New Hampshire residents are unpredictable, proud and socially active people who know their worth. On January 8, 2008, they again proved to America and the whole world that the Granite State plays a huge role in selecting the leader of the free world. In voting for 60-year-old Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and 71-year-old Senator John McCain (R-AZ), New Hampshire has proven that it values considerable political experience in Washington, wisdom, and knowledge of international affairs over fiery charisma, youthful fervor and an aspiration to a whirlwind of change.
The author of these lines had the good fortune to witness the historic presidential primary in New Hampshire, thanks to New York Community Media Alliance. Our unique delegation of journalists included representatives from many immigrant and community papers in the Big Apple. Notwithstanding ethnic, racial, religious and other differences, we hit if off quickly.
Ewa Jedrychowska, of the Polish-language daily Nowy Dziennik; Lotus Chau, of Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily, Peter McDermott from The Irish Echo; Antoine Faisal of the Arabic paper, Aramica; Mohammed Khan, Pakistan News; Abu Taher, of Bangledeshi weekly Bangla Patrika; James Fergusson, of the Bronx-based paper Norwood News; and Anthony Advincula, of New York Community Media Alliance got along beautifully and had the chance to study different cultures, languages, jokes and traditions.
While I was most interested in the leading candidates’ positions on Russia and Israel, Mohammed Khan was primarily interested in ascertaining the candidates’ views on events in Pakistan. Vecherniy New York and Sing Tao Daily devoted the most attention to the Clinton and Giuliani campaigns. Readers of the Arabic paper Aramica were most interested in the political ascent of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), while the Polish paper, Nowy Dziennik, was most concerned about the candidates’ positions on illegal immigration. But in essence, our delegation was a smaller version of the multi-faced City of New York – the capital of the world, a city of immigrants, where people speak different languages, but work together to build a better future for their families.
We had the chance to participate in campaign events for Senators Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Mitt Romney, visit the candidates headquarters, meet with their aides and advisers, and speak with residents of the Granite State before and on the day of the primary. Getting ahead of myself, I will say that the phenomenon of the young Senator from Illinois Barack Obama, who has completely changed both the course of this presidential campaign and the mood of American society, left the greatest impression on me. The most popular words in New Hampshire on January 7, 8, and 9 were “change” and “hope,” the central slogans of Obama’s campaign.
All the snow drifts in New Hampshire were completely covered with posters bearing the names of the candidates. Hardly off the bus, we became witnesses to a rally of abortion opponents (they were holding large posters with pictures of aborted embryos) and supporters of the marginal candidate Rep. Denis Kucinich (D-OH) (who ended up with one percent of the vote). At every turn we were handed small brochures with the text of the U.S. Constitution and a portrait of one candidate or another. New Hampshire residents are lovers of liberty who respect the Constitution and libertarian ideas regarding the government’s involvement in the private lives of citizens. Is it any surprise that active young supporters of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), who once ran for president on the Libertarian ticket, could be found at almost every meeting? His proposals to completely withdraw American troops from all countries and to introduce the strong gold standard in place of the weak dollar, as well as his specific references to the US Constitution, garnered him eight percent of the vote on January 8. He almost overtook former New York mayor Rudolf Giuliani, who had difficulty picking up nine percent of the votes and who took fourth place (in Iowa Mr. Giuliani lost to Ron Paul and came in last).
Its worth noting with concern how uninspiring the New Hampshire campaign of our former mayor was. In one county, we met with Shelley Frank, the former leader of the Republican majority in the state legislature and co-chairperson of his campaign. She had seen Rudy 10 times and attended his campaign events; she looked disappointed.
“He doesn't have contact with people; he doesn’t look them in the eye when he shakes their hands. It’s as if he's in a hurry,” confided Frank. “In New Hampshire, people expect presidential candidates to spend a long time answering their questions, to devote attention to them, and to not be in a hurry to leave. Everything about Giuliani says that what is going on is not that important or interesting to him. Maybe in his mind he was already in Florida.”
One more case in point. Even Ron Paul stayed in New Hampshire until midnight and appeared before his supporters. Giuliani, on the other hand, first announced that he would hold a press conference at 7:30 p.m. (before the polls closed), but then he suddenly cancelled the meeting with journalists and, after issuing a standard press release about the non-standard character of his campaign targeted at Florida and other large states, took off for Miami. After spending $1.3 million on television and radio advertisements, as well as time and effort in the Granite State, Rudy could not even nab third place, even though he led in polls here as recently as two months ago. He continues to be advised by political consultants and friends from New York who are not familiar with the ins-and-outs of a national campaign.
A McCain rally attracted almost 500 people, mostly the elderly – veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars – Americans of Irish and Polish descent, and housewives who admire McCain for his intolerance of a bloated federal budget. The meeting took place on the evening of January 7, outside the town hall in Exeter. Opponents of the immigration reform bill endorsed by the senator were also present. It is specifically McCain’s positive attitude toward the legalization of the majority of the 12 million undocumented immigrants that draws serious opposition to his candidacy from conservative Republicans. They call him a proponent of amnesty and were outraged by his work with Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) on the immigration reform bill. But Republicans, Independents and some conservative Democrats are drawn to him by his heroic past – he was a prisoner of war for five years in Vietnam – his unconditional support of the war in Iraq, his hard-line attitude towards Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his promise to send Osama bin Laden “to hell.”
