Primary Place Online

Approaching the crowd in front of the New Hampshire Statehouse, KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See,” serenaded the old, but not lethargic, swarm of Hillary supporters.  There was some foot tapping, a little head bobbing, and even some gyrating.  I had either found a very carefree group of baby boomer BlackBerry owners, or I was at EarthFest.

When the music subsided, Kathy Sullivan, the former NH Democratic Chair, made her way to center stage.  Sullivan told the crowd of 500 or so that she was voting for Hillary because of her superior views and inherent understanding of how to win.  Sullivan proposed that Hillary possessed the tact to fend off any Republican’s bag of dirty tricks.  The way Sullivan spoke made it seem as if it was Hillary’s strong operation, and not necessarily her policies, that had won Sullivan’s support.  When Kathy was done warming up the crowd, the music picked up again, and the waiting game began.  Every so often, an audacious, if not antsy, supporter would start a Hillary chant, only to see it die before it would ever reach its full potential.  Eventually, the waiting game was over, and Hillary emerged from the Flag Room of the Statehouse. 

Awkwardly accompanied by an entourage of Secret Service agents and advisors, Hillary worked the crowd before reaching the stage.  She stood there waiting to be announced by a Hillary supporter.  Trying to look humble and at ease, Hillary intermittently waved to supporters as she lumbered about the stage waiting to finally take the microphone.  Once she was introduced, Hillary jumped into it.

Hillary made the pitch to recruit more supporters and volunteers by appealing to positions on Healthcare, Iraq, and the dependency on foreign oil.  Hillary described her healthcare proposal as a plan that would allow individuals who like their healthcare to keep it, and those who want another option to buy into the same program as members of Congress hold.  In Iraq, Hillary implied that she wanted immediate withdrawal.  However, true to Hillary’s slippery-language-nature, she refused to be held accountable to any kind of timetable for troop reduction.  Despite Hillary’s mastery of the art of saying nothing and everything, the speech was impressive to even the most hardened Hillary cynic.

In addressing the campaign itself, Hillary made a very interesting comment.  She said, “We don’t need to go negative.”  Ironically, in the very next sentence, Hillary attacked Bush and Cheney.  To her (dis)credit though, she cleverly said we don’t “need” to go negative, which is decidedly different, to her, from saying that the campaign will not go negative.  And when Hillary is up 20 points on her nearest competitor, she is right in saying that she does not need to go negative. 

 Hillary made the pitch once more for NH volunteers, acknowledging that the success of this campaign, and her future policies as President, could not be achieved without the people’s help.  Eventually, she finished her speech and made her way off the stage to work the crowd a little more.  She made her rounds, and then climbed into the back seat of a silver SUV.