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221 Acknowledgments So many kind people contributed to this book that I need to begin by grouping them, and then, at hazard, naming those who most compensated for my insufficiencies.Yet, this leaves unacknowledged too many more whose contributions were not small and others whose generosity as interviewees or as previous writers about DeMarco are absent from the book, not because of their lack of added value,but because the sum of all would have sunk the book by their weight. There are two complementary pillars upon which this book stands, without whom it could not have gone forward: Michael Ames, both publisher and editor at Vanderbilt University Press, and Fred Mann, Joe Marx, and Michael Berman at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Each had faith that the book would be worthwhile before a word had been written; Fred, Joe, and Michael offered encouragement and, through a Foundation grant, covered the expenses of the research and writing.The book took almost a year longer than planned; they never wavered in their support. Next, there were DeMarco’s closest colleagues, whose stories and insights make this book come alive far beyond my own narrative voice. Their interviews were my primary source; their inexhaustible patience in reviewing successive flawed drafts,my safeguard against factual errors,missed insights,and misguided lessons: DeMarco’s wife Molly; his allies from Hopkins days, especially Bernie Horn and Len Lucchi; his tobacco tax and health-care campaign teammates, especially Glenn Schneider and Rosanna Miles. Schneider, along with DeMarco, served triple duty: their interviews were the most exhaustive; their stern corrections of factual error, the most exacting; their insights, the most revealing. It is no accident that they are the most quoted. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids team, led by Patricia Sosa, gave unstinting time and effort to get right the remarkable story of Faith United Against Tobacco. Before I turned to researching this book, journalists Tom Waldron and Catherine Pierre had ably researched and written about DeMarco’s ventures. 222 The DeMarco Factor They both generously shared with me the interviews they had conducted, many of them contemporaneously with the events I have chronicled. I conducted more than fifty more; all together, the total interviews that were the primary source for this book number well over seventy. They range from unabashed admirers (mother Rosa comes first to mind) to unapologetic adversaries , such as tobacco lobbyist Bruce Bereano, who, undaunted by my confessed admiration for DeMarco, nonetheless readily agreed to share his passion to debunk what he views as the DeMarco myth. There were, at the time of this writing, as I have told, more than eight thousand names in the address book of DeMarco’s smartphone. I didn’t talk to all of them, but I did talk to a goodly number of friends and allies outside the inner circle; even short conversations with family members and neighbors shed light. To all, I am grateful, including many who are not quoted and whose names are not cited in this book,who nonetheless helped guide me. My next acknowledgments are tinged with dread for the future. The reporters , columnists, and editorial writers, especially those of the Baltimore Sun, who reported and commented on, praised and needled, supported and challenged DeMarco and his campaigns, strung together, would alone have sourced a solid book.As I noted in the introduction,quotations (including the book’s title) from the Sun’s senior political columnist throughout most of the events that take place in this book,C.Fraser Smith,grace many of these pages. But others covered the DeMarco stories consistently and vigorously. Their bylines , too, are spread throughout. I doubt that we shall see the quantity and quality of such coverage from daily print newspapers ever again. Finally, there is another category of help that matches all the others—my editors and reviewers: Bobbe Needham, the book’s developmental editor, reviewed every draft chapter early and late; then with an uncanny blend of encouraging kindness and keen sensitivity to my prolixity, she set me straight. Now serving as editor, Michael Ames shepherded me firmly throughout, with remedial prescriptions that will remain forever posted on my writing wall. He also chose two uncommonly insightful reviewers,JohnAtlas andAndrew Mott, who eased my anxieties with kind praise and then delivered shock treatment on the draft manuscript’s lacunae. If you ever need transcriptions of arcane subject interviews, find Kay Carlsen, who takes pride in getting every name and obscure reference right. My patient...

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