, but then stuff happens and you have to be able to change your plans to fit the story. It's not the kind of business that is suitable to a rigid, uptight personality. How the heck David Brooks spent years as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal is therefore an interesting question, but not one I have time to contemplate now.

So, Wednesday I rolled into Cicero late for the Armey/FreedomWorks meet-up. The Google directions were wrong, and I had to stop twice to ask directions. At the second place, a Byrne Dairy convenience store, a clerk named Greg finally got me pointed the right way. (Greg is a retired Army captain and had a TomTom device in his car.)

Finding the location in Cicero proved maddeningly difficult. I decided to grab a sandwich, text-messaged two of Armey's assistants ("Please call me ASAP.") and waited for them to call. Finally, with one of the assistants directing me by phone, I reached the location, the courtyard of a mall/auto dealership called "Drivers Village."

After the meeting ended I interviewed a few people. When Armey and his crew were preparing to leave, I asked them about the Thursday schedule. Where were they staying? Could I ride with them up to Watertown and back or, failing that, follow them caravan-style?

Well, they had a full vehicle, so I couldn't ride along, but they were staying at the Parkview downtown. Although I figured it would be too rich for my budget, I had to ask, "How much are y'all paying for a room there?"

The answer surprised me: $105 a night. Wow. Forty bucks a night less than the Hampton near the airport, and $50 less than the Hampton in Plattsburgh. So I got directions, drove downtown, walked in the front door of the Parkview, asked the clerk for a room, and 10 minutes later was checked in at this fine hotel, built in 1926 and beautifully appointed in art nouveau style.

Why so cheap? Location, location, location. The lavish, massive, modern Renaissance Hotel is half a block down the street, and if you were a businessman booking a big conference, the newer facility has all the advantages over the quaint Parkview. Market forces thus required the Parkview to offer a lower rate in order to maintain a sufficient level of occupancy to assure profitability.

A free-market guy like Dick Armey could appreciate the beauty of this, as could I, since it meant that I'd spend two nights in elegant style for $90 less than what I'd have paid for accommodations at the Hampton.

No time to relate the whole trip now, as another midnight deadline looms. Here's the opening of my Monday feature article in The American Spectator:

State Route 3 runs through New York's 23rd Congressional District from Hannibal on the west end near Lake Ontario to Plattsburgh on the shore of Lake Champlain that forms the state's eastern border with the Vermont.
From Hannibal, it takes about an hour and a half to drive to Watertown (population 27,310, which makes it one of the district's largest towns). Drive another 115 miles east from Watertown, and State Route 3 crosses a bridge and becomes known locally as River Street. There's a pizza shop on the right as you cross the intersection with Main Street. Just past Church Street on the left, in the former location of a Nice 'n' Easy convenience store, is the main headquarters of the Doug Hoffman for Congress campaign.
Friday afternoon, two campaign staffers and a handful of volunteers were manning Hoffman HQ, stuffing envelopes, answering phones and handing out yard signs to supporters who occasionally dropped in. Unless you were already aware of the news surrounding the Conservative Party candidate in this three-way special election, you'd never suspect that this building in Saranac Lake, N.Y. (population 4,908) was Ground Zero for one of the biggest political stories of the year. . . .

Read the whole thing. It's your contributions to the Shoe Leather Fund that allow me to do this kind of stuff as a freelancer. Editors are happy to get original on-the-scene reporting, but trying to talk them into footing the bill for travel is a hassle. Thanks to you guys, this hassle can be overcome.

I've got some more photos from the trip I haven't posted yet, so we'll let the pictures tell more of the story:

What can the efforts of one reporter/blogger mean in a campaign like this?

Thanks in large part to bloggers like Erick Erickson and Robert Stacy McCain, the race has garnered national attention. In the modern media era, even the most obscure election can set the motion for a conservative comeback . . .

That's from CPAC Director Lisa De Pasquale's Townhall.com column. I'm planning to go back to NY23 Thursday or Friday, so please contribute to the Shoe Leather Fund.

NY23: Be objective -- like Dick Armey!

Outside the Watertown, N.Y., office of the Doug Hoffman campaign.

