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As they currently try to keep their heads above water, they look ahead to their futures after the Nov. 2 elections. Steve has recently become engaged to former Oracle editor in chief Richele Hansey and they plan to be married in the Hamline United Methodist Church, with a reception to follow in the newly completed Klas Center. Bob plans on taking some time off after finishing with Daschle’s campaign; then, he wants to jump right back into the thick of things.

In telephone interviews from their positions out in the field, Bob and Steve provided a number of insights into what they are currently working on, how Hamline prepared them for it, and what they are planning for themselves in the future.

Who are you working for, what are you doing, and how did you get there?

Steve:
Currently, I’m working for Congressman Kline’s re-election campaign, but I was just on the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign from March until three weeks ago. During my freshman year in the spring of 2000, I took [political science professor] Karen Vogel’s internship course.

At that time, I knew what my values and beliefs were, but I had never been affiliated with a party or candidate. I began working with the state senate Republican caucus in the research division. That’s when I knew I wanted to get into the field. I heard that there was this guy running for congress - his second time around - who had gotten pretty close, and this time he might get it.

I applied, and called the campaign manager every day until I got the job. I took morning and night classes during the fall semester and worked full time on the campaign, but we lost that one. I actually thought Kline was out of politics after that, that he was done running. In the spring of 2002, John threw his hat into the ring and I jumped on with the campaign again. I knew we were going to do it this time - we came out ahead by more than 11 points. I signed on with his district office until I graduated, and then shipped my ass off to D.C., where I was his policy advisor for education.

Bob:
I work for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (DąSouth Dakota), as a communications assistant. The bulk of what I do is keep track of our opponent [John Thune], his schedule, all his public remarks and what he says and does. I’m in charge of monitoring the media - TV, radio, Internet, and print. I also assist in the production of television ads. When we shoot ads I go and assist our media consultant in whatever he needs.

When I graduated from Hamline, I applied to and was accepted to the Campaign Corps of Emily’s List. That’s a project that brings recent college graduates to Washington and trains them in the art of campaigning and then the recruits are sent out to targeted races all over the country.

For the first nine months, I was doing work in the field in South Dakota, which means constant voter contact - knocking on doors, making phone calls, etc. When Daschle’s opponent got into the race I got the chance to move over to communications.

How do you like the work you’re doing?

Steve:
Right now, I love campaigning. I loved working on the Bush-Cheney campaign. Like any campaign, it’s like flying a plane while you’re still building it. From day one, you’re always short-staffed, and you try to do a million things at once. As a regional field director, one of the biggest challenges we had was an event in Mankato. Any number of things went wrong down there, and we had some differences of opinion, and that’s one of the reasons why I resigned. But politics moves quick, and you need to be able to step up when you need to and step down when you need to. You’re going to be changing jobs quickly.

It’s great to be back with the congressman now and to be back with a team that is very loyal and principled. It’s a much more personal feeling; I had missed that. John’s supporters believe in him for what he believes, but support him on a whole other level. He has an amazing following of people who love him for who he is. That’s what I missed. It’s seldom matched in Congress. When I was in D.C., I saw a lot of good things and a lot of bad things that I didn’t like and that I don’t think should be a part of government.

Bob:
Obviously it’s a challenge. The last six months were certainly harder than the first nine. And, day to day, especially when you’re working with Senator Daschle, I get a greater appreciation for public service and the sacrifices public servants make. Having the opportunity to talk to voters and hear their stories and hear veterans talk about their experiences with the V.A. and seniors talking about medical coverage ... It has a real effect. To say it’s fun overall - it is fun - but the humanity of the whole thing is the biggest thing I will take from it.

How did your experiences at Hamline prepare you for this line of work?

Steve:
I believe that if I had gone anywhere else to school, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today. If you look at a lot of the people in my class, if they’re not working for a candidate, they’re working for a political or activist non-profit. Most notably for me at Hamline was student congress. The way our congress is set up, there’s a lot of good, but a lot to work on. Most would agree how true to life in form it is, with things going through committees, coming to the floor.

A lot of times many things seem childish - emotions run high - and whether the debates are good or bad, they took place. It’s easy to say “this is small potatoes” when you’re there, but it’s really on a small scale what the real congress is like. I wouldn’t have thought that in student congress, but it’s all about lining up votes, lining up support - that comes up every day in Congress.

As I grew and took on more responsibility in student congress, I learned more and more of how it works, how policy making works at different levels, and how making policy certainly is a process - a process that whatever venue you’re in, whether it’s the U.N., city council, Congress, or Parliament, there are certain things that transcend all venues, and that is a common goal, a push to get things done.

The processes are different, but how you work with people to make something happen goes beyond all levels of government. It’s about how you work with people to achieve an end product - dealing with people remains the same.

Bob:
I can absolutely say today that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the small size of the Hamline community and the interaction that I was able to have with administrators and professors. The personal interaction and personal engagement that professors and administrators, and especially people like Kelly Krebs, took to steward me through college definitely made the transition easier. When I arrived in such an aggressively professional environment, I was better prepared than a lot of others to deal with the high expectations, and I was able to appreciate the small familial environment that I found on the campaign.

The bottom line for me is that the political environment in the real world is the same on a very basic level as how I tried to approach HUSC. I really believe that Democrats or Republicans or different groups or factions in student congress approach the work with good faith and have similar, positive goals for the country or the Hamline community. We all just have different ways of how we want to get there. That’s what you see in the presidential campaign now.

What I learned in HUSC is what I see as a political reality - it’s only by compromise and working together that we get anything done. Regardless of our similarities or differences, we have to work together and we have to find the best way to do so.

What will you do after Nov. 2?

Steve:
I’m going to take a vacation and listen to Richele’s wedding planning, nodding my head in agreement to everything. I will head back to Washington with the congressman, and investigate different government options in Minnesota. I really missed Minnesota while in D.C., and I know I’m coming back, but I don’t know when. Most likely I’ll head back to Congress, but remember that job security there lasts only two years.

Bob:
I’m definitely going to sleep. I don’t really plan on doing anything until the holidays. I’ve been away from family for 15 months now, and I definitely want to spend some time with them. Professionally, there’s going to be options for me - I know that. I’m thinking of going to graduate school. I’m thinking of moving to D.C. The reality of it is that from June to Nov. 2 is just one long day. It just is. You want to get through it you want to win and then you want to take a step back and reassess.

Do you see yourself continuing on in politics?

Steve:
Ultimately - this is one of the things I learned in D.C. - it’s good to be in politics for a certain amount of time. I will always be involved, but I don’t see myself on a staff for the rest of my life. I really want to get into business, into the private sector. One of my dreams is to start my own business, and I still want to do that. People who went out there young, with a member of Congress who represented their district, went out there with good intentions and remember who sent them there, but they end up staying out there for the rest of their lives. After that long, the meaning of being out there for your neighbor vanishes. I never want that to happen and I’ll be gone long before that happens.

Bob:
Politics is such a dirty word! I definitely want to continue on with public service. If I had to tell you the one thing I’ve learned in my time in South Dakota, it is that coming from a place like Hamline with the environment of HUSC and a small community with a diversity of opinion, it awes me to think back to what we thought was all-important and what we divided ourselves over and to see that in politics and in the real world there is so much grey. What happens in Washington affects people’s lives.

The reality of it is, I look at someone like Tom, who went from high school to the military to college to the Hill, and I see that this is a man who has spent the better part of his life serving the public. I feel like I have the same desires as everybody else, to make a few dollars and have a bit for myself, but his example has had a big impact on me, and it’s attractive to engage myself and maybe make things a bit better.

Would you consider running for office yourself?

Steve:
Oh, gosh, no, but I would never rule anything out. When I was in college, I thought about it a lot and thought it may be something I wanted to do. Now I’m just looking at what I want to do in the next five years.

Bob:
I can honestly say that my year being out of school has made me see the cutthroat realities of politics. Seeing Senator Daschle getting beat up by millions of millions of dollars by outside groups - it puts a damper on my spirit. So it’s difficult to say at this point. I cant really speak to that. Running for political office is always something I see myself doing. I haven’t encountered anything to really take me off of that track.

Do you think the other will run for office?

Steve:
Whatever Bob picks to excel in, he certainly will. Right after graduating, in moving out to D.C. and saying “I’m going to do this” - well, he did it. Whatever he does, he’ll go out and do it. That’s just Bob. He showed that running for HUSC, coming out of nowhere. He wasn’t a student congress insider, and he did it.

Bob:
I definitely hope that Steve runs. And if Steve did run ... Well, Steve’s a friend. He’s a good leader, he believes in the things he says, and I have a lot of respect for that. He could bring a lot to the table in terms of public service. It wouldn’t matter to me what party he was in - I would be the first in line to support him.

What is the number-one thing that you see wrong with this country - and what can be done about it?

Steve:
Beyond individual policies that I think are wrong, in the grand scheme of things, the number-one thing that we are facing now and what we are going to continue to face are new threats - not just terrorism, but all threats to America. Beyond parties, beyond politics, the question is what direction are we going to go in the next four years and the next eight years. Regardless of who is elected, this is the number one question they will have to answer: What will we do now? Do we go to war? Do we not go to war? Do we have things like the Patriot Act, or do we not? The majority of what we do at the federal level is how to protect us, and everyone agrees on that. We’re at a turning point in this country, but we have to look beyond this. What is America going to do next in these new times?

Bob:
Overall lack of civic engagement is the number-one thing wrong with this country. We’ve become a completely divided country, and it’s because of apathy and not getting involved. I would argue that we’re conflicted because we’re not engaged with one another, we’re not taking the time to get to understand each other’s points of view. If we’re going to not talk to people and just watch TV and just hate the other guys for who they are ... When I walk down the street in South Dakota, it seems like it’s neighbor against neighbor, with a Daschle sign here and a Thune sign there. I just hope that these people, while they are opposing each other politically, I hope they are bringing themselves together to form a community.

Who is the most well-known political figure you have met, and what was your impression of them?

Steve:
Well, I’ve met a few. I got to meet the vice president, which was an experience in itself. It was really just a “hello” - he doesn’t talk a lot. You don’t talk to this person or his staff unless they talk to you. But President Bush senior blew me away - he was the most memorable for me. I actually got to talk to him a little bit.
What struck me was how much like my dad he was. He’s got the same mannerisms, and when I met him, I had the impression that he was interested in me and that I wasn’t just another staffer. Regardless of his politics, people across the political spectrum say that he’s a pretty darn good guy ... He’s very similar to Carter in that respect. He’s a man of character.

Bob:
I have to say Tom, I mean ... It’s not like I work for Congressman Kline. No offense, Steve, but Tom Daschle, the minority leader of the Senate! I’m really stricken by Tom’s character and his sincerity. I think that I have met a lot of politicians and seen a lot of things since I’ve been out of Hamline, and I’ve never seen anyone who carries themselves as consistently as Senator Daschle. This is a guy who rolls in the highest power circles in the world, yet he’ll go to a local community center and stand for hours to talk to and engage with every person who wants to speak with him. You just don’t see that. It’s amazing. It’s hard to describe, but its amazing.