Lame Excuses

When I decided to start this blog, I had no idea that things would be so busy so early. I was just going to comment on candidates I saw on campus where I work (at UNH). But things got really crazy really early, as we all know, and the NH Primary is well underway, even though UNH is out for the summer, and I will soon be off for the summer.

Candidates are all over New Hampshire, but I can't see any of them. Besides having to work, I am also completely wrapped up in a major kitchen renovation that has us devoting most weekends to working on the house, or more accurately, distracting the twins while Stacey & other family members work on the house. I've dragged the kids to a few candidate events, but now that the weather is nicer, all they want to do is dig in the sand at the beach.

So, these are my excuses for not being able to offer more views from my so-called front row seat. I'm working my sources to get to volunteer at the debates next week. I was hoping to get the Democracy Fest the next weekend to see Howard Dean, John Edwards, and others, but that's looking like a no-go. I will have to live with my back-up plan of attending the Edwards' Portsmouth office's opening, and Market Square Day.

The seacoast is teeming with events, candidates, and staffers, and soon interning college students. Obama-mania hit the north country this weekend. Hillary is again in Manchester today, Mitt was at Harvey's bakery in Dover today. [I had just been recommending Harvey's to my pals on the JRE campaign team.] It was there that the patron yelled out that he'd never vote for a Mormon. Classy, huh? And then everyone will be passing through Sunday & Tuesday for the debates at NHIOP, Saint Anselm College.

In other random observations: I have finally spotted my first presidential lawn sign of the cycle!! Two actually, for the same candidate: Ron Paul. That strikes me as funny, I guess because he's not at all considered a serious competitor. But what's really funny is that whenever I see his name in print, I automatically picture RuPaul, the famous black drag queen! I wonder if anyone else had the same association.

Can't Keep Up!

It's impossible to keep up with all the action & attention going on (live and on-line as well) in the Granite State right now, and I keep forgetting that it's still another 7-8 months (maybe) until our Primary. This weekend is packed, staffers are being announced daily, more meetings, more endorsements, more blogs! Oh My!!

Friday, I was driving the kids home and went down a road I don't usually take. My daughter, who is only four, noticed the change of routine & asked why we were going this way (which would take us by Rye Elementary, where Obama was speaking). I said, "I just want to see if we can see another presidential candidate."

Her reply stopped me cold: "Haven't we seen enough of those already?"

Enough? You haven't seen anything yet!

UNH Scores, Finally!

Disclaimer: I have been assured by several people that the following information is both true and public knowledge, and that I am free to blog about it:

Well, UNH has finally redeemed itself from its past sin of saying no thank you to housing NHIOP back in the day, when it was offered. It's official: Professor Dante Scala of Saint Anselm College is leaving that institution to join the faculty at UNH-Durham, effective this fall. His name is on the list of course offerings for fall, on their website. And he himself emailed me last week to share the news, as did Cosmo. The POLT Dept, as it's known here, has confirmed, and those faculty/staff members with whom I've spoken are just thrilled.

So, to GraniteProf, welcome to UNH. I look forward to hearing Laura Knoy introduce you next time you are on The Exchange, which I hope is soon. And I will be in touch for my TWC recruiting in your class!

And now my own shameless plug: To the students of Saint Anselm's who are disappointed and can't let go: there's a little known exchange program between several NH institutions, called NHCUC Exchange, where you can come to UNH for a semester or just one class (on a space available basis). I just so happen to be the coordinator for the program here & have been trying to get our students to take classes at St. A's/NHIOP for a while (unsuccessfully). Your contact is: MaryAnn Ericson in the Registrar's Office. I won't know what space is available for fall for a few more weeks.

On a downer note: the DNC announced its officially sanctioned debates for the fall, and UNH is NOT on the list. Hanover (Dartmouth, I assume) got it and to add insult to injury, NBC is the sponsor! I'll be watching for RNC's announcement soon. I wonder if UNH was offered again but felt compelled to pass given how stressed out & financially strapped UNH/Media Relations are over commencement. And now, it's probably going to rain. Luckily, we can all watch the spectacle LIVE on NHPTV from our warm, dry homes instead.

Politicking, NH-Style (Part I)

More candidates this way come...

I figured we'd see a little breather after all the parading in front of the Firefighter's Union last week, and with two ex-Presidents in town. But, I would be wrong. Kucinich announced that he'll be in the area on Saturday; Obama Friday & Saturday; and Newt's attending a Victory in NH event 5/21. Now, John Edwards announced a 3-stop visit for Monday, May 21st. What's with MONDAY?? Anyway, I can't possibly keep up posting them all so I kindly refer you to Cosmo again at NH Prez Watch.

And remember my little fun game called spot the staffers? Well, I just played a round, and bingo! Who else around here would come bounding up introducing themselves and shaking hands, getting all in your face and friendly as if this was the mid-west and not New England? Two Obama staffers crashed a luncheon that's held at UNH monthly, called the "Colleagues Luncheon" for staff, faculty, and graduate students of underrepresented groups (of color, LGBT, etc.) just for bonding and networking. I'm sure someone invited them but I'm not sure who. The woman I spoke with said she works on educational issues, and was trying to connect with like minded folks on campus. I mentioned the upcoming visit to Rye, she expressed her excitement. I smiled, nodded, ate my blueberry pie, and went back to talking to the colleagues I went there to catch up with. The end of the semester isn't really a good time to be trying to make new friends on a college campus. Especially here, right before the big upcoming hoo-ha.

Sometimes I forget that this kind of stuff isn't the norm for most colleges or workplaces in the country. It's so much a part of life in NH that I forget. There's a great post on Blue Hampshire today about politicking the New Hampshire way. I highly recommend it!

