Wednesday, January 21, 2004
On The Ground
The entire traveling circus that is the Democratic field largely appears to be in NH, but from my vantage point they might as well be campaigning in the Belgium. That's because I'm working out of a small Campaign office with a dedicated group of true believers that doesn't even have a TV. To watch the State of the Union address last night, I had to head out to the friend's house I'm staying at through the Primary (more on the SOTU below). This office's walls are covered in yellowing press clippings and hand-lettered posters dating back over many months. The weather outside is not extremely cold, by penguin-standards, but there are assuredly few people in the world with the fortitude to stand in it for over an hour near an Interstate exit/entrance and whoot & holler for passersby to honk their horns while hoping they don't throw beer cans at you. But I'm here to check out the whole shebang, so I joined in the frigid fun, too. I'm barely able to comment on what sort of organization is here as of yet, but one thing is entirely obvious. The nuts and bolts of politics is finding people to do the calling and the envelope-stuffing and the postering and the countless thankless tasks necessary for even the lowest of elected offices. The fact that such people exist is amazing. Pulling them together for a common cause is astonishing. Getting it to work is mind-blowing. I'm certainly not the first to have a conversion from well-read cynic to involved lowly Patriot. Nor will I be the last, I hope.
Now a few words on the SOTU. Bush, for all his innumerable faults, certainly has learned to deliver a prepared text. Amazingly, it only took 3 years for him to learn that competency. The content of the speech itself was unsurprising - WMDs are now "WMD-related program capabilities" or an equally inane euphenism, marriage to Republicans is only for a man and a woman not for similarly-equipped consenting adults and/or their beloved pets, Iraq continues to be justified by a shifting focus, blah blah blah. The most astonishing thing I think Bush said was his call for professional sports' owners and players' unions to abolish steroids. If there ever was a line-item that should have been vetted out of a Presidential-level speech, that's gotta be it. Otherwise, no noticeable affronts to the Constitution or ridiculous Bushisms. Or, I should say, no new ones.
The sun's not yet up and there's not yet anyone in the office. Time to peruse the news for the latest spin on NH. I read briefly just prior to this entry that a new Zogby tracking poll here has Dean and Kerry within spitting distance of one another. I expect that just as in Iowa, this State's race will shift more than a 300-lb. man's Speedo in the days ahead. And I'll be watching it, as much as my stomach can bear.
The entire traveling circus that is the Democratic field largely appears to be in NH, but from my vantage point they might as well be campaigning in the Belgium. That's because I'm working out of a small Campaign office with a dedicated group of true believers that doesn't even have a TV. To watch the State of the Union address last night, I had to head out to the friend's house I'm staying at through the Primary (more on the SOTU below). This office's walls are covered in yellowing press clippings and hand-lettered posters dating back over many months. The weather outside is not extremely cold, by penguin-standards, but there are assuredly few people in the world with the fortitude to stand in it for over an hour near an Interstate exit/entrance and whoot & holler for passersby to honk their horns while hoping they don't throw beer cans at you. But I'm here to check out the whole shebang, so I joined in the frigid fun, too. I'm barely able to comment on what sort of organization is here as of yet, but one thing is entirely obvious. The nuts and bolts of politics is finding people to do the calling and the envelope-stuffing and the postering and the countless thankless tasks necessary for even the lowest of elected offices. The fact that such people exist is amazing. Pulling them together for a common cause is astonishing. Getting it to work is mind-blowing. I'm certainly not the first to have a conversion from well-read cynic to involved lowly Patriot. Nor will I be the last, I hope.
Now a few words on the SOTU. Bush, for all his innumerable faults, certainly has learned to deliver a prepared text. Amazingly, it only took 3 years for him to learn that competency. The content of the speech itself was unsurprising - WMDs are now "WMD-related program capabilities" or an equally inane euphenism, marriage to Republicans is only for a man and a woman not for similarly-equipped consenting adults and/or their beloved pets, Iraq continues to be justified by a shifting focus, blah blah blah. The most astonishing thing I think Bush said was his call for professional sports' owners and players' unions to abolish steroids. If there ever was a line-item that should have been vetted out of a Presidential-level speech, that's gotta be it. Otherwise, no noticeable affronts to the Constitution or ridiculous Bushisms. Or, I should say, no new ones.
The sun's not yet up and there's not yet anyone in the office. Time to peruse the news for the latest spin on NH. I read briefly just prior to this entry that a new Zogby tracking poll here has Dean and Kerry within spitting distance of one another. I expect that just as in Iowa, this State's race will shift more than a 300-lb. man's Speedo in the days ahead. And I'll be watching it, as much as my stomach can bear.
Comments:
Post a Comment
