Political operative Ed Jesser’s Monday-night gathering for Chris Matthews, the host of CNBC’s Hardball, at Doyle’s in Jamaica Plain, saw the incongruous pairing of Mayor Tom Menino and former CNN president Rick Kaplan. Before Menino arrived, Kaplan wanted to know why the mayor was bothering to spend money on television advertising, given his obvious lead over challenger Peggy Davis-Mullen.

When Menino found himself near Kaplan, the former head of CNN fired the question directly at the mayor. Just to reinforce the themes of his mayorship, Menino replied. Kaplan, a native Chicagoan, then proceeded to regale the mayor with a tale from his days as a campaign worker for legendary Chicago mayor Richard Daley. Kaplan recounted how, when he was still a teenager, he served as precinct captain for one of Daley’s re-election campaigns. After the polls closed, Kaplan exuberantly returned to headquarters. "We won 239-0!" he exclaimed.

"Shut up!" a grizzled veteran immediately snapped at him. "Don’t you say how many votes we got until I know how many votes we need."

Menino laughed. File under: lessons from Chicago.

Issue Date: November 8 - 15, 2001

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