Will voters really care about Bob Graham’s notebook habits?

It was only a matter of time before the press started honing in on Bob Graham’s unusual notebook habits. I just can’t tell if this is the kind of issue that can damage his presidential campaign or not.

As you may have heard, Graham keeps a running log of every day of his life. It’s more than just a diary; it’s more like a play-by-play. For decades, Florida’s senior senator and former governor has jotted down the minute details of his life in little spiral-bound notebooks that he keeps in his pocket.

And when I say minute details, I mean it. Graham writes down detailed accounts of what he has for breakfast, what suit he puts on, nearly every conversation, meeting, and phone call he has through the course of his day. He jots down the time of a meeting with the head of the CIA and the time it takes to rewind a tape he rented from Blockbuster.

Salon published the beginning of the entry for Sept. 17, 2002, for example. Graham started by noting his 6:50 a.m. wake-up call, followed by a weigh-in (181 pounds) and hair care: “6:50-7:00 Apply scalp medication.” That’s followed by more granular detail: “7:00-7:40 Kitchen — brew coffee — prepare and drink breakfast (soy, skim milk, OJ, peach, banana, blueberries), read Post, dress in gray suit.” (If you’re interested, the St. Petersburg times has more actual excerpts)

Is this a little weird? Well, maybe a little. But we all have our quirks, right? If the most damaging thing we have on Graham is that he habitually writes down details in a notebook, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Graham has explained to anyone who asks that this habit is something he picked up from his father, who as a Florida dairy farmer, “kept a notebook religiously as a means of recording sick cows and broken fences.” Graham says he started using the notebooks once entering public service as a way of jotting down constituents’ concerns so he wouldn’t forget about them.

“For me, it is a means of organization and discipline,” Graham told Salon. “And I guess my question is why more people in public office don’t do this.”

That’s a nice spin. I’m not strange for keeping a log, he’s saying, maybe you’re odd for not keeping a log!

The press, however, is taking notice of Graham’s habit and is wondering if this is more of a bizarre vice than a charming quirk.

The New York Times ran a profile on Graham’s routine this week with some rhetorical questions. “[A]s he seeks the nation’s highest office, the questions must be posed: Are American voters ready for a president who could all but moonlight as a stenographer? Is his habit a disqualifying eccentricity?”

The New Republic was especially hard on Graham for the notebooks, calling the habit “exceedingly weird,” and a troubling indication that he has “an obsessive need for order, when the presidency is a life of constant disorder.”

Perhaps, but I see one big benefit for Graham. Voters can feel awfully confident that Graham is not doing things he’s ashamed of. In Washington, public officials — and especially those seeking high office — are frequently told not to keep diaries. If you’re doing something questionable, you might write it down and later have your diaries subpoenaed.

Graham keeps a running tally of everything he does, everywhere he goes, and everyone he meets. Not only does this take extraordinary discipline, it also takes the confidence in knowing that you’re not doing anything you’d want to hide.