Voters will get more than politics as usual from the Daskas campaign

Aside from weddings and christenings, few events match the optimism of the kick-off announcement of a political novice challenging a congressional incumbent.

Surrounded by family and friends, hearing praise heaped upon you by politicians who hope you will win, giving your maiden kickoff speech to set a tone, it’s a moment of hope. Until the press circles, peppering you with questions designed to rattle and test your mettle.

Just such an event occurred Thursday in the common area of Basic High School in Henderson. About 50 people came to see Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas formally declare his intention to unseat Rep. Jon Porter, a three-term Republican congressman.

Daskas’ kickoff had that same optimism I’ve seen time and again. Democrat Tessa Hafen had it in 2006 and Tom Gallagher had it in 2004. Both were Democrats intent on unseating Porter. Both lost, although Hafen came within about 4,000 votes.

Daskas reminded me of another young candidate with no prior experience: John Ensign, the veterinarian who successfully unseated Democratic Congressman Jim Bilbray in 1994. Both are attractive, athletic, likeable candidates with a clear philosophy behind their engaging smiles.

Ensign, then 36, wasn’t expected to win, but edged by with 1,400 votes to spare, proving that incumbents aren’t invincible. Today, he’s Nevada’s junior U.S. senator.

Daskas, 41, did something Thursday Tessa Hafen did not. This Democrat didn’t start off by playing nice. He wasn’t contemptuous of the congressman, but he was combative, pointing out that he and Porter don’t agree on the war, health care, energy or education. His 12 years as a prosecutor served him well as he spoke directly, making his points as though arguing to a jury.

I’d never met him, so I was interested in seeing whether he was as commanding a presence as others have said. I thought he was, until the moment he evaded a direct question by The Associated Press’ Kathleen Hennessey in the quick news conference afterward.

Would he vote to cut off funding for the war in Iraq?

Now, if anybody understands that is a yes or no question, it’s a prosecutor who has trained professionally to ask yes or no questions.

Daskas dodged.

It took two follow-up questions from me before he would say he wouldn’t cut off funding while U.S. soldiers remain in Iraq. Maybe the dodge just shows he has good political instincts, but it was an obvious dodge, and thus, disappointing.

Daskas has raised nearly $150,000 for his race, but unlike Hafen and Gallagher who started in the spring of their election years, he’s starting now and quit his job as a prosecutor Friday to devote himself full time to running, a smart move.

But I don’t think he knows the reality of the most distasteful thing he’ll have to do, something that’s hard for prosecutors who see themselves as good guys beholden to nobody. Daskas is likely to be revolted by the fundraising. The first dollars come easily. Friends and family and people who genuinely like you write the checks. Rep. Shelley Berkley handed him a $2,000 check after praising him for his relentless work ethic, his great mind and concluding it would “be a blessing working with him.”

But the time will come when he’ll have to ask for money from people who may lord over him when they hand him a check. Daskas is going to have some difficulty being treated like a serf, especially since he’s someone who has worked for everything he has.

One of seven children reared in an 860-square-foot home in Henderson, he vividly described how he and his twin brother both worked in the cafeteria to make money to pay for junior college, how they scraped the slop off everyone’s dishes into a pig pail before washing those dishes. The dirty job helped pay for his education, along with federal programs now being cut by the Bush administration, he said.

Daskas wasn’t the first choice of Democratic leaders seeking someone to mount a strong challenge against Porter. But at first glance, he seems like a challenger with promise.

Of course, my political judgment is suspect. After meeting John Ensign the first time, I told others: “Nice guy. Too bad he doesn’t have a chance.”

Notice I didn’t say that this time.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.