This was the Arizona senator’s second victory in the New Hampshire primary. In 2000, he defeated George Bush here by a margin of 18 percent. This year, McCain managed to beat the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts Mitt Romney, who spent over $5 million on television, radio and newspaper advertisements and on letters to voters in the state. Mr. Romney has a home in New Hampshire and frequently comes here on vacation with his family. Last June, political analysts warned that Senator McCain’s campaign was finished and mired in debt. Now he was returned to the head of the race, demonstrating his combative character and his political flair.
At a rally of hundreds of supporters of the Republican candidate Mitt Romney at a middle school in Bedford, both the strong and weak sides of this ambitious candidate were visible. He reminded voters of his 25 successful years in the private sector. A matter of pride for Romney is the part he played in creating Staples, a network of stores that sells office equipment and supplies.
The telegenic, tall and thin candidate talked about his experience organizing the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah and introducing mandatory medical insurance. Romney constantly stressed that he has never worked in Washington or been involved in Washington politics. He noted that new people with fresh ideas should be elected to the White House, not veteran senators. The former governor promised to halt illegal immigration into the United States and came out in opposition to amnesty.
“If they want to live legally in America, they should first return home, then stand at the end of the line behind those people who have waited many years for legal permission to enter the United States. Millions of people from many countries hope to move here. So why should we grant legal status to those who came here illegally?” said Mitt Romney, clearly alluding to the unpopular McCain-Kennedy bill.
But Romney’s fiery speech did not generate a great deal of trust. He has changed his views on abortion, the war in Iraq, gun control, tax policy and same-sex marriages so many times over the past few months that, during debates, McCain has sarcastically called him the “agent of continual change.” Regular references to Christ and “our common Christian values” do not help Romney, a practicing Mormon. To me his speech seemed very insincere and plastic, while his manner and gesticulations for some reason made me think of Buratino [A Russian character resembling Pinoccio]. Maybe this is why the former governor has not been able to win any states where he is well-known, despite the millions of dollars he has spent over the past half-year. If Romney loses again on January 15, in Michigan, the state where he was born and where his father was governor, then it will be clear to everyone that voters simply do not trust the Massachusetts politician.
It’s not easy to surprise New Hampshire. In a state where voter turnout ranges from 60 to 80 percent, presidential candidates can be encountered almost every day. On January 8, over 500,000 people voted here. But local papers called Sen. Clinton’s victory the real surprise of the day. She beat Sen. Obama by three percentage points (39 percent to 36 percent), but even this spread was sensational since polls on the day before the primary showed the Illinois Democrat with an advantage of 10 to 12 percentage points.
It was impossible to enter the gym of a school in Concord at 11 p.m. on January 7. People began lining up to get in at 6 p.m. Over 1,000 people, including hundreds of college students, wanted to meet Obama. The atmosphere during his speech was literally electric. He spoke not so much about political issues, but about a belief in a bright future, hope for change, the importance of optimism and buoyancy, and the need to unite American society. His speech, which was interrupted many times by cries of admiration and standing ovations, was dedicated to a new America – a country not divided into whites and blacks, gays and heterosexuals, rich and poor, Republican and Democrat. He recalled how women in the United States were granted to right to vote in the early 20th century, how the consequences of slavery and racial discrimination were overcome in the southern states, how the nation united to help the families of September 11 victims. The graduate of Harvard Law School touched upon the most delicate material of the human soul, stressing the difficulties faced by families where the breadwinner is unemployed. Obama spoke inspiringly about young people who are participating in elections for the first time, about the new majority of sensible Americans hungry for change. Unlike Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and other African-American preachers who have run for president on a platform of protecting the rights of racial minorities, Barack Obama has not in any way stressed racial themes; on the contrary, has called for mutual understanding in the fight for common interests. Overall, one of the leaders in the Democratic race is clearly a fiery speaker and an outstanding individual, even though former president Bill Clinton called his examples "fairy tales for the naïve.” That may be so, but after Obama began talking about the need for change, all the other candidates did as well. The word "change" was the most popular in New Hampshire, albeit in different interpretations. No one wanted to look like a supporter of the status quo.
On the evening of January 8, the mood at Clinton headquarters was sad and dreary. Journalists and campaign workers for the former first lady were awaiting her defeat. Even the security guard with the black dog was bewildered upon entering the hall: what are you doing here, he seemed to say, go to Obama at Victory Park! But New Hampshire had decided differently. It could have been that female voters were affected by the tears in Hillary’s eyes during a meeting at a diner, or that they were inspired by the support of Chelsea Clinton, who campaigned for her mother near several polling places. It could also have been that the smoothly run state party machine, where most democratic politicians have a cautious view of Obama with his small amount of experience in the Capital, played a role. But the fact remains: the Granite State did not follow Iowa’s example. As Hillary Clinton said in her victory speech, she “found her voice” while listening to New Hampshire residents. The battle for the White House is just beginning.
Editor’s note: This article was sponsored by New York Community Media Alliance’s 2008 Election Initiative.
