Politics Writing Sample - Durham, New Hampshire: The 2008 Presidential Primary Has Begun!

 
"I think he's genuinely committed to doing good in the world. It's obvious to me he can speak off the cuff on these issues because he's thinking about them."

"I love his values. I'm not sure our whole country is ready for his very humanistic values, but it really resonates with me."

 These are the words New Hampshire voters used to describe a recent appearance by presidential candidate John Edwards. Over a thousand supporters were left out of the packed event in Portsmouth last Friday, indicating that the Southern charm has not worn thin over the two years since the failure of the Kerry/Edwards campaign. The Edwards visit came several weeks Barrack Obama's swept Granite State voters off their feet with his valiant oratories calling for justice and hope.  Other presidential hopefuls on the Democratic hopefuls are now rushing to make their own impact on Granite State voters.

The New Hampshire Presidential Primary may be over a year away, but the election season has already begun in earnest. In many ways the past few weeks have been a major test of New Hampshire's viability as an electoral force. The home of the White Mountains has traditionally hosted the nation's first primary, granting the state the title of "king-maker". The winners of the primary have more often than not gone onto the win their parties nominations. But this year the Democratic Party is working to schedule Nevada before between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary.

In a sign from the gods, the temperatures here have floated unusually above freezing in a state infamous among political reporters for its brutal winter weather. Candidates and journalists have accepted this sign and begun to flock back to New Hampshire once again. The election officials in Nevada are left to shake their heads in wonder and ask, "When will it be our turn?"  Barrack Obama's New Hampshire visit made the young senator an instant front-runner. The media is already flocking to set up its camp, revisiting the same places Americans have seen on TV every four years for as far back as anyone can remember. Every candidate has to go to a certain diner in Keene, New Hampshire and every candidate will have to get off their high horse and answer difficult questions from everyday Americans.

Perhaps things will change one day. Another state may successfully capture the national imagination and pick the next president just as New Hampshire has so many times. But what red-blooded American does not long to see their future president trudging through a foot of snow, ice, and mud as he gets down and dirty with the American public. In New Hampshire, the voters tell the candidates what they want and any candidate worth a damn listens. Long live the New Hampshire Primary!

By David W. Anderson

The writer is a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire. This piece was prepared in the hopes of covering the New Hampshire Primary for Gathercorps. In addition to freelance political writing the author is conducting a study of voter opinion for the 2008 Presidential Primary and is in the process of collecting substantive testimonials on the subject from New Hampshire voters.