i messed up & submitted when i meant to preview - complete entry follows
we got to see the guv at two different events, one scheduled and one where we just lucked out. the first was the rally for volunteers in the strafford county area, in the area known (i'm told) as "the seacoast," close to UNH. plenty of media presence, but i assume, since nothing really remarkable occurred, the embeds are just there to file urgent reports on any new "gaffes" that might drop. none found me interesting looking enough to interview.
the second event we attended, after our day of canvassing (alone, not in pairs) in the freezing cold (windchills in the negatives), was the 100 club dinner, where all the candidates (except sharpton) came to give ~10 min renditions of their stumps.
we saw it later on c-span (though i don't see the video online), and, since my friend managed to sneak in the main hall (i was identified (thanks to my coloredness, i suppose) as having insufficient credentials and was forced back to the overflow room), he can be seen crouching behind the cameras, craning his neck to watch the candidates speak (apparently invisible to security (thanks, i'll assume (for joke), to his whiteness)).
my assumption is that they (the dem party of NH) try to dole out seats in the main room somewhat equitably amongst viable candidates, but that kerry is also overrepresented due to his being more of an inside, establishment democrat, and his supporters can afford the bill for a banquet. (this is further suspiciously evidenced by the scheduling - kerry got to close the night. ("bring it on," my ass.)) and in the overflow room? all dean. okay, probably 90%-95% dean.
anyways, as for the speeches: kucinich squeaked. dean roared. clark followed (didn't lead). edwards schmoozed. lieberman pandered. kerry started his own chant. (watching it on c-span afterwards, dean's dominance wasn't as apparent. i realize i was in a room full of pumped deaniacs so it's hard to get an objective feel in there. word from my man on the inside was that kerry had more people with him (and 4 rows worth of beefy firemen to be the first to stand at all the predetermined applause lines) in there, but dean definitely elicited the most enthusiastic response. try to catch it on the teevee if it makes the rotation sometime (most likely only post-tuesday, when all this will hopefully make more sense)).
so what i notice is: kerry supporters are pricks. exhibit A: thick-necked frat-boy state-senator's son spies my ethnic hair standing on end, and asks if my "hair dryer broke". exhibit B: two fancy ladies - wives of powerful men, no doubt - survey the aforementioned overflow room and observe, "the freak show turned out in force tonight".
my overall impression is that kerry supporters, if they're young/in college, are politico types fishing for good law school recs. if they're old & well-to-do looking, they're party insiders, elitists threatened by dean's populist appeal, and promises of party transformation. if they're other adults or seniors, they've somehow been cowed into supporting kerry out of fear -- fear doled out to them by party bosses, or by the anti-dean media memes of anger/unelectability and a potential 4 more years of bush.
i'm not particularly fond of dean's new slogan, "hope not fear" (not too catchy in my opinion), but i think it an apt description of what's going on in NH. the older folks i met and spoke to who weren't receptive to my pro-dean schpiel, seriously seemed like people who'd been intimidated into closing their minds. (but, in all fairness, maybe they're just sick of the constant hassle of being first in the nation.)
this observation was borne out in the longest conversation i had while canvassing. it was with a late-50s couple, a firefighter and a special-ed teacher, and it lasted about an hour. the wife complained that her husband's union was calling near constantly and telling her her edwards-leaning vote would be wasted if it wasn't for kerry. they told her that she's obligated to vote kerry by virtue of her husband's occupation. the husband voiced his annoyance at the union spending his dues on this vigorous, strong-arm support for kerry.
also, the rumor (-verging-on-conventional-wisdom) around the dover, nh dean hq is that kerry supporters are paid. and i can attest to having witnessed firsthand their rather mercenary demeanor. not a jolly bunch - the ones going door-to-door, at least. not necessarily dean-hostile, though, either - which in my opinion lends further credence (i.e., they don't really care, they just need the money). i was walking, and i encountered a couple of nice girls from nearby maine driving from undecideds' door to door, and they were nice as pie to me. i joked that "we won't talk politics," but they didn't really seem to get it. they seemed a little vexed, even perplexed by my admission that i was a nyc lawyer sacrificing my weekend to walk around in the cold, whipping winds of NH. (ergo: wasn't i getting paid, like them? what's wrong with me? do i actually believe in something?)
anyways, just anecdotes, of course. but i hope interesting at least. i'll post more as it occurs to me.