By Jerry Waxman

Special to The Huffington Post

I’ve been blessed over the years to have worked with some incredible talent on stage, whose ability to communicate holds me in awe. J. D. Sutton is a gifted actor who, for two and a half hours, so completely commands your attention, you don’t realize the time has elapsed. Ten years ago my wife saw his original 45 minute performance of Twilight at Monticello at a bookstore which included dinner. She immediately called me and said “this is a play you’ve got to produce.” I called J.D. and we got together and discussed expanding the play to two acts. I booked him to open a week before July 4^th with a special performance on that day. We ran for five weeks and J.D. and I were able to pay a few of our bills (not all) from the profits.

 

Twilight at Monticello opens on a private dinner at Monticello (where you are his dinner guest) circa 1820, give or take a couple of years. Jefferson died on July 4^th 1826 as did John Adams, 50 years to the day after the popular version of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the beginning of the American Revolution. During the course of the evening Mr. Jefferson talks about his life, loves, his long career, his close associations, his inventions and what he believes to be his greatest failures as well as his greatest accomplishments. Oddly enough, he didn’t consider his political career to be a worthy accomplishment; he felt that it was a duty and responsibility that all citizens should take part in. The hook in the evening is at the end of the performance when Sutton, still in character, dressed as Mr. Jefferson will take questions from the audience. You will be astounded at the facility and ease with which your questions will be answered. After about twenty minutes J. D. Sutton comes back on stage sans costume and wig and answers the questions you REALLY want answered (you know where I’m going with this). This three hour evening is well worth it.

 

This morning I received an e-mail from him reminding me that Jefferson only won the 1800 election by one vote, and it was cast in the House of Representatives due to a tie in the Electoral College. I’m offering his letter to me as a morale builder for all of the hard working volunteers who are giving of their time. We need more GOTV volunteers on the street and behind the phones. We need to get everyone to vote. Can you imagine what this country would look like today, or if we would even be here today had John Adams (the Royalist) or Aaron Burr won in 1800? I shudder to think of the consequences. Barack Obama has been right all along; this election is not about him at all-it’s about us and the changes we can effect.

 

 

 

Thomas Jefferson Elected President by One Vote

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                              

In the election of 1800 ~ the first between two well-defined parties ~Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams, only to find himself pitted against his own running mate, Aaron Burr, who had received an exactly equal number of votes in the Electoral College. This threw the election into the House of

Representatives, where it took 36 separate ballots before Mr. Jefferson was chosen as our nation’s third president … and then by only one vote! Of course, Mr. Jefferson knew the value of a single vote; his 1784 proposal to prevent the spread of slavery into the new western territories had failed by one vote.

 

Two weeks from today citizens across the country will head to the polls for one of the most important elections in recent memory. Regardless of which candidate you support, PLEASE DO VOTE! Each vote can make a difference.

In his First Inaugural Address, Mr. Jefferson set forth his understanding of the founding principles of our nation ~ the nation whose founding document, the Declaration of Independence, he had written. As we enter on this critical election, these core beliefs of governance are certainly worth our review

J.D. Sutton as “Thomas Jefferson”

Thomas Jefferson’s Essential Principles of Government

Friends and Fellow-Citizens:

 

CALLED upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, it is proper that you should understand what I deem to be the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its Administration.

 

~ Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political;

~ Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none;

~ The support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies;

~ The preservation of General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and our safety abroad;

~ A jealous care of the right of election by the people – a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided;

~ Absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism;

~ A well-disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war till regulars may relieve them;

~ The supremacy of the civil over the military authority;

~ Economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened by taxation;

~ The honest payment of our debts, and sacred preservation of the public faith;

~ Encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid;

~ The diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of public reason;

~ Freedom of religion;

~ Freedom of the press;

~ And freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus;

~ And trial by juries impartially selected.

 

These principles form the bright constellation which has lighted our way, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and the blood of our heroes has been devoted to its attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of our

civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust. And should we wander from them in moments of error or alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps, and to regain that road which alone leads to peace, and liberty, and safety.