Traffic Jam By-The-Sea

Although I am a Dover resident (and happily so), we've been living in Rye for the past two months while our kitchen is being gutted. Being a stone's throw from Wallis Sands beach is great and all, but I am really starting to miss Dover, especially the downtown & the library, but also the diversity of a working city--ethnic, age, class, wealth, education level--and the ability to walk to a real downtown. I miss real people: shipyard workers, retirees, teachers, carpenters. When I lived in Durham I felt the same way (except for the walking part).

With two advanced degrees, I'm still a working class kid on the inside, child of first generation immigrants who doesn't always remember all the social graces. The small bedroom towns around Portsmouth have a certain snooty feeling to me. My kids look like ragamuffins as we explore the beach in dirty, well-loved playclothes & bare feet, among other kids wearing button down shirts & penny loafers.

What's this got to do with the primary? I'm getting there...Friday. Friday, Barack Obama is going to be in Rye and Newcastle, both locations right down the road from my adopted neighborhood. Two MORE well-educated, wealthy enclaves on the Seacoast. But he does get some credit from me for making part of the visit late afternoon on a Friday, spilling over to a Saturday (but Saturday is a private event, no?). AND, if my information is correct, Obama is on a direct collision course with a certain UNH commencement speaker who's staying in that very area on Friday night and whose wife is also on the campaign trail. But will she be in Rye? Not that I can see. She was around last weekend, in Laconia. ...Just observations, that's all.

And speaking of Laconia...I was wondering if a candidate has ever shown up at Bike Week. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

More sites, more traffic

No sooner do I post about HRC's cool & enviable NH-only website, then I get an email about another. Not to be outdone, John Edwards' team launched his own NH-specific site. http://johnedwards.com/nh/. I like the listing of local staffers the most, and am hoping there might be some space for user-generated content so locals can upload their photos of NH events, or network with each other, etc.

There are a ton of candidates around the state this weekend, some at commencements and some at other private events. None are on campus so I won't be chasing them down (I have to work & see my kids sometime!). UNH is all atwitter over our own commencement speakers, the George & Bill show. So the usual pregraduation spruce-up is raised to a higher level due to secret service presence, bomb sniffing dogs, traffic plans, etc. Several small events that traditionally take place on graduation morning (the OMSA Breakfast, for example) were cancelled. Tickets in the form of braclets are being rationed out. The staff of the UNH Interim President's Office is all frazzled, though they are so politely frazzled compared to our last president and her staff, who weren't so pleasant. We'll see how our incoming Prez Huddleston will measure up!

Other UNH news has me personally atwitter, but I'll save that for another day.

Two Sites to Watch

There are two websites I've been watching lately, and I think they are worth sharing. Both are New Hampshire-centric:

NH Prez Watch 2008: http://nh2008.blogspot.com/index.html. This guy is thorough! Every event, every campagin office and state director, endorsements, house parties...GOP & Dems...it's ALL here. How DOES he do it?

And, Hillary Clinton's new NH-specific page: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/hq/newhampshire/ Clever. The staff displays photos from NH events, hightlights the towns she has or will soon visit, posts press releases and even counts the questions asked by locals at the events! It's a huge stroke to ego of those in this state who need reassurance that the NH Primary is still relavent and want candidates to state explicitly that Granite Staters are more politically engaged than the average American. What small town Dem wouldn't want to see his or little committee highlighted or her photo with the current front-runner. Nice work, very clever.

I've also noticed that Hillary comes to NH mostly on weekends. I wonder if this is because of her Senate schedule, or if it's part of the strategy to attract more working class voters. Who can make the weekday book-signings, office openings, and round-tables that the other candidates plan? Only certain white collar professionals, the press, retirees, and ladies who lunch. I think only she & Kucinich have been to Dover (and HRC's been to Berlin, too). OK, you can see here that I read & absorbed Scala's book Stormy Weather, so I admit it. Hasn't any one else read it too?

Social Networking & The Campaigns

I've heard so much in the media about how this presidential campaign will be decided by the internet, that I was starting to think I was missing something. I visit blogs as regularly as I can but I had been avoiding social networking sites like the plague. I'd heard so many horror stories, like Ray Buckley's ordeal, or students who post inappropriate things and were turned down from jobs, that I thought they were the devil.

Two people changed my mind, and now I am a Facebook Addict. Susie Whitlock, who did advance work for the Edwards Campaign at UNH gave me a demo of how she was using Facebook to organize poster making sessions and promote events on campus. Then my pal and former colleague Bob Coffey of the University of Michigan, sensing my weakness, wore me down.

One of the first things I did was look up all the sites for the various candidates, College Dems and Young Republicans, Save Our Primary and other related groups. I heard a few stories on NPR saying that Obama "had more friends than anyone" and that he was winning the social networking campaign. Sounds so high-school...yuck! I had to investigate. My conclusion: bad reporting. Well, it's a good fluff piece, but it means nothing. Sure, all candidates have official sites but it's not always easy to tell which Facebook group is the "official" one for a group or candidate. Then there are a jillion specific ones, by state or special interest. And loads of fake or satirical ones as well.

And even if one candidates has the most "friends," is that representative of anything? A good look at Facebook demographics will show you this is the medium for the 20-somethings. Blogs also have their limited reach, as much as we'd all like to thing otherwise. When I was up north a few weeks ago, no one even knew what a blog was, nevermind what they say or who they support. Heck, Papa Mike didn't even know that NH had all but passed civil unions when we spoke last Saturday!

In New Hampshire, this primary is still going to be won by handshakes and house party campaigning. Sure Facebook is fun, but leave it to the college kids, and geeks like me who work with them. It's not real news.