Beside gorgeous weather and peak foliage, there are now four political events going on in the region over the next several days:
First, Alaska's First Dude Todd Palin is showing up in Fremont NH this weekend at some snowmobiling event, then heading to Maine for more energizing of "the base."
Then, Joe Biden rescheduled his visit to Rochester NH, and is coming on Monday, Oct. 13th at 10am. This time, though, he hit Columbus Day weekend when most workin' folks have the day off, unless they work at UNH. So, I will not be in attendance.
Next up, the Hockey Mom herself, Gov. Sarah Palin at Dover High School, Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 10am. The venue is in the heart of Clinton Country; I saw Bill there in January of 2001 and Hillary in February 2007. And let's not forget one of DHS's most famous graduates, Bill Shaheen! Now, this may be worth taking a personal day for!
Fourth and to me, the most fun, will be the UNH Debate Watch Event, also on Wednesday. Co-sponsorship has grown to include both the College Dems and College Republicans, so we're reserved a bigger room in the MUB, with room for spill-over into the Food Court area. Prof. Scala arranged for some faculty "experts" and two political consultants to be on hand for analysis. I am most excited to meet and hear from Steve Marchand, former mayor of Portsmouth NH. Every student I talk to has him up on a pedestal, and I've heard wonderful things. So, now I get to meet the man that, up until now, has just been a Facebook Friend.
The students have been impressive in their efforts over the last few weeks. Voter Registration drives on campus have been a huge success, thanks in part to a university challenge between institutions in so-called swing states. The UNH student leaders on both sides of the aisle have been canvassing, phone banking, tabling, visibility, chalking, voter reg, event planning, and still going to classes (for the most part). Students for Obama have been working on a float for tonight's UNH Homecoming Parade, and they have some famous actors from the TV show "House" coming to their tailgating at the football game. (Too bad I don't have any clue about who these people are.)
In all, they have been super professional, following all the UNH canvassing rules, and playing well with others. Let's hope they keep this spirit of cooperation up as crunch time finally finally gets here.
Happy Homecoming!