HOFFMANIA -- CATCH IT!

NY23 VIDEO: 'Go, Doug, Go!'

From yesterday in Watertown, N.Y. Dick Armey's endorsement speech for Doug Hoffman is interrupted by chants from supporters.

"Doug saw the need to have a conservative in this race and stepped into the race. I believe that instantaneously made him the front-runner."
-- Dick Armey

Well, you see who supports Doug Hoffman. There's also Mark Levin, the Susan B. Anthony List, Fred Thompson, the Club for Growth, Sarah Palin . . . lots of people.

Who supports Dede Scozzafava? The abortion lobby and labor unions. Only one thing to do: Dump Dede.

HOFFMANIA!

NY23: Hoffman endorses flat tax; Armey hopes 'Republicans will learn a lesson'

Today at a press conference here in Syracuse:

"I got into this race to win it," 23rd District congressional candidate Doug Hoffman said today at a press conference here when asked if he was surprised by his recent surge in the upstate New York special election. "Most of all, I'm surprised by the support we're getting nationwide. . . . It's overwhelming. I never expected it."
Indeed, as endorsements have poured in -- and Michelle Malkin and other conservatives have begun to demand the withdrawal of liberal Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava -- the momentum in NY23 appears to have shifted decisively toward Hoffman.
Hoffman appeared this afternoon with former House Majority Leader Dick Armey at a press conference in front of the Federal Building in Syracuse, where the Conservative Party candidate endorsed the flat tax. "Even though I'm a CPA, the flat tax is the way to create an environment for economic growth," said Hoffman, noting that simplifying the tax code would result in a substantial loss of tax-preparation business for his firm.
Armey said that Scozzafava lost the election "the day she was elected," since her record and policy stances place her far outside the mainstream of the conservative 23rd District. Armey expressed the hope that "the Republicans will learn a lesson" from the defeat of Scozzafava. . . .

Please read the rest at The American Spectator. Dick Armey gave an economics seminar today during the press conference. All you've got to do is say "flat tax" to Armey and he'll go for an hour.

Our complete coverage of the NY23 special election.

EXCLUSIVE: Armey endorses Hoffman, "The Republican candidate can't win."

Guest-post by Jimmie Bise of The Sundries Shack.

Here is Stacy's report from Watertown, NY where FreedomWorks' Dick Armey endorsed Doug Hoffman for Congress. Both Hoffman and Armey had a few other things to say about Dede Sozzafava and the grassroots supporters who have given wings to the campaign.

"The Republican candidate can't win," Armey declared, saying that Gingrich "made the wrong choice" in backing Scozzafava, a New York state assemblywoman whose record puts her to the left of most Democrats here in this largely rural district, where Republican Rep. John McHugh routinely won re-election with 2-to-1 margins.
Hoffman will appear this afternoon on the popular Glenn Beck television program and, according to sources with the campaign, has seen his fundraising take off in recent days. He reportedly raised $30,000 online Tuesday, was effectively endorsed by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday and today received the endorsement of Ohio's Ken Blackwell, a nationally recognized conservative leader.

Click over to the AmSpecBlog and read the whole thing.

Jim Geraghty also dropped an interesting tidbit this morning.

But somebody who seems to be in a position to know what's coming down the pike...tells me that he's hearing Sarah Palin will publicly endorse
Conservative Doug Hoffman...

Who better to follow up on that tantalizing rumor than someone who is up there in the middle of the Hoffman campaign right now?

Expect more exclusive reporting...

UPDATE: Amanda Carpenter has more from Armey and Hoffman and a particularly clueless response from the NRCC.

When asked for comment about the blogger revolt, NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsey stood by his candidate as the only one who could win. “We will continue to remind central and northern New Yorkers that a vote for Doug Hoffman or Bill Owens is a vote for Nancy Pelosi and her far left, radical agendam [sic]" he said in an email.

I'm sorry, which candidate is closest to ACORN and has the endorsement of the largest left-wing blog in the world? I have a hard time remembering...

(Edited to correct NRSC to NRCC. Thanks to Adam for that tip.)

NY23: Greetings from Syracuse!

