Yes we can!

If there is one thing I regret, it is not walking across that Nashua meeting room and shaking Barack Obama by the hand.
So near and yet so far.
I have my photos and my memory. There we were in that small room with Nashua's elderly. Barack was eight feet from us at most. It was very intimate and laid-back.




Barack Obama will never again be seen up close and personal like that - not now he is President-elect of the USA. He will evermore be flanked by Secret Service. He will evermore be mobbed.

I shook hands with candidates at almost every campaign event I attended. But, on this occasion we were in an awkward building, there was a throng around Barack and, frankly, I had been underwhelmed by his speech. Bruce had to get back to work. I simply gave it a miss.


I did not seek to hear him at other events. I threw myself in Hillary's direction where, I later found to my disdain, naive and zealous young campign workers considered it almost traitorous of me to have gone to an Obama event, let alone subscribed to the Obama email feeds or, as I did, buy his campaign buttons.

Barack Obama grew on that long campaign trail. His strategists and campaign staff were clearly powerful and wise - and he was receptive and progressive. That unstructured, casual speech I heard back in early 2007 was a far cry from the stump speeches he was delivering a year later. He had revved up the young from the outset - but there was some profound change in him which emerged through those last months, a star quality, an extraordinary calm within the storm. We all started to fall in love.

And now history has been made.

I shed a tear, there in the office which came to a standstill as Obama gave that splendid speech. I shed a tear for all the hopes now unleashed. I dared to hope that black Americans would start to feel good. That black rappers would call positive messages. That black kids would see a merit in education and ambition.
Other underclasses, too. Obama is the most powerful symbol of equality and hope ever. I mean ever.
"Yes we can," he says.

Hillary's hissy fit

Hillary was angry about the China scandal."I don't want to eat bad food from China or have my children having toys that are going to get them sick," she exploded. You could almost see the steam coming from her ears in the last Democratic debate. And, she was right to be overtly furious and not evasively nodding towards free trade, as were so many of the other presidential candidates. It is not good enough that China is flooding the US and the rest of the world with poisons - not just lead paint on toys but polluted toothpastes and contaminated dogfoods. A proper leader would be making a stand. Hillary is the only politician yet heard with genuine anger in the voice. Barack Obama is just missing the point altogether. "China is not yet our enemy. China is a competitor," he says. Oh, really?


Barack has other things on his mind. He has been back in New Hampshire giving the state lots of attention as the primary comes closer - perhaps closer than we all thought, since with the other states jostling and grabbing at earlier dates, it will probably be in December. Oh yes, it is later than we think.


Barack continues to look to the youth vote, the fun vote. In the cut and thrust of serious politics and with the country at war, he told his Nashua crowd on Monday: "We have the most fun, the best music." He will have the New Hampshire motto "Live Free or Die" tattooed on his back, he laughs, acknowledging that New Hampshire is the nation's "due diligence" test on presidential primary candidates.
He definitely has the youngest supporter base and, as they are as enthusiastic as they are young. They remind me of the Deaniacs of the Howard Dean campaign of 2004. And, I'm still not sure what is beneath the BO surface. I'd like to hear more substance and less Hillary bashing from him.

Calling for Hillary

Behind the scenes, there is the hard grind of campaigning - none of it harder than working the phone bank.
I was among the few brave hearts of the Hillary campaign out there working through Nashua and Hudson phone numbers on this steamy, stormy New Hampshire night. And I do mean brave. This is not a chore for the shy, faint-hearted or super-sensitive. It is the work of valiant heroes, of true believers, of eternal optimists. Yes, we brave few.

Since the Nashua campaign office is still not quite finished, we were allowed the after-hours facilities of an ophthalmic practice where, with cheat sheet in hand, we four worked our way through the phone lists provided by Kristen, our organiser of the night.
We callers were a wonderfully representative mix: a senior, a college student, a committed Democratic activist and me, the supporter with outsider perspective.
Of course, almost everyone hates unsolicited phone calls and, indeed, they now are illegal. These political calls are exempt from the bans and, the people listed have, at some time, expressed interest in the primary. Not that you'd know it.

