GUEST BELI-BLOGGER LEE MCD: EXCITEMENT, STRESS, & RELIEF

About a month ago, I agreed to host a house party (read information session & fundraiser) for Wes Clark, a Democratic nominee for President. It's basically a fundraiser where we'll watch a video about the retired Army General and his candidacy, take a conference call from the General, register folks to vote, talk about politics and criticize both President Bush and the other Democratic contenders. The video is produced by the same Hollywood team that did Bill Clinton's "A Man from Hope." It should be good. You can get the details here.

I was excited to do this event. I'm an old pro at political events and fundraisers, having done a number of them over the past decade, mostly for Rhode Island political figures at the city, state, and federal level. Some winners. Some losers. But, I've felt a lot of stress doing this one. It's my first one here in Missouri and I don't have as extensive a contact list as I do in RI. So, I'm nervous and anxious about the turn-out. The event garnered a mention in the local Sunday paper and on 2 radio stations a couple of mornings this week. A reporter from the paper will cover the event as part of a story on grassroots movements in the area. I'm sure everything will be OK. But I can't help but think how relieved I'm going to be tonight when the event is over. That is not normally like me. But, I'm very excited to be done with the event - and it hasn't even started! Any advice??