"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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They just called it! Many thought it wouldn't happen, but it did: Hillary Clinton has won the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
The atmosphere here at the Hillary Clinton HQ in Manchester has gone from calm, quiet confidence to total elation, with hugs, smiles and high-fives all around the room. Not even those on the outskirts of the room are standing still. It is hysteria. People are literally jumping for joy. From where I am standing it is a sea of hands — hundreds of them all clapping to the chant of, "HILLARY, HILLARY, HILLARY!"
And then she appears, the face of a victor. Perfectly poised and with a big smile, her first gesture is that of thanks to the crowd. Both Chelsea and Bill take the stage briefly and both warmly embrace her. Then it is time for her victory speech.
The crowd quiets down immediately, everyone listening intently, hanging on her every word.
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By 8:12 p.m., the roar of the crowd here at a John McCain event said it all: McCain is the winner of the New Hampshire primary — by a healthy margin. The room was packed with the two P's that accompany any election race — people and press — and both were in abundance. In the foyer, McCain organisers had laid out a spread of meat (yes, plain meat with no sides), sandwiches and, of course, a bar, which supporters were taking full advantage of well before the results came in. The atmosphere wasn't as electric as I had expected, but I will say there was an air of quiet confidence and cautious optimism.
There were very few young people at the party, and with the majority of those who turned up being over age 40, some might start to question the power of the youth vote. But don't! The game ain't over yet. Many had said that New Hampshire was McCain's state, since he won here back in 2000 — and I guess they were right.
At this moment in time, it's neck and neck between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, so the attention is turning to them. So right now, I'm leaving the McCain event in Nashua and driving to the Clinton event in Manchester, about an hour away. In the meantime, we've got another crew over at the Obama party.
Lots more to come as the race continues ...
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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So, I landed in New Hampshire last night, drove to campus and went straight to recruiting. Standing outside of a dining hall here at UNH, clipboard in hand, accosting every single student who walked by to see if they were interested in attending the forum and, better yet, if they had an intelligent question in mind. I got a lot of "No thanks" and a few "Whattya doin for dinners?" But also more "Who's John Edwards?" than I expected.
WHO'S JOHN EDWARDS????????????????
So, I'm wondering do you or someone you know, not know who John Edwards is? (No judgment, just pure curiosity.)
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Is it possible for politicians to be honest? I mean, isn’t that expecting a little too much? Everyone has an agenda, let’s at least agree to that. But, I think the whole thing about the world wide web is that everyone has a voice, not everyone will be heard, but that’s up to the public, isn’t it? And in a way, it’s the truest form of democracy, we all have the opportunity to say what we want, to call out who we want and post it out there for anyone to see. Potentially, this could be the most “honest” election yet.
Check out this article I read in the Wall Street Journal from September 21, “Keeping the Debate in Politics to This Side of ‘Pants on Fire.’” It’s all about these really great, accessible websites like factcheck.org and Politifact where “facts” from candidates are researched and rated from “true” to “pants on fire”. Funny right? The site doesn’t rate the overall “truthyness” of a candidate or takes sides. Now, through the power of the people online, every time a candidate gives a speech where there’s some really juicy number or fact that gives them an edge, there are places that will tell you exactly what it means and if it’s TRUE! Hey, I’m not saying politicians aren’t going to lie, it’s just getting harder to get away with it. And I say booyakash! to that.
From the Road,
Xo
