Edwards House Party Review

Well, we did it. We are truly New Hampshirites now!! We attended our first Candidate House Party! I've been so excited since the invitation came on Thursday that I was a bit exhausted by Saturday afternoon. (Probably a good thing, because I wasn't a complete bumbling idiot.)

So, it was at a big beautiful home in Concord NH. We arrived just before 4:30, when it wasn't too crowded, but the arrivals just didn't stop. We guessed over 100 guests. JRE arrived around 6pm.

Due to the kids, at the last minute we were hustled to the back of the house between the area he was to speak in, and the kitchen & playroom. So, the kids we shut into a great playroom and we thought we'd be looking at the back of JRE's head. Instead, we were next to the staff (who huddled in the kitchen) and ELIZABETH EDWARDS! But I'll get to that in a second.

As Edwards arrived, he shook hands around the whole, crowded house. I was one of the last, but I did get a handshake. My only impression was "what soft hands!" Then he stood on a stool in the dining room, gave a short speech, then took questions. I could barely see or hear, so when EE was standing alone I approached her. I told her that my kids brought a gift for her children and handed the wrapped book to her. She HUGGED me, thanked me, and examine the homemade card. Then, trying not to get choked up I managed to say, "We are a 2-Mom family, and we want the next President to treat all families equally." Stacey got a photo, and I went back to standing with Stacey who was guarding the playroom door. EE not only held on to the book, she sort of hugged it. I had expected her to hand it off to an aid, but she didn't do that until the very end.

I did it. I got my gift to the Edwards' Family directly!! The book, Todd Parr's The Family Book, is inscribed to Emma Claire & Jack from our family, and there's one of our cute return address labels stuck there. Now I'm waiting to see if we get a thank you note.

What was most amazing about being near her (she's short!) is that everyone who talked to her had something to say about cancer. I heard non-stop survivor stories. She was so gracious & supportive of every one.

Back to JRE: Handsome, a bit hoarse after a busy day, dressed casually (jacket, no tie). He has a funny squinty eye thing going that makes him look either tired or as if the bright lights bother him. His talk was in line with everything I've en reading & watching.

He left through the back door, giving us another opportunity for a handshake. This time Stacey got one (she agreed that he had a good handshake and soft skin). I shook again, this time the two hand clutch and thanked him for coming to NH.

He has a geeky, rather young staff, except for the one guy in charge. Everyone was dressed in black as usual, huddled in the kitchen texting & cracking inside jokes. Apparently, other NH big-wigs were there, like Arnie, but I never saw any of them.

More photos will be uploaded tomorrow after I figure out how to get rid of red-eye. Kids are climbing on me so I can't go into more detail 'til later. I'm surprised I got this far.

:) Exhausted and very Happy...PMD, SLW, ACD, and GWD! Oh, and A&G are for now supporting JRE because he has the best toys!

Friday Update

I've spent most of my morning on research for the party: listening to archive speeches from John Edwards (and watching/listening to them on YouTube) while working. I also read Elizabeth Edwards' blog. I love her!! Many of my questions for tomorrow were answered, specifically "what have you done personally to reduce your carbon footprint?" She laid it all out, and her answer is great.

OK, this just in...we have our first Primary DROP OUT: "Democrat Tom Vilsack is abandoning his bid for the presidency after struggling against better-known, better-financed rivals, a senior campaign official told The Associated Press on Friday." Oh well, one less person to see.

Good...I may need a break!

Three Essential Questions

Stacey & I discussed Saturday's John Edwards House Party last night. She's eager to attend, and has agreed that if the kids are too much, she'd disappear with them so I can stay. But we came up with three questions that we need input on:

1. what do we wear?
2. what do we ask?
3. what do we bring?

1: We're going for "snappy casual," or exactly what we wear to work. Not too butch, not too femme (like we are ever either). Comfortable enough to be able to sit on the floor or wrangle the kids but nice enough for the cameras. No mascara in case I cry, which is very likely.

2: My job today is to research John Edwards a bit more and bone up on some things. Stacey feels unprepared, so I told her to stick with what she knows, which is teaching & parenting. Annie's Pre-K class may spend some time today coming up with questions to ask too. Cute!

3: (I like my answer to this the best...) We're not sure if we should bring a hostess gift or not, but we do plan to have a huge supply of snacks, books, and other bribes to keep the kids happy. Of course we'll bring a camera!! But he's my bright idea. Stacey was wrapping a baby shower gift this morning. It was our standard gift: Todd Parr's The Family Book. You know, "some families are big, some are small, some have two moms, some have one." I do think the Edwards kids need this book, and Annie & Griffin need to be the ones to give it to them. ;-)

So, just to make sure I am covered...give me YOUR answers to the three essential questions.

My First House Party? YES!!

Someone pinch me.

I just got an email from the John Edwards campaign, INVITING ME to a House Party this Saturday in Concord NH! I RSVP's in about 5 seconds. YES, he will BE there. I nearly peed my pants!

I read & reread the email, checked it for authenticity as much as I could, and am now afraid to leave my computer while I wait for confirmation.

Stay tuned...

OK, less than five minutes later, I got an automatic response, simply saying:
"Concord is perfect! We'll see you there!"

Holy Sh!t!! Thank you, JRE! :) I will try to represend my friends and colleagues. Hey, I didn't even ask if I can bring Stacey or kids or what the deal was. Let's hope I get more details later. I'm so thrilled I can hardly stand it. OK, just got another reply: bring the family! Man oh man, it doesn't get any better than this. :)

OK, one more reply just came. How much do I love seeing "John Edwards" in my inbox?
"please bring them! the senator loves kids." I will bribe these kids into perfect behavior any possible way I can, though I have to say they are generally angels in public.

Political Chowder

I just found this from a link on Seacoast Online: "Political Chowder"

"Former Democratic political candidate and media personality Arnie Arnesen is hosting the New Hampshire-based political talk show Political Chowder. The Sunday talk show premiers on Sunday and airs from 11 a.m. to noon on MyTV New England, otherwise known as WZMY-TV Derry (Channel 18 for Comcast subscribers). The show will also be available on some public access channels and via the Internet through podcast or Google video."

www.politicalchowder.com. Should be interesting. I really like Arnie's style.

Kucinich tonight at 7:30pm

This just in: Congressman Dennis Kucinich will be in the UNH MUB tonight at 7:30pm, MUB Theater II. Since I already saw him and it conflicts with bedtime, I'm going to pass on this one.

Newt & a few others are asking why all the fuss so early and can we keep up at this pace. I say, "try me!" I've never heard of voter fatique in New Hampshire. The more time, the more excitement. More time to discover smoking bimbos. More chances for misdelivered jokes and poorly constructed (racist, sexist, homophobic) comments. But, best of all, more chances to see the candidates in person.

Forget about New York...I Love NH!

Hillary, Part 2

I'm now convinced that I can't blog from home, so I waited until work (no holiday at UNH today!) to finish my wrap up of Hillary's visit to Dover:

The talk all over NH has been how she refused to say she was wrong to vote to authorize the war with Iraq. In a ballsy & very smart move, she faced the question head on when asked point blank why she refused to apologize. "If the most important thing to you is choosing someone who did not cast that vote or said his vote was a mistake, there are others to choose from," she said. "To me, the most important thing now is to try and end this war."

In NH, this answer will get her way more respect than any apology would, I think. It shows she can't be pushed around, and she won't cave to public opinion. Gutsy move. I know it worked for me; I left with more respect for her than I entered with.

And as far as the kids go: they loved her. They heard her say the word "preschool" (regarding funding early education) and were sold. Then she talked about diplomacy vs. war, and when I told them she was saying she'd use her words instead of fighting, that sealed the deal. Annie wants me to vote for her because she's a girl but I told her I won't do that. Maybe...