Primary Pundit by Michael McCord

Coincidence?
Two days after the Iowa caucus in which younger voters turned out in record numbers in support of Barack Obama, I got this press release from the Clinton campaign this morning:

Clinton Reaches Out To Young New Hampshire Voters
Holds Roundtables With Young Undecided Voters In New Hampshire
Launches “Ask Hillary” Feature on Facebook In Conjunction With Tonight’s Debate

The Clinton Campaign continued its outreach to young voters Saturday, holding roundtables with undecided Granite Staters and launching an “Ask Hillary” feature on the campaign web site to allow voters to pose questions directly to Hillary.
“I want to hear from young voters about their concerns and encourage them to participate in this incredible process,” Clinton said. “I have been making change for 35 years, and with their help, I will go to work on Day One to make change in the White House.”
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton will hold a roundtable with four undecided voters ages 18 to 25 on the campaign bus traveling between Penacook and Durham today, fielding a range of questions on the most pressing issues facing young people in New Hampshire . Among the undecideds will be Ben Coleman of Bristol , who celebrates his 18th birthday today and plans to major in science and mathematics at the University of New Hampshire .
n Durham , Hillary will continue her outreach to young voters, holding an hour-long conversation with 30 young undecideds at the Bagelry.
Also Saturday, the campaign launched an “Ask Hillary” feature on its web site, reaching out directly to Hillary's Facebook supporters in conjunction with tonight’s ABC/Facebook debate in Manchester . Voters can submit questions to Hillary over the next two days, and she’ll post video answers to the top five questions on the site early next week. Questions can be submitted at hillaryclinton.com/ask.
Gore supporters drop bid
The Draft Gore New Hampshire folks have dropped their bid for an Al Gore write-in effort to raise the profile on alternative energy development in the presidential campaign. Farrill Seiler, the group's leader sent out the e-mail earlier today and said he contacted some 2,000 members to vote for the candidate who might best embrace the former vice president's policies. Though it was unlikely to be a repeat the Ralph Nadar in New Hampshire and Florida in the general election of 2000, with every vote up for grabs on Tuesday that will be one annoyance for the Democratic candidates.

(earlier)
Just got a report that the Obama event in Nashua will likely draw more than 2,000 this morning -- but then all the candidates are drawing huge crowds as the clock now works for some candidates and mostly against the rest of them.
I was surprised that Iowa proved to be such a chopping block for Dem candidates Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd who made such herculean efforts in Iowa. It's truly a cruel business. I saw Biden shaking hands (with family in tow) with voters just before a caucus began in Des Moines. His son Hunter talked to me enthusiastically about the crowds his father was drawing and was looking forward to tonight's debate in Manchester. Who knew that would be his last campaign stop before dropping out a few hours later. Dodd ran probably the least artifical television ads in Iowa at the end -- just him looking into the camera talking about his desire to lead the country and the experience he would bring. Dodd had made the total committmnet by moving his family to Iowa. And then by 9 p.m. central time it was over for him as well.
Can't help but admire the spinning and positive thinking taking place by those candidates not named Huckabee and Obama. Romney talks about the first inning of fifty inning game (a mangled sports analogy at best) and strangest of all, claiming a change platform himself (for Washington but not the presidency. Uh?) Silver medals at the primary level drive candidates to do odd things -- just ask Dem John Edwards who has claimed victory of sorts (over Hillary) and said it's a two-person race between him and Obama. That's audacity of hopeful thinking in action. And Hillary has come back to New Hampshire washing her hands of Iowa as not really historically significant (she's right of course) and a good effort by her campaign (right aas well). But we think she would have been singing a much different tune had she finished on top. I know my confidence would have been tested had I not been supported by seventy percent of Democratic caucus goers in Iowa (to show the weird nature of perception in these things, Obama, the convincing winner in Iowa, was not supported by around 62 percent of the same caucus goers)
The good news is that here in first-in-the-galaxy primary land, the media mob that has descended upon us won't have to spend time explaining an exotic caucus formula. It's one person, one vote and turnout here (which could smash all records) will be key -- the more the merrier is the Obama campaign song. We will see the full impact of a theorized Iowa slingshot effect -- or will it be a boomerang full of surprises for for the frontrunners.
More later on the debates I won't be attending but will be watching.

Comments

I know that Obama refused to put his hand on the bible when he was sworn in as Senator, preferring the koran. I was recently told that he WILL NOT recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Is that true?

Posted by: CalifDoug11 | January 5, 2008 09:01 PM

Just in case anyone actually reads the comment made by CalifDoug11 - what he said is not true. AT best, 'CalifDoug11' is woefully uninformed and relies on rumor for his or her information - at worst, those comments were made to intentionally seed mistrust in the minds of primary voters.

Shame on you CalifDoug11 if it is the latter. If the former, I suggest you ignore Right-Wing propaganda sites and look into news stories for yourself. Obama is a Christian, has never "refused" to be sworn in using a Bible, and he has never refused, neither would he ever, to recite the Pledge. You should check back in with your "source" about that.

Posted by: Stay Informed | January 6, 2008 10:38 AM