There is a fair share of hang-ups and blunt rejections. A lot of the 114 people I phoned tonight were either out or had their phones on answer. They are thus registered on the call sheets and another attempt to speak to them will be made on another night.

Our aim tonight was to ascertain who may be a certain vote for Hillary and, therefore, perhaps willing to be a volunteer. We then worked in incrementals: those leaning towards Hillary, those undecided, leaning away or anti-Hillary. If they were not pro-Hillary, we asked which other candidate they preferred and what issues concerned them. Well, if we got that far.
Mostly it was answering machines and automated responses which rejected calls without caller ID.

When I scored my target person it was: "Hi there. This is Samela calling for the Hillary Clinton campaign in New Hampshire - just checking in to see if you have yet decided for whom you might be voting in the primary?"
I found that, if I said it very fast, they were more inclined to answer.

There were people who hung up the moment they realised I was a political call. Oh what relish some of them took in that gesture. Only one of my hang-ups was polite about it: "Have a nice day - CLUNK". It was really very refreshing.

Then there was an angry independent who demanded to be taken off the list - and, worst of all, a woman who said she was not interested in Hillary and, when I asked if any of the other candidates interested her, she said "No, I'm a Republican". Ouch!


Of those Democrat voters who chose to discuss the primary, it was the issues of health care and the Iraq War or the Iraq War and health care which concerned them.
Of the other candidates, only Barack Obama and John Edwards were mentioned as rival choices. Those voters who were already firmly decided on Hillary Clinton were really enthusiastic and all to keen to sing the Senator's praises and enumerate the reasons for their choice - intelligence, strength, experience, values, policies...

There are a lot more of these calls to be made as the primary progresses in New Hampshire - hopefully each wave bringing in more and more positive feedback. And, of course, the other campaigns will be doing it, too. These New Hampshire voters are under intense scrutiny. They are still the "gateway" electorate - the vote that matters.


Let's hope their patience holds up.
Certainly, the experience of being the one making the calls has changed the way for ever after that I will respond to any similar callers. Even when I want to hang up, I shall do it with kindness. Now I know just what good people are on the other end of the line.

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.





Bill wears this bracelet. I wonder what is its significance?









An ink stain on Hillary's jacket.




Of course, Secret Service officers were omnipresent. Note the bulge to the left.

Hillary's campaign knotches up

ACTION.
Not only are Bill and Hillary hitting Nashua tomorrow but also Hillary's Nashua campaign office has been born - almost.
It was still full of builders and paraphernalia when I arrived at midday today to man the ticket office for tomorrow's big Ready to Change, Ready to Lead tour event at the local university. I was supposed to meet Doug, the new Nashua region campaign organiser, outside the office to receive tickets, office keys and instructions but the door was open and Doug was not there. I was a bit perplexed, especially when people started rocking up for tickets. I scrounged around and set myself up with a chair and a little table and chatted apologetically to the arriving people.


Doug breezed in after about 20 minutes, just in time for a strong influx of ticket-seekers. While he sorted them out, I helped the friendly builder to haul out a desk and a big executive armchair - and suddenly the place took on a more authoritative look.

The people coming for tickets had RSVPed to campaign invitations to the event and were unable to print out numbered tickets from the Hillary website. Hence, they were mostly older people - except for those of the sleek New England bourgeoisie who were coming to pick up VIP tickets which we were keeping in named envelopes to one side. Doug trotted off to lunch and I had a pleasant time greeting, meeting and distributing these most coveted tickets. With Bill in tow, it is a stellar event on the Hillary campaign tour.

So much so that special signs are required.

After 2pm, it was sign time. Doug, who has driven all the way from California to work on the campaign here, produced a box of poster paints in primary colours along with mixing plates, foam brushes, large felt-tipped pens and a pile of large, thin cardboard art sheets. To begin with, there were just three of us - Doug, Kyra from the Manchester office and me.


As the afternoon wore on, volunteers rolled in and joined us on the floor. It was like a political playgroup - mixing colours and painting slogans. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. By the time we were through, there were about 13 of us, an delightfully disparate mix of ages, sizes and races. One very sensible woman chose to clean the windows instead of paint - and soon we had a bright, clean shopfront onto which she taped some of the new signs to complement the Hillary campaign signs and patriotic bunting.


A photographer from the Nashua Telegraph rocked up and snapped a million pix, concentrating on the two cute kids in our midst, of course. As they do. Newspapers love to run photographs of children. It made me a bit sad in this context insofar as this was not actually child's play - it was politics in motion. I would rather have seen people of voting age being depicted. But, hey, what can you do! The idea is to get the message into the paper by whatever means.




The Nashua campaign office is not on Main Street. It is off to the side on Elm Street. But, what it lacks in visibility it makes up for in size and facility. The ground level shopfront is handsome and spacious with a proper semi-enclosed office area at the back. Most significantly, it has a vast and spectacular basement - very smart and modern, freshly painted and wired and ready for banks of phones, printers, faxes, computers...
This will be the beating heart of the Nashua campaign.



Um, yes, one rather unconventional poster slipped its way in..
;)

Hillary eyes her voters

Hillary's convoy of big black SUVs purred up so quietly that the awaiting crowd was taken by surprise, despite having been waiting for 20 minutes or so. Even more surprising was the presidential candidate's swift disappearance into a shop. The media thundered down to the shop door and waited respectfully, cameras at the ready.

The Senator was quite a long time in said shop - one of those aromatic furnishings and bric-a-brac places. But, as it turned out, and much to the frustration of her organisers, if Hillary is going to mingle with the people and do a "town walk", she is not going to be hurried.

When, finally, she emerged, it was to be obscured by a throttle of television cameras and microphones. She made her way slowly up the footpath where locals were grabbing a spontaneous chance to thrust out hands and express their support. The campaign volunteers outside Martha's Exchange Restaurant were apoplectic, urging people to make a clear passage for the Senator, to keep out of the way of the little lineup of arranged greeters, to go into the restaurant and get off the street.
I was perfectly placed, just where they didn't want me to be. And I watched the slowly approaching scrum, seeing Hillary thoughtfully turning from one side to another, to acknowledge one person after another - a smile here, a few words there, a handshake...

Every individual was given eye contact from those vivid blue eyes - and a connection which told them that she was absolutely delighted to see them.

I watched in growing awe. This was a consummate politician. The people came first. If someone had something to say, she listened with interest. Her face was a mobility of expressions, from friendly beams to suprise and amusement and even the fleeting shadows of one sharing a problem. She was moving steadily in the required direction, a very solid African American security man always at her elbow, but she was serenely unrushed, those amazing blue eyes sparkling friendship towards each and every potential vote. Oh, those eyes are good weapons for a politician. It was impossible not to like her.

She was, however, wearing a lot of makeup. I wondered how much exhaustion this must be covering. Her campaign schedule has been gruelling and she came to us in Nashua after giving a major economic policy speech at Manchester's School of Tecnology.
There, she had spoken of the “rising inequality and rising pessimism in our workforce.”
"While productivity and corporate profits are up, the fruits of that success just haven’t reached many of our families,” she is reported to have said, likening it to "trickle down econonics without the trickle."
The plan, it seems, is to "hit the restart button on the 21st Century and redo it the right way".


I did not stay on after Hillary had entered Martha's Exchange. There were hundreds of people in there all waiting to shake her hand - and I had no need to shake her hand. I have had that pleasure. And, looking at the mainstream media pack queued at the door and the further folk waiting in hope, I could only think of how hungry Debora was, and doubtless Hillary, too.
She was not making a speech. She was, after all, just going for lunch.
I drifted off into the glorious Nashua spring day, hoping that Hillary would, at least, after all that handshaking, have a chance to wash those hands before she got to break bread.

Hillary's quiet lunch

It was suppposed to be a quiet lunch with some core VIP supporters - or so they thought, said New Hampshire Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli as the crowd grew and grew around Martha's Exchange in Nashua. Debora, who had hosted us at the Democratic Debate house party, was among the chosen few actually lunching with Hillary and she was hungry, enviously asking what Bruce had been eating as his on-the-hoof lunch.
Seeing the cram of people plus the jostle of cameramen - Fox, CNN, WMUR, NBC, the Nashua Telegraph, the Union Leader and the Boston Globe among them - she knew she would be in for a long wait. But it was good networking time and this expert politician was chatting, introducing people and giving the good PR for Hillary. To this end, she presented me with the last of her collection of coveted "Women for Hillary" buttons which I donned proudly beside my Hillary for President sticker.

I was also wearing a white "ONE" wristband, presented by a group of placard-waving campaigners for peace and an end to world poverty.

The waiters of Martha's Exchange were busily serving sidewalk table diners as the Hillary fans massed around them.
Stern young female campaign volunteers were trying to steer people inside the restaurant where a Hillary handshake was promised to all.
I could see Debora's lunch getting later and later.
To the chagrin of the volunteers, after taking a peek at pack of people inside, I chose to stay outside with the media and the still-growing crowd.
It was a wonderful mix of young and old, a very positive, excited spiri. Many of these people were just in Nashua shopping and were thrilled at the opportunity to meet Senator Clinton. Others, like me, had heard word of this "town walk" on the campaign grapevine. Yet others had been invited to come along for an arranged handshake. Then there were the valiant Health Care campaigners out in force, as they are at every event, handing out their "I'm a Health Care Voter" stickers.

And, of course there were the security people and the police...and perhaps some who had just chosen, like Hillary, to have a quiet lunch at Martha's in dear old downtown Nashua.
Let us not forget that Nashua has a proud Presidential Primary tradition. It was, after all, where JFK gave his very first campaign speech. Nashua locals take such political happenings in their stride - nay, they expect them.

On being a small fish...

So much for depending on my own kind to get things done here.
As requested by its editor, I made application through the Union Leader for tickets to the June 3 Democratic Debate up the road in Manchester. They asked for some personal details to which end I had to use my husband's name since they seemed to wish for legitimate NH voter credentials.
No tickets were forthcoming.
Indeed, no word was forthcoming. Nada. Silence.

Perturbed, nay, gobsmacked, I contacted the Hillary campaign who directed me to the New Hampshire Democrats' office, the helpful press officer of which directed me to the Debate's co-host, the NH television station, WMUR. What a friendly and charming response - but no tickets. Their quota all went yesterday. Yesterday!

How frustrating is this!
I realise with a jolt what a spoiled media person I am. I am used to people knowing who I am. I am accustomed to people actually wanting me to be at events or to picking up a phone and having doors open. I am used to a diary bulging with in invitations.
But, as much as I feel at home here, I am not on home turf. I have no strings to pull.

At least I am carrying my media union card.
So, I followed the WMUR advice and have appealed to the Debate's other co-host, CNN - this time asking for the only access left, media accreditation.
My regret in this context is that being among my own kind will distance me from the special people of NH, the discerning voters, who are, to a large extent, what this blog is all about. Then again, being with my own kind in another country would be an interesting study in its own right.
And, of course, it would give one a yet closer look at the candidates - which can't be bad.
My fate, however, rests upon the kindness hands of strangers.
They don't owe me a thing.
I can only wait and see.

Meanwhile, there has been good news.
Hillary will be back in NH next week and she is scheduled to do a town walk in Nashua!
I will be there with bells on.

Doorknocking for Hillary

A fat folder full of names and addresses, a map, an instruction sheet complete with "script" and "tips and tricks", a stack of postable Hillary support cards and a "Hillary for President" lapel sticker - and we were off on the canvassing trail.

It had been a strange gathering of the volunteers at Number 2 Clocktower Place. It's one of Nashua's former cotton mill buildings now transformed to apartments and when we eight or so volunteers had gathered in the foyer, we were told we had to leave since management did not approve of "political meetings". Having been given a brief rundown on the principles of cavassing, we adjourned outside to be handed these terrifying folders of names and addresses. Hardly a morning's work. A week or two, maybe, lay in my Ward 6 folder - and something of a navigational nightmare. Definitely not a walking job.

The up side was that we were not expected simply to walk door to door sounding out sympathy towards our candidate. The list contained only the names of people who already had expressed interest in supporting Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire presidential primary. Fear of terse rejections, door slams and abuse evaporated. Phew.

My doorknock partner was Aunt Libby from Virginia - a retired history professor and a staunch lifelong Democrat who offset my Australianness with elegant American cultural credibility. With husband map-reading and chauffeuring, I scanned the instruction sheet and decided to ignore it. It was too late to be learning a script. The brief was to ascertain interest and, if it was positive, to ask if people were interested in volunteering in some way or, perhaps displaying an election sign in their garden. If they were not interested, one bade them a polite farewell. As Libby pointed out, we were supposed to say "have a great day" to those who supported our candidate but only "have a good day", if they did not.

Our canvassing area was pretty much Nashua working class - small homes in quiet back streets.
Our first voter was in the garden tending her mass of spring flowers. She was keen on Hillary but not entirely decided. Then again, she was happy to have a Hillary sign in her front yard. She had a lot of issues she wanted to talk about - the exportation of jobs overseas and the health care system. Both things had affected her life. Several companies for which she'd worked had closed operations to outsource to China and, at the end of her working life, she'd found herself working at WalMart and coming down with asthma. She'd had a nightmare of doctors and pharmaceuticals and this had driven her to becoming an expert in all things that had ailed her - and her husband.
She was quite the talker, segueing into her childhood and the way in which people could live from the land and not depend so much on electricity, how you can get an education at night school...
These are some of the most salient issues of this election and here was a first-person example of the political casualties for whom the Democrats are fighting.
However, Libby and I were beginning to worry that if all our voters were so keen to talk at such length to strangers, we wouldn't be covering too many houses.

Fortunately, that did not turn out to be the case. In fact, we found ourselves not talking to anyone at most houses. Either people were not at home or, I often suspected, they were lying low because they just did not want to answer the door. I could relate to that. There is nothing I hate more than canvassers coming to the door.


Those who did come out to us were warm and enthusiastic. The definite Hillary supporters are emphatically positive. Not that they wanted to volunteer or display a sign. But at least we knew where their vote would go.


The Hillary team had told us that once we knew this, the campaign would leave these people alone until the end of the campaign. No need to pester them or waste resources on them. We love them just as they are.

And thus, for an hour or so, we drove to and fro around the sunny suburban streets, being confounded here and there by bizarre numbering arrangements, entrances that were hard to find and, most commonly, by doorbells that did not work. Indeed, it occurred to me that there was a good business opportunity for door-to-door doorbell salesmen.


We only had to bid "have a good day" to one person - a pleasant gay man who announced that he simply was not "into politics". We wondered how he got on the list.

We were in and out of the car, over and over and over, jotting results notes on the list beside each name. There was a coded system for this - but I had not found the key, so I wrote an approximation. We were moving so fast in and out of the car, up and down the streets, trying to get as much done as we could which, looking at the fat wad of names and addresses, barely dented the load.


We completed about five or six streets before running out of time and returning to Clocktower Place to return the folder to the campaign volunteer.

It had been an interesting, if somewhat hot and tiring, experience. It had also been a positive one, thanks to the careful selection process of the doorknockees.

This had been the first foray of its kind for the Hillary campaign but there are seven months to go...and it is all very well organised.