 

~ First Inaugural Address, Wednesday, March 4, 1801

 

TWILIGHT AT MONTICELLO

321-438-6855

www.JeffersonAtMonticello.com

 

Since the initial presentation in 1998, Twilight at Monticello and J.D. Sutton have travelled extensively up and down the original 13 colonies and throughout the country thrilling audiences along the way. If you or any organization you belong to want to book Twilight at Monticello all the information you need is right here. You can access his website, or you can phone him. Just as the late Henny Youngman did, J.D. answers his own phone and you can deal directly with him. In the future I’ll be talking about other unique Americans who made their impact on our society. People like early womens’ rights advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton and broadcasting pioneer Gertrude Berg. Now I think it’s time to consider what our founding fathers pledged their lives, fortunes and their sacred honor for. VOTE, AND GET OUT THEVOTE!

By Jerry Waxman

Sat. Oct 11.   Today is the next phase of Get Out The Vote. We have scheduled a meeting at 9:30 AM of all volunteers to kick off the campaign. Our organizer, Erin, makes the introductory speech on canvassing the neighborhoods and phone banking and then introduces several of us as the team captains. We each give short speeches on why we’re there and what this election means to us. The focus of today’s meeting is to enlist more volunteers as we canvass and call plus we are encouraging both early voting and absentee ballots. At 10:30 we assemble our teams and begin canvassing. We had 97 volunteers show up at the meeting, so we do have decent coverage. Canvassing is virtually the same in every neighborhood. There are some exceptions, as you occasionally encounter a rabid McCain supporter who will slam the door in your face. I had one today; actually, it was funny watching the veins pop out on their necks as they screamed “Get Out!”  They act like you’ve just poisoned their cat.

Sun. Oct 12.  Today I’m concentrating on assembling my permanent team. It’s tough because no matter how good their intentions are everyone has work hours, and many have kids in school and all the other stuff in their lives. I tell them that I too work for a living. In addition, I’m directing a touring show that opens Nov. 1 and we’re rehearsing four hours each evening and that this election is so important that I’m sacrificing any hint of personal time to get Obama elected and that I don’t understand people that aren’t that dedicated when so much is at stake. My lecture gets to a few of them, but the others have different priorities. At least everyone will contribute some time. Honestly, it’s been pretty easy on me since Susan is still in Baltimore and will not be home until Tuesday evening.

Mon. Oct 13.  More of the same. One canvassing shift, and some phone calls and then off to rehearsal. Word has come down that we are opening two satellite offices known as staging centers on the weekend.

Tues. Oct 14.  Today I was only able to make calls for two hours. I had to pick up Susan at the airport and off to rehearsal. 

Wed. Oct 15.  After a shift on the phones we went to a debate watch party at a volunteer’s house. I scheduled a music rehearsal so that I didn’t have to be there. My impression was that Obama’s debating style forced McCain to be his true self. To me this is the beginning of the end for McCain. It will play out like over the next few weeks as an operatic death scene with McCain/Palin writhing, falling, getting up again, falling….spitting venom…..rising again on the attack, and then finally collapsing in a grand aria of hate talk where they both jump on the funeral pyre as in Der Gotterdamerung………….or at least I hope so. McCain is strictly buying time with his attacks as a way of keeping himself in the news since he can’t match money or ads with Obama. Boy, what people won’t do to get attention!

Thurs. Oct 16. Two hours on the phones. I’m tired of these supporters who won’t contribute any time at all. At least they are convinced to vote early in most cases.

Fri. Oct 17.  Erin calls me in emergency mode at 6:00 PM. Our new staging center in Union park is without power. No one had bothered to check when we were given the building. There is no way the power company will be out here over the weekend. We need emergency lighting tonight so that the office can be open tomorrow morning. I told her I can’t get there until after rehearsal I arrive at 11:00 PM and by midnight the building has overhead lights working-no, I will not divulge how it was done. That’s my trade secret. Brad, Erin’s new second in command is there to let me in.  Brad has just come in from Los Angeles and needs to get the place set up. At least the office will be open tomorrow when we are having our big Veterans for Obama push.

Sat. Oct 18.  Today is Veterans for Obama day and we are graced with the presence of Phil Carter, Veterans Director for the campaign. I wore my Veterans T-shirt proudly, and took several buttons for friends and area residents who requested them. Phil and I were having a real discourse on the state of how The Republicans and, more specifically, McCain have been so shabby in their treatment of us.  We were joined by John Estrada has recently retired from the Air Force after twenty years. John is now working for a major defense contractor and on weekends he is travelling all over the country to promote Veterans for Obama. All generations of veterans from all branches were there from WWII to recent returnees. Those of us who could walk did so. The others manned the phones. Ron Kohn served in the Air Force during Korea. Vic and I served during the Vietnam era. We all had a common bond.

The prize for the regular volunteers was guaranteed seats at the Obama/Hillary event on Monday. If volunteers complete a walk pack today or if they make 250 calls today they will be given reserved seats. I had 109 knocks on doors. The actual contact rate is around 50 or 60 per cent in my areas. Phone contacts are around 10 to 15 per cent. I asked Erin if we could get my wife, Susan, a ticket. She said “walk another pack for me and I’ll give you another ticket”. She’s pretty rigid. Then she said…oh, by the way, we have a plumbing problem in the new office-could you look into it?”  My response was “go walk my pack for me and I’ll look into it after my rehearsal.”  We both laughed.  After rehearsal I tended to the plumbing problem. Also, landlord at Union Park arranged to have the electricity turned on.

Sun. Oct 19.  Okay, so I walked another pack. This time it was 80 Knocks, and boy, was it depressing. This particular neighborhood had sale signs and for rent signs galore. It also had bank forclosure notices on lots of houses. Today was the saddest day I’ve spent during the campaign. So now we have two guaranteed seats for Monday’s event. This was important to me because I wanted her to have some level of involvement in the campaign. The time I’m spending away from home and the time I’m taking blogging are putting a small strain on our daily relationship. I can’t help the fact that I’m driven. That’s who I am. After 39 years she ought to know that.

Mon. Oct 20.  Erin calls a 9:00 Breakfast meeting to go over the new staging locations and how we are going to work for the next 15 days. This is also the first day for early voting in Florida. Our push is now going to be getting everyone to the polls. I’m now going to be the GOTV captain at Union Park. He office closes today at 1:00 to get ready for the Obama/Hillary event tonight. As I write this I’m waiting for Susan to return home so that we can leave early to get there.

 

*Note: This was submitted to Huffington Post, however never published.

 

By Jerry Waxman

Oct. 1 Orlando, Florida on the UCF campus This is my first visit back to the UCF campus since my daughter’s graduation in 1995 when Bill Clinton was in his first term. The reason I’m here is to report on Bill Clinton’s speech. Wow! How things here have changed!  This place looks more like a planned community designed by Arvida or the Rouse Corporation than a college campus. As I walked from my parking space to the Arena I thought I was in the downtown area of an upscale small city. There were all kinds of national chains for food plus a gigantic Barnes and Noble, with music playing out loud from the school’s 24 hour jazz station, WUCF, one of a handful in all of this country. On the drive in the very visible Sigma Chi house looks like David O. Selznick’s Plantation logo. This old reprobate still thinks about college in terms of old buildings with millions of decaying bricks in need of repointing due to the ivy which is actually holding the buildings together and a Frisbee match taking place on the quad. UCF has become an enormous economic engine in this part of the state, and shortly will open a medical school that will increase its importance and value to the area. What better venue to talk about change we can believe in?

There were at least three thousand people crammed into the small outdoor area and it was hot enough that several people were overcome by the heat. Two young women at different times succumbed no more than five feet from where I was standing. There was a cordoned-off area where about a dozen McCain/Palin supporters were allowed to try and heckle. After the speech I interviewed a couple of them, the results of which I’ll share with you at the end of this post. I’ve not felt kindly to Bill Clinton of late, and my inclination was to report on his speech as critically as I could. His recent behavior had me longing for the Bill Clinton of 1995. 

Today Bill Clinton regained his stride. Seeing him on the stump is something we all should be privileged to witness in person. He talked for about 25 minutes and from where I stood it looked to be extemporaneously. He was forceful, direct and passionate. He never once stumbled and I didn’t detect an …um….or an ….er….at any time. His performance was seamless and mesmerizing. I won’t go into the whole speech, however, he had nothing but praise for Barack Obama and Joe Biden and he passionately pleaded with the crowd to recruit others in support of the ticket. I may have lost the 1995 UCF campus, but I found the 1995 Bill Clinton. It was an honest performance.

After the speech I interviewed two of the McCain people as to why they preferred McCain. The incoherent young woman would not give me her name. The young man is named Dante:

Interview 1

Jerry.  Dante, can you tell me what it is that you like about John McCain and why you prefer him?

Dante.  Sure. He’s a hero, and he’s suffered for it. He’s also a maverick and I like that. He’s a real man of action.  I voted for Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004, but this guy Obama is nothing. All he can do is make speeches, and I’m from Chicago and I know what I’m talking about. Also his running mate, this Palin girl is the only one of the four that has real executive experience.

Jerry.  Really?  So did George Bush supposedly. So you’re telling me you’d rather vote for the myth rather than find the true man?

Dante.  What’s that?

Jerry.  There’s a lot out there about John McCain not being the man he claims to be, and Sarah Palin not being the greatest executive in the world and it’s backed up by hard facts and data. Have you ever thought about checking them out?

Dante.  Aw I don’t have time for that crap. He’s a hero and that’s what’s important to me.

Interview 2

Jerry. Would you mind telling me what it is that you like about John McCain

Incoherent young woman.  He’sforfreedomandtherighttochooseyourownhealthcareinstedoofsocialismwhichwilltaxusallintothepoorhouseandbythewaywe…….

Jerry.  Thanks.

On the way out of the area I ran into Alan Grayson who is running for congress against  the incumbent Republican, Ric Keller. Alan was gracious enough to grant me a 30 second interview where he praised Bill Clinton for making the Democrats a united party. Frankly, I don’t think we’re that far yet, but we’re a lot closer, especially if Bill Clinton continues to stump the way he did today.

*    *    *

 

 

*Note: Starting in September I sent several posts to The Huffington Post Off The Bus. Some of them were published-this one wasn’t.

 

By Jerry Waxman

 

Saturday, September 27.                                                                                                   

It was the kind of day in Central Florida that the Tourist Bureau people dream about; Blue sky, bright sun, temperature in the low 80’s and no hint of humidity in the air. At 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon like this in a previous life, say thirty years ago, I would just now be coming off the golf course with my regular foursome and we would meet our wives at the tennis courts and have lunch. The rest of the afternoon would be spent playing mixed doubles and figuring out where to go for dinner that evening, and then whether or not to go to the casinos in Atlantic City. Life was good. Fast forward thirty years and 900 miles south of Philadelphia and I am searching for an address that even my Google map couldn’t find. Through trial and error I finally arrived. This place, ensconced in the rear of an office complex, will remain a well kept secret for the next thirty six days. My apprehension was quickly put to rest by the active crowd of enthusiastic supporters and volunteers both in the parking lot and inside the building. From Ten O’clock AM until well after Three O’clock PM there was a steady stream of people coming and going.  Two gas barbecue grilles were constantly going and Tom, the steadfast chef, made sure that no one left hungry. As I observed the goings on I realized that my previous life was now just a part of my experience that served me well for my next life as a senior citizen activist.

 

The East Orlando office can easily hold between 50 and 100 people at any time, and it will serve the community well. East Orlando is really the key to winning Orange County. If all the volunteers and supporters work diligently Obama will win in Central Florida. There are two colleges in the area, Valencia and the University of Central Florida. When the two are included together they add up to significant numbers. There are also scores of apartment complexes in the area. I have now been appointed a team leader. My job will be to attract and empower volunteers to both canvass the area and make as many phone calls as possible to voters in our district. During this grand opening people from all walks of life were there. All age groups were represented as well as all income levels, ethnicities and religions. It was also a very friendly group. I met several of my fellow team leaders and I sensed real passion in this gathering. 

 

The tide is turning in Central Florida. The community organizers here are astute and well trained at what they do. They are attracting very motivated people and there are boots on the ground all over the Orlando area. As I write this I am preparing for a meeting with the area organizer tomorrow morning where we will develop plans for covering our particular districts to be implemented within the next two days. The new office is located at 1842 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL 32826. If you are a resident in the area and want to volunteer please stop in. The office is open from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM every day, Sundays included.  You can also call 407 949 8604. I’ll be there for the next several Saturday afternoons-it sure beats golf.