Less than 48 hours to before the voters head to the polls and the good weather is sending thousands of voters to campaign events across the state -- leading to traffic jam and overflow rooms filled with supporters and the curious wanting to see what all the fuss is about. I heard the Hillary Clinton event in Nashua today drew as well if not better than Barack Obama's there yesterday. I was at the Barack Obama stop at Exeter High School which thankfully started an hour or so late (I had a leisurely adventure around the exeter area finding the old high school before finally getting on track -- looking at the fine print on Google maps would have helped.)
It was packed, an estimated 2,500 or that included an overflow with folks cheering at a, ah, loudpseaker. They were there to hear and see the post-Iowa caucus winning Obama who seems to really hitting a new gear with a stump speech that evolves and morphs (by comparison, he was rather the policy-listing plodder with his early efforts when the campaign launched less than a year ago). He got this crowd juiced numerous times and possibly best of all when mentioning that George W. Bush or his 'cousin' Dick Cheney wouldn't be on the ballot in November -- and, I wrote in my notes, when he talked about respecting the Constitution("very loud cheer"). Obama said he was going after the undecided voter and he may have persuaded a few or many or many more (Tuesday will tell whether he made the sale.)
One of those undecideds was Lydia Blume, an enthusiastic Democrat from York, Maine who didn't hesitate when I asked why she was interested in Obama (Blume will take part in the Maine caucuses next month -- which alas won't get as much love, respect and adoration as Iowa; it's all in the batting order). "This is the key: he's pushing change from the ground up," said Blume who is part of an emerging organization called Seacoast Democrats (based in York) that is attempting to do exactly what Obama advocates. Blume, who brought her young daughter Sophia Eytel to Exeter High (new motto: It's a long walk up the driveway). She told me the young and growing group is self-created and inspired by the frustration and promise of the 2004 and 2006 elections. Obama probably didn't disappoint her especially when he talked "Americans are the agents of change."
I'm off to see Hillary Clinton in Hampton in a short while.
Poll Fever
They are coming fast and furious and you can find what you want in each of them. The Concord Monitor/Research 2000 poll released yesterday has a tight Dem race with Obama 34 percent, Clinton 33 percent, and Edwards 23 on the Dem side; for the GOP, John McCain led Mitt Romney by a 35 to percent margin with Mike Huckabee at 13 percent. The latest CNN/WMUR poll had Clinton and Obama tied at 33 percent with Edwards at 20 percent. John McCain also topped the Republican race with a 35 to 29 percent lead over Mitt Romney and Rudy giuliani at 14 percent. The Franklin Pierce/WBZ poll will be released tonight. It's likely to be very tight come Tuesday.
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