Cheney to Dial Up a Party
By Brian Faler
Friday, April 9, 2004; Page A04
Vice President Cheney is not known -- at least not publicly -- for his parties.
But this week he e-mailed millions of his campaign's closest supporters, inviting them to a "party for the president" later this month -- a soiree Cheney said he will address by telephone in what would be a massive conference call.
"I hope you'll be participating in National Party for the President Day on April 29th," said an e-mail bearing the vice president's signature. "I will be joining thousands of parties across the country on a live conference call to talk about the clear choice voters face this November and the importance of the grass-roots effort that will lead us to victory."
The event is reminiscent of one that former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean held last fall, when his campaign organized house parties across the country that the former Vermont governor addressed in what was billed as the largest-ever conference call. More than 10,000 people attending about 1,400 parties joined the call on 3,500 phones, the campaign reported last September.
The Bush campaign, which sent invitations to about 6 million supporters, expects tens of thousands to attend more than 2,000 parties. But spokesman Scott Stanzel said the campaign is not particularly concerned with breaking into the annals of conference-call history. "Our focus is on recruiting volunteers and talking with our supporters about how they can assist the campaign," he said.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63015-2004Apr8.html