Well, I'm clearly NOT in any front row seats lately. The candidates are in the area but not in the right place at the right time for me. (I missed Obama in Dover yesterday, even though the time changed to be 4pm instead of 11am!) So, instead, I will give you the round up of visibility...besides visits, what's happening here in the Granite State & at UNH.
Our school newspaper is called The New Hampshire. That's about as uncreative as one can get with a title, so it's referred to as TNH around here. Over the past few weeks, one candidate has had a full-page ad in almost every issue: Ron Paul. I tell ya, he's going to surprise a lot of folks come election day. Anyway, it's a pretty cool ad, full color. And they ain't cheap!
Facebook Flyers directed within the UNH Network have been purchased by Mike Gravel, touting his position on lowering the drinking age. So every time I get on Fb, I see his smiling face in a small ad on the left of the screen.
"Tabling": This isn't unique to UNH. A registered student organization can "rent" a table in our well-trafficked student union (the MUB), and attract interested students, hand out literature, build a mailing list, etc. At UNH in Durham, Hillary & Obama have been most frequent, followed by Ron Paul. Team Edwards is at it today. I was at UNH-Manchester yesterday and Obama's team was there, and reportedly they are the only ones who show up at UNH-M.
Campus Canvassing: UNH has strict rules about what can be posted in on-campus housing, and soliciting & blanket canvassing are not permitted. It would be nice if certain front-runner status candidates told their students to follow the rules.
Bumper Stickers: No notable changes or increases, really. I park next to someone with a Hillary sticker almost every day. I spotted someone with an old Kerry/Edwards sticker half peeled off, with a Richardson sticker next to it the other day. I saw a few PrioritiesNH pie chart magnets in Lot B, and am eagerly awaiting mine!!
Lawn Signs: No change, unless you count the overwhelming number of local officials running for school board and city/town council.
TV/Radio: Our 20 year old TV died while I was in DC, so I can't report on who's advertising on NH or Boston stations anymore. As far as radio goes, I only listen to NPR so I'm not help there, either. I was nice to hear an Edwards staffer call in to the NHPR pledge drive yesterday, though! (For the record, she didn't identify herself as a staffer, she just said she loves the primary coverage.)
Red Sox: Not one person that I have talked to would even consider routing for the Yankees, so Rudy can just go someplace else. Folks are loving Chris Dodd's response on behalf of Red Sox Nation!
