Report From Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter Report: Forging a Bond. 
Governor Dean tonight in Exeter, New Hampshire. Photo by John Pettitt.
I blogged from my first-ever Dean rally last night in Plymouth, and today I've been riding the press bus and reporting from events in Nashua, Manchester, Durham, and now, Exeter. Once again the hall was full, and there was a big crowd being turned away at the door. Considering that this meeting was held at a high school, I was expecting a roaring crowd like we'd had in Manchester and the University of New Hampshire.
Instead, we found an audience whose mean age seemed upwards of 50. The Exeter kids were in the balcony (and on the stage), but most of the hundreds seated on the main floor were, for lack of a better term, adults. And though there was plenty of cheering and excitement, tonight's event turned out to be the Governor's most thorough and measured discussion of the day. There were wide-ranging questions on race, gender, Judy, and the Supreme Court, and Dean fielded them like a true statesman--blending deeply held beliefs with sharp analysis, never lapsing into the vague platitudes we've come to expect from our politicians. I sensed that he was forging real bond with these New Hampshire voters, who streamed out of the building aware that their vote tomorrow could restore our democracy.
On the bus ride back to Manchester I talked to Tom Schaller, who you might know from DailyKos and Gadflyer. Tom joined the press entourage today and filed a post called "Dean hitting his stride" from Exeter, summarizing Dean's three main themes of today's speeches: Number 1 is that, on issues ranging from Iraq to civil unions to No Child Left Behind, he has taken courageous positions on issues when others dared not. He says leadership is 80 percent doing what the people expect of you, and the other 20 percent "is standing up for what you believe in and asking the voters to come with you." I feel like I've waited my entire life to hear a politician say this, in this way. I'd only quibble with the percentages: 20 percent is too low.
Number 2 is actually a twist on Bush's "reformer with results" . . . Dean's point is that he's an executive who has balanced budgets and brought health care to most children and expanded it for those over 25 as well - that he has accomplishments, not merely positions.
Number 3 is that, as Dean puts it simply, "I don't owe anything to anybody except for you." He talks about the problem special interests (who doesn't?), and notes that 89 percent of his donations are in amounts of $100 or less. That sums it up pretty well--a solid end to a big day. Momentum is with us. I'll report again in the morning. [Blog for America]
10:22:37 PM 
|
|
