Leah Daughtry ’84

On faith in God—and the Democratic Party

"I'd never heard of Dartmouthbefore Carl McCall'58 told my father I shouldgo there. Once I knew it was in New Hampshire I wasn't favorably inclined. Then I went to a black alumni event at the Ford Foundation and I was really impressed. When I visited the campus—in January-I said, 'This is where I have to be.' "

"When I was a little girl prayingabout husbands and bighouses and all of that, the only thing I prayed was that the Lord wouldn't send me a pastor as a husband. As a fifth-generation pastors kid I figured there had been enough pain and suffering inflicted on unsuspecting children. It didn't occur to me that I'd become the minister. I guess I didn't pray the right prayer."

"I was raised in church; spirituality has always been a huge part of my life."

"I see the role of religion or church in a political communityas helping people in a congregation have the informationthey need to make informed decisions. It's asking, 'Areyou registered?' 'Do you know where to go to vote?' 'Do you know what the issues are?' 'If you believe we're stewards of the world in which we live do you know a candidates record on the environment?' 'If you believe—as Christ taught—that we need to take care of the poor, do you know a candidates policies regarding poverty?' "

"Voters who are religious tend to feelthat if you are one of the faithful, Godwill give you what you need. You might not feel that you can control whether or not your job gets outsourced to China, but you can vote for character and moral fiber. In the last election Republicans did abetter job of making that more important than pocketbook issues

"Media depiction of the Democrats as lacking a message isfrustrating. People on the street recognize that Democrats are the party that stands for Social Security, wants government that works for the people, cares about education and opportunities for everyone. The party is just not that good at short, pithy slogans."

"Democrats like policies and tangibles. We've got to talk to people about the intangibles. We don't do that enough."

"When you talk to voters a lot of them say they are going paycheckto paycheck. They would seem to be Democratic voters, but they're voting for higher issues. They want the party that will keep drugs from coming into their neighborhoods."

"Being on the transition team at the Department of Labor afterthe 2000 election was awful. I'd meet with the Bush people and they'd have one set of questions and then with the Gore people, who had entirely different ones. The Bush people said they were very interested in downsizing., .they simply renamed a successful outreach program 'a faith-based initiative' and added 10 or 15 people to manage it. It was smoke and mirrors."

"Ultimately we'll see lack of security as one of the biggest failingsof the Bush administration. The borders are open, the ports aren't secure and nuclear facilities are unguarded while they're saying they're making the country safer."

"When [Republican] Peter Fitzgerald '82 was running for the Senate he asked me for a contribution. I wrote him a note: 'I can't write you a check. I might lose my job. But good luck!

"People will be surprised at the numberof places where Democrats willbe serious candidates in 2008. The presidential race isn't going to boil down to just six or eight states as it has before."

CAREER: Chief of staff, Democratic National Committee (DNC), Washington, D.C., 2002-present; director of administration, DNC, 2001-2002; senior advisor to the secretary, then assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Labor, 1997-2001; Clinton/Gore Presidential Transition Committee, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Washington, 1993; Democratic National Convention manager, 1989-1992; congressional assistant, 1985-1989 NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Ordained to the ministry, 2002; pastor, The House of the Lord Church, Washington, D.C., 2003-present; speaker at Rosa Parks' funeral, 2005 EDUCATION: A.B., government and African-American studies FAMILY: Single; daughter of civil rights activist the Rev. Herbert Daughtry; sister of Sharon Daughtry '87