Here are a few loose end items from John McCain's announcement tour kick-off at Prescott Park in our fair city of Portsmouth on April 25:
Needs some cheer work -- A few times before McCain arrived, some boosters tried to get the crowd excited with a rousing cheer of "McCain! McCain! McCain!" Alas, at the time there were just as many media types around as supporters or spectators. Unfortunately the crowd didn't get much bigger. The Portsmouth police estimated there were around 300 at the park.
It was also clear that this was supposed to be a media friendly (i.e. camera craving) event -- the staging was more for the benefit of the national media (and national audience) than folks actually there.
Sign statement -- Local rabble rouser and former state Sen. Burt Cohen had the most creative sign -- "McCain's mouth more dangerous than Imus."
Cohen, a Democrat, told me at the rally that he thought McCain had become the "real threat" because of his Iraq War policy. "I like him personally and liked him in 2000 when he was a straight talker. He's not a straight talker now."
Not so funny -- Cohen's sign referred to McCain's recent rendition of "Bomb Iran..ba ba ba bomb Iran" (a variation on "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys) to a veteran's group, a performance that raised a few eyebrows. McCain told me he wasn't going to apologize because he was speaking to fellow veterans who have an appreciation for the gallows humor of war. "Get a life," McCain said to me (and countless others) in response to those who didn't get the joke.
Cohen wasn't laughing and neither was Wes Flierl of Rochester, a Vietnam War veteran and anti-Iraq War protester confined to the "free speech" pen at the park (a rather absurd sight, it should be noted). "I wouldn't get the joke," Flierl said to me.
Media celebs--There were many to be sure but two are worth mentioning. Maureen Dowd, the acerbic New York Times columnist who came adorned in a green New York Yankees cap. Former CBS newsman Dan Rather who now has his own show on the satellite and cable network HDNet.
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