I'm in the business center of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Syracuse. I'm not actually staying at this hotel, but . . . ah, it's a long story. At any rate, I hope everybody's been following the blogging that my buddy Jimmie Bise did Wednesday. Because I was on the road for six hours, what I did was to work the phones, talking to my sources to get the basic landscape as I headed up here to cover the race on the ground.

You've seen how, in the old black-and-white movies, the court would adjourn at the big trial, and all the reporters would race to the pay phone, make a call and say, "Get me rewrite!"

The reporter on the scene would be connected to a writer on the city desk, who would then take dictation from the guy covering the trial -- the quotes, the notes, the facts. The guy on the desk would then be in charge of turning the raw report into a finished story.

So that's how it was with me and Jimmie, as I flew up I-81 Wednesday en route to Cicero, N.Y. This isn't the first time we've worked together this way, and it's also how I worked with Stephen Green of VodkaPundit to provide exclusive on-the-scene reports from the 9/12 March On D.C. At any rate, the post that Jimmie put up Wednesday afternoon was well-written, crammed with news, and full of links. Excellent work!

The reason I went to Cicero was to cover a Tea Party meet-up featuring former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, now with Freedomworks. (Jimmie also blogged about that.)

Armey is a classy guy with a great sense of humor, but the really exciting news from the Wednesday night meet-up was that the activists -- all of them supporting Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman -- are totally fired up. I talked to about a half-dozen of them, including the event organizer Lamar Wells, and the excitement is palpable.

Armey told them, "This is the big one." And it is. Like they said at Chicago in '68, the whole world is watching. I told Jimmie during our conversation that if Hoffman wins, his campaign here in NY23 will become the template for hundreds of similar grassroots conservative campaigns nationwide at every level next year.

BTW, there's a reason I'm in Syracuse. It's actually south of the 23rd District, but is the regional media center, which is why they're having a luncheon here tomorrow. I'm staying at the same hotel as Armey's crew, and I'll have to get up about 6:30 a.m. if I'm going to be ready to roll about 7:30 a.m. for the trip up to Watertown for a 9:30 a.m. event, then turn around and come back to Syracuse for the luncheon.

Joke of the day: Dede turned me into a Newt! (I got better.)

If you are a Tea Party activist who has been looking for a way you can really make a difference -- what are you waiting for? Get in touch with the Hoffman campaign, and get up here!

And if you're in Syracuse, try the club sandwich at the Renaissance Hotel lounge. I recommend it highly . . .

Hoffman to Endorse the Flat Tax,Dick Armey to Go Rogue

Guest-posted by Jimmie Bise of The Sundries Shack.

Doug Hoffman, whose name you might have read a time or three around here, is a Certified Public Accountant by profession. That means he makes an awful lot of money from the convoluted tax code Washington has foisted upon us over the years. April 15 is pretty much Christmas for CPAs.

But Doug is not a normal accountant and far from the normal political candidate. In fact, he is reportedly going to take a stand tomorrow on an issue that could cost him a pretty penny.

But I'm going to hold you in suspense for a minute to throw you another interesting little tidbit. Dick Armey, the head of FreedomWorks, is in New York this evening and he'll be doing a couple events with Hoffman tomorrow morning. You can get the scoop on those here.

After that, though, he is going to stay in the area for at least another day and campaign for Hoffman on his own. In the words of a source close to Armey, he'll be "going rogue". This is a big deal. Armey is a widely-respected conservative who not only respects the grassroots but helped give the 9/12 Tea Parties a huge boost with his organization. He's laying down his personal marker on Hoffman and you can bet that he wouldn't do that if he didn't see quite a lot to like in the first-time candidate.

Okay, enough suspense. Stacy informed me earlier this evening that Doug Hoffman will hold a press conference in the media hub of the region, Syracuse, where he will endorse the flat tax. That may not necessarily seem like a big deal but consider what I wrote earlier. Hoffman makes a good part of his living off of navigating the byzantine tax code for people who are overwhelmed by it. A flat tax will cost him business, since you'll be able to figure out your taxes each year on the back of a postcard. Doug Hoffman is willing to work against his own financial interest to push something that's in our best interests. When was the last time a politician did that?