ustin Timberlake blared in the background as Sen. Hillary Clinton strode into the kitchen of Pappy's Pizza in Manchester yesterday, ready for a bit of early-morning retail politics.
For nearly an hour, Clinton signed pizza boxes, menus and bits of stationery. She gamely spoke into cell phones thrust upon her by customers. (Their relatives were on the other end.) She inquired about the ins and outs of pizza making. And she talked to diners about their grandkids and the war in Iraq, patiently listening to each before moving on to the next table. "I'm so proud of you as a woman," Niki Miller of Manchester told Clinton at the end of a lengthy discussion about the nation's mental health services. The 8 a.m. visit to Pappy's - a last-minute addition to the presidential candidate's schedule - marked the beginning of a day filled with the sort of campaigning Clinton says she likes best: one-on-one interactions in diners and living rooms. But if yesterday's events demonstrated Clinton's commitment to intimate "conversations" with voters - a strategy she says will be a hallmark of her presidential campaign - they also displayed her celebrity status. Clinton's New Hampshire debut as a presidential candidate - complete with members of the national press, a Secret Service contingent and chartered planes - was a far cry from her husband's first trips to the state, former Bill Clinton campaign workers said. "When Bill Clinton first campaigned, I used to pick him up in my Dodge Caravan and drive him to meet people," Deb Crapo, who helped organize Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign in Rockingham County, said at Hillary Clinton's Saturday town hall event in Concord. At Pappy's, Clinton needed no introduction. A news segment about her Saturday events played on the television as she made her way through the room, greeting the handful of customers who had gathered early on a Sunday. The size of her political machine was also on display, with a bevy of Clinton staffers outnumbering the morning diners. If yesterday was any indication, Clinton's days on the campaign trail are smooth, well-choreographed ones. Her staffers - who were constantly sending e-mails and orchestrating the next event's details - made sure the candidate arrived promptly at each event. At the house parties, they shepherded in camera crews and photographers for quick glimpses of the events. After a bit of impromptu Pappy's politