TIM SMITH
July - Aug. 2003

The following transcript is the extended interview with Tim Smith, who talks about what prompted him to attend Howard Dean's campaign rally in Iowa City. The NewsHour Media Unit is funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts

 

Online NewsHour Media Watch Aug. 5, 2003: Terence Smith examines Dean's success at building grassroots support in cyberspace, and how other presidential candidates are using the Internet to their advantage. Extended Transcripts: Howard Dean Tim Smith Evan Yeats Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the media   Howard Dean's Official Campaign Web site The Official Howard Dean Blog Dean in 2004: Meetup.com	SAMARA ABERMAN, NewsHour Media Reporter: First question: Why are you here tonight? TIM SMITH: Well, to see Dean and to -- the benefit to the community, first and foremost. For me, the main benefit for me on the Meetup is the sense that I'm not alone, that I have a focus of my energy and that I'm not watching the news and getting really, really angry. I don't feel alone. It gives me a focus.. SAMARA ABERMAN: Do you feel like you or friends of yours are enjoying Meetups because it's an active way to get involved with campaigns? Is that something that appeals? TIM SMITH: Well, I mean, the other option is to watch the news, sit home and stew in my own juices. That is actually, that's absolutely what happened with me. I first saw Dean on Meet the Press back in February. Up to that point, I thought he was kind of a left-wing kind of fruitcake, governor of Vermont. After I saw him on Meet the Press, I decided he was, that he was making a lot of sense, that he was a lot more centrist, a lot more thoughtful than I was expecting, and that inspired me to go search out more information. So then I got on the Internet, saw some of the speeches, which are really, really fiery, saying exactly the things that I want the Democratic leadership to say and haven't been, they haven't been saying. And from then, I just felt like I had all of this, all of this energy that I was wasting on the Internet just looking up speeches, and ideas and stuff, and I wanted to do something a little bit more proactive, and that's why I got involved. SAMARA ABERMAN: How did you originally find out about Meetup? TIM SMITH: I think it was on the official Web site. They had some sort of link. SAMARA ABERMAN: Would you be likely to donate money on-line to the campaign? TIM SMITH: Yes. I haven't yet, but I will, I think. Right now money is a little tight, but I will definitely plan on donating money on-line sometime soon. SAMARA ABERMAN: Does learning about campaigns through the Internet appeal to people that you know as well? Is this something you and your friends share an interest in? TIM SMITH: No, I can't say that it's necessarily anything that's spread among all my friends. Right now it seems to be that I have, I take an interest on-line. I get information, and then I disseminate to the people in my circle. SAMARA ABERMAN: So the Internet really has helped you connect to a campaign versus if there was no Internet, would you be here tonight at a campaign rally? TIM SMITH: If there was no Internet I would not be here at this campaign rally. Without the Internet, I think I would feel much more isolated, I would feel much more alone, much less informed, and through that community on the Internet, I feel like I am not alone, that I have a voice, and that it both reflects what I am thinking and gives me new ideas, new perspectives, new arguments. I feel more certain about my positions and more hopeful about the future.

The NewsHour Media Unit, including this site, is funded by grants from: