His volunteers aren't wasting time fretting over the blow. Did they learn a lesson? Maybe. Before you throw your hat in the ring, let Grandma scour your Facebook page.
But they have a lesson to teach as well. Many cut their teeth campaigning for Obama, who was also too young and inexperienced -- not to mention too dark -- according to conventional wisdom not so long ago.
"We're not waiting for someone to pass us the torch of leadership," said George Bahamondes, 22, a USC finance grad who left a job on Wall Street to join Pleitez's campaign. "The era of getting to know the guy so he can tap you on the shoulder when it's your turn is over."
As Bahamondes talked, he looked around at high school students too young to vote "who came every single day to knock on doors" for Pleitez.
"Regardless of what the result is tonight," Bahamondes told me Tuesday, "we've engaged this community in a way they've never seen before."
And there's no going back. So join them, or move over.
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sandy.banks@latimes.com
