Uncool.

Campaigning is the type of work that requires incredible sacrifice, discipline and focus. It keeps you away from the people and things you love. It's not easy.

It's hard work being everything to everyone while staying true to your ideals and the fundamentals of the campaign. Sometimes you just have to suck it up, take one (more) for the team, and RSVP to the next damn candidate forum.

I had to prepare for 9 different multi-candidate forums. It wasn't fun. It was predictable, repetitive and obvious that nothing any of the candidates did or said at these forums would sway the election, one way or the other. The main reason we accepted these invitations to appear with opponents at the forums was because the people in each community, neighborhood or organization had legitimate questions that needed answers. Plus, you already said you were going.

The Gene Locke campaign announced early Tuesday that they were canceling on the Houston Press and UH-Downtown sponsored forum after confirming last week that they were still attending. The Annise Parker campaign also announced Tuesday that they were passing on the event. I know that after 40 forums, your time seems better spent elsewhere than at another *blasted* forum. What I don't understand is how you accept the invitation from a university with 12,000 students and a local media outlet weeks in advance and then freaking cancel the DAY BEFORE THE EVENT. The Press had been promoting this event for weeks in their Hair Balls blog and UH-D did the same via Facebook and all around campus.

Richard Connelly handed their asses to them and deservedly so. Anyone who knows this guy understands that was going to happen. Unless you're an out-of-towner.

The planned candidate forum between Gene Locke and Annise Parker at UH-Downtown and their sudden cancellations have Peter Brown smelling like a rose. He doesn't look out-of-touch with young people or the tech-savvy crowd because no one has been tweeting or blogging all day about how Peter Brown sucks for backing out of the candidate forum at the last minute. Meanwhile, Brown's commercials have him riding the airwaves alone. It kind of works in his favor that thousands of college students and Press followers are pissed at his opponents and not Peter Brown.

To Annise Parker's credit, she released a video explanation about her decision not to participate.

Maybe the Locke campaign will do the same.