"Are my MTV boys still with me?" Senator Hillary Clinton asked as she exited the auditorium where, moments earlier, she'd delivered one of the finest speeches of her career after winning the New Hampshire primary. And yes, we were!
Just before, as Hillary made the rounds, warmly thanking her supporters, I thought it would be a good time to say thank you to her daughter, Chelsea, for making our exclusive interview with her mother happen earlier in the day. Chelsea, who has rarely been more than a few steps away from her mother over recent weeks on this campaign, was doing what I had seen her doing earlier — making friends, taking photos, shaking hands and, most importantly, talking to young people, who had turned up to see her mother win the primary. Now, after what Chelsea had done for us, I must admit I felt a little cheeky asking if her mom would like to talk to us again. But I figured there was no harm in asking — and again, the lovely Chelsea came through, for which we are very grateful.
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It's a beautiful day here in New Hampshire. It's slightly warmer than yesterday, and the sun is out in the snow-covered state capital of Concord, where about a hundred people gathered to see Senator Hillary Clinton make an appearance at the local polling station, her last event before tonight.
The objective was clear: get an interview with potentially the next president of the United States. Easier said than done. With a mixed crowd of young and old calmly lining the road in anticipation of meeting her, it was the press who were behaving badly, pushing and shoving each other to get the perfect shot and perfect position.
At one point, everyone seemed happy with their position, but when the huge Clinton convoy (two buses and three SUVs) rolled through and the senator got out followed closely by her daughter, Chelsea, an organizer decided it was a good idea to ask the press to "take 15 steps forward." In press-talk this translates to: "Scramble to the front, show no mercy, and it's every news organization for itself." A local reporter who was standing next to me — an average-looking woman wearing a bucket-load of makeup — suddenly turned into a banshee, yelling at her cameraman while elbowing me and pushing my cameraman Aaron out of the way. It's all good, though. This isn't the first sticky situation Aaron and I have been in. Seeing that everyone was rushing blindly forward, we hung back for a second, quietly walked around the mob and sidestepped to the front. Perfect.
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