Tonight, Saturday October 13th John Edwards held a town hall meeting at Winnisquam High School in Tilton, NH. This is not particularly unique since Labor Day has come and gone and all the candidates are giving New Hampshire some serious attention. I decided to go and support my candidate and treat myself to a live event in my part of the state. I was a little concerned about turnout since the Red Sox were playing and this is a very Republican town.
There were about 120 people. Most, I didn’t know, although some of the faces were familiar from County Democrats meetings. This is a good thing because I do know most of the active Edwards supporters in the region. The majority were middle age (that would be me) and older. There was no discernable trend in gender or income level. An outsider might label the crowd "crunchy" and they wouldn’t be wrong. I was happy with the turnout because it was better than I expected and clearly these were voters who were interested in hearing a candidate. I hear criticism in various blog posts about the key position NH has in the primary. Sometimes, when I see the "institutional" pressure for the favorite (read Clinton) I too question the value. Tonight, I saw the process in action the way it should be and was proud to be a participant.
John Edwards entered the room with the local State Representative who introduced him. I was sitting right behind them so I observed the entire meeting with a birds eye view. She has been a supporter since the last cycle so the introduction was quite long winded. I was fidgeting in my chair trying to pay attention. John was still and patient and respectful. I don’t know how he maintains his energy and enthusiasm day in and day out. After thanking the speaker and mentioning how proud he was that Al Gore won the Peace Prize, his speech was short and simple highlighting a few of his stands and mentioning a policy speech earlier today in Keene. He also talked about the differences between him and the other Democratic candidates. With special emphasis on the recent vote by Hillary Clinton in favor of naming the Iranian guard a terrorist group. A union guy I know had called it Lieberman’s war bill earlier. John said he had learned that Bush can not be trusted and should not be given anything he might use to go to war. While commending Dodd and Biden for their votes he stated that clearly Clinton had not learned the same lesson. Then he opened the floor up for questions because he "wanted to talk about the things that this audience was interested in ". I can’t emphasize enough that questions are difficult and unscripted and open. No one knows who is in the audience or what they are going to ask. John takes us all on and he thrives in this environment. We may not agree with him but we certainly know where he stands. He is working to earn everyone’s trust and confidence one event at a time.
The first questioner started with a "little background" about the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. He had a folder with information and showed a photo of a power plant, which he said is falling apart. He went on to explain that although the plant has reached the end of it’s planned life cycle they have requested a twenty year extension with an increase in capacity above the original certification. His question was what did John think about this problem. John said that he was not familiar with this particular plant but since this man had brought it up he would learn about it. He then went on to mention that this was an area where he differed from the other candidates. While he knows that energy is a huge issue and we must get off our addiction to fossil fuels, nuclear power is not the answer. He also stated that as president he would lead in eliminating nuclear weapons. He went into detail but I wasn’t taking note so if you want to know what he believes check out his website.
He answered questions on education, employment, social security and the state of the world. A man who said he didn’t understand what was going on in the world at this point and wanted to know how John saw the situation asked the last question. John mentioned the work he has done abroad over the last several years. He also talked about the importance of letting the rest of the world know who we really are, not the selfish bully which we appear under the current administration. He mentioned education, clean water, disease prevention and the international cooperative along the lines of NATO, which would address the international terrorism threat. Then he ended by asking us all for our vote and explaining that the reason he was running for president was because he believed that everyone should have the opportunity he did in achieving the American dream. He’s not interested in pulling the ladder up behind him. He wants to fight for all of us. And he recommended that when deciding who to vote for we consider choosing someone we can trust to be honest and hold our interests consistently.
The cheers and applause were long and loud. He shook many hands and spoke with lots of the participants as he made his way out of the room. I said hello to a woman I recognized from a county Dems meeting. She asked me what I thought of John Edwards. I said "I think he’s amazing how about you?" She said she was impressed then asked if I had come convinced and why I had chosen him. I told her that the primary reason I supported John is because I believe that we (the middle class) need a voice and that John is the person best able by talent and inclination to be that voice for the average person. John walked by us at that point and she tapped him on the back and said good luck. I then asked her if she had decided who to support. She said she liked John a lot but was also very impressed with Kucinich. We chatted about that for a few minutes and the different candidates and the whole process. Our conversation led to Hillary and that although we would both love to see a female president it was not enough of a reason by itself to vote for her. I mentioned that I had yet to hear a compelling reason to support Hillary although I ask all of her supporters. She suggested asking a woman across the room who was speaking to my union friend. We walked over and I asked her why she was supporting Hillary. She said "because we are the same age and I respect the difficulty she went through when Bill cheated on her." I am not making this up. I was dumbfounded. I asked, is that really the reason you think she would make a good president? She said Hillary was smart and a good communicator. I agreed she is smart and asked "do you think she’s a better communicator that John Edwards?" she said he is very good then mentioned Hillary’s health plan. I said it’s virtually the same plan John came out with 8 months ago. She said it’s good and I agreed but said I want John to be the one to implement it because he can be trusted to keep our interests in the forefront, not cave to drug companies an insurance companies. I doubt I made any progress with her and I still don’t have a compelling reason, which explains why someone would support her.
This is the essence of the NH political process on a Saturday night in the Lakes Region. John Edwards is making himself available as an active participant and earning support one event at a time.