By Matt Harper
As I write this, rain is pouring down on Western New Hampshire. But this torrential downpour held off for a few hours this afternoon so that a historic union could take place in the sleepy town of Unity, New Hampshire. Of course, I'm talking about of the joint appearance of Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator/presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The two Democratic candidates ran a primary battle for close to a year and half, and with Obama recently stepping up as the presumptive Democratic nominee, there's been a fair amount of speculation as to when and how the Democratic party would unify.
Well, the answer is here: June 27, 2008, in Unity, New Hampshire. You couldn't really ask for a more blatantly symbolic spot for Hillary and Barack to take the stage together. Apart from its name, the minuscule town near the Vermont border was the place where both Democratic candidates received 107 votes apiece during the state primary in January.
As expected, the event was heavily attended and obsessively orchestrated by an army of college-age Obama volunteers. While I waited in the approximately half-mile-long line to get into the event, I was offered fresh-picked strawberries by a lady moving up and down the line, was warned by another lady that Barack was a Muslim and should be avoided at all costs, and had about 10 separate petitioners warn me that MoveOn.org is funded by George Soros, who had apparently made millions from investments in Halliburton. I could tell right away that this event had brought out a diverse crop of passionate New Englanders.
The rally itself was straightforward and well-orchestrated, despite starting late to account for the huge number of attendees and heightened security. But the unexpected heat and humidity from the impending rain left the crowd antsy. I saw two people pass out in the crowd, and I overheard a visibly sweaty mother beside me try to convince her two teenage children that they should just "go up the street and watch the rest of the event on TV."
So after an hour-long parade of local politicians (a governor, a senate hopeful, and an "honorary mayor" who was an admitted, albeit apologetic, Republican), Obama and Clinton finally took the stage together (in noticeably matching blue outfits) amid wild applause and sign-waving. Senator Clinton spoke first and had a calm, surprisingly funny demeanor, joking about how great America was the last time we had a Democrat in the Oval Office — wink, wink — and wouldn't it be great if that happened again? She was humble but inspiring, even next to the charismatic Obama. She closed her endorsement speech urging for party and national unity — and encouraged all of her supporters (especially the ones who threatened to jump ship if she didn't get the nom) to put their votes behind Obama.
As Clinton closed her speech, the crowd chanted "Thank you, Hillary!" over and over — until a smiling Obama took the mic and wittily commented that the crowd must have peeked at his speech because they all knew his first line. Obama waited for the crowd noise to die down a bit, and then sang Clinton's praises, encouraging party unity by noting, "We need the Clintons — not just me, but America." Once he was done with his thank-yous and his praise of all things Clinton, Obama rolled out his standard policy speech. No surprises there — but to anyone present, it was clear that this day in Unity marked a milestone for the Democratic party, and for the election itself.
The big question, of course, is: Were these two front-running Democrats laying the groundwork for a joint Obama-Clinton ticket for the November election? There were no clear allusions to that, but Obama and Clinton certainly looked happy and comfortable up there together, and they can definitely draw a crowd.
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