Primary Number: The Hill and Bill show

Ready for Change, Ready to Lead is the Hillary Clinton campaign motto - and it was her husband, the former president, that Hillary led to Nashua today. Quite a change for Bill Clinton.
As she told the local media: "When it's his campaign, it is his way. When it is my campaign, it is my way." Hence, Bill Clinton followed Hillary, a superstar not only playing second fiddle, but playing it with grace and, dare I say, love! "I'd support her even if she wasn't my wife," he told the rapturous crowd.
Interestingly, with Bill up there with her, it was Hillary at her absolute best.
That is saying something, since she is generally an exceptionally impressive woman.
But today one would never have imagined that she was on a gruelling campaign schedule. She arrived fresh, cool and serene. As ever, she gave the appearance of being genuinely happy to see everyone.

The crowd, about 1200, I estimated, had been waiting in the sun for several hours.
This show was the hottest ticket in town and there was a lot of rivalry about what colour ticket one held. The lowest was white, downloaded from the Hillary for President website. Then there were the black ones, handed out from Hillary Campaign offices - my pleasant activity of yesterday. Those tickets admitted only to standing room. The blue tickets provided seats or centre front standing room. The red tickets not only entitled their holders to seats, but seats right up there on the dais with the Clintons! How lucky were we to be holders of these coveted red tickets - thanks to New Hampshire Governor's Executive Councillor, Debora Pignatelli, who has been significantly helpful and generous towards us since that night we met to watch the first Democratic Debate at her house.

There was considerable jostling, bringing on of extra seats (why didn't any organiser notice how many blue ticket-holders had smuggled themselves into the red sector?) until Nashua's powerful Democrats mover and shaker Jane Clemons (her son, Nick, is Hillary's NH campaign director) was satisfied that everyone was accommodated and organised.

Then the Clintons made their entrance before a crowd bobbing with "Clinton Country" and "Hillary for President" signs. They worked their way down the VIPs - handshakes, air kisses, hugs - and then, oops, there was no chair for Bill while State Representative for Nashua, Bette Lasky, gave her resounding, if lengthy, introduction.
Bill didn't seem to care. Looking slim, a bit ruddy with sun exposure but really young and relaxed, he found a place and perched at the end of the dais, grinning at everyone around him. Then, oops, Bette gave Bill the big build-up intro, so he stepped up to speak. Then Bette turned back and went on speaking. Poor Bill had to find a new perch. Such are the small tribulations of unrehearsed performance - and the slightly Clochemerle qualities of small town organisers.

Finally, to everyone's relief, Bill's especially, one imagines, he was up to speak.
It was good to hear that familiar voice, that extemporaneous fluency... The former president spoke glowingly of his wife, their history, her history and the immense respect he has always held for her abilities.

He articulated many things that it would be inappropriate and, perhaps, even irrelevent for Hillary to brag- such as her history in the international diplomatic arena and her lifelong passion for "service".
Hillary, who was looking particularly pretty today, smiled with guileless enjoyment at his paeons of praise.
Courteously, Bill added that this was the first time that he had been able to like all the Democratic presidential primary candidates - since he was not running against any of them and, indeed, they were a pretty impressive bunch, albeit none with the solid experience and qualifications of Hillary.
Bill chided at the state of the US under Bush - but left it to Hillary to be the big guns. And she was.

She spoke, of course, of the significance of New Hampshire as the place where candidates came to "get their tyres kicked" by very experienced and particular voters. And then she spoke at length.

As a theatre critic, I found myself relishing her use of voice and the elegant music of her emphases. She is as accomplished as public speakers get. OK, we will not soon forget her strained acting efforts in her Sopranos spoof video, let alone her tuneless rendition of the National Anthem. But America needs neither an actor nor a singer to run the place. It needs strength, knowledge, discipline, experience, communication skills...

So strong and articulate is Hillary Rodham Clinton and so downright sane is her message that it really is just a matter of hearing her in person to be struck sideways by the conviction that she is just "it" as presidential material.
She uses some interesting tools of communication. One is an echo of the black church preacher dynamic - a rhythmic series of assertions which bring almost unconscious verbal responses and endorsements from the crowd.
For this speech on the theme of "Ready for Change, Ready to Lead", she had a surging, great list of "are you ready for..." questions, a litany of the ills of the Bush administration. The crowd was with her in roars and applause. There are so many things for which they are, oh, so ready.

Hillary pulled no punches. She went for the jugular of the Bush economic values and outlined her ideas for a fairer tax scheme. She is all in favour of the country being riddled by millionaires - but they should pay their fair quota of taxes. And it is not they who are the heart and soul of the USA or who formed it. This place is characterised by the working middle class and the entrepreneurs. She has a point.

She had many points.
The sun shone as she made them. The people listened. It was a jubilant political event - and, as so many of the New Hampshire locals kept telling me, it was a piece of history, a first not only of a woman running for president but of a president husband campaigning for that president. Oh, how they loved it, these committed New Hampshire voters!

I tag this post with a photo album of the day.