Gregory Slayton, CEO of ClickAction Inc., is also running George W. Bush's Silicon Valley campaign, and he's convened a group of 30 well-scrubbed executives for a breakfast at Scott's Seafood Restaurant in Palo Alto. When he laughs, he throws his head back and rolls his weight onto his heels. Watching him, it's easy to forget that it is not yet 8 in the morning.
Republicans go to work early.
The Governor is really relying on us. While it's unusual to meet techies who can even name a presidential candidate, it's rarer still to find people actively campaigning for a Republican. But the Valley's new rich are realizing their political clout, and Bush has gone after their pocketbook issues, like tax cuts and tort reform. Slayton is still new to the game. Reared as a Democrat, he campaigned for Jimmy Carter in 1980 but lost interest in politics once he got an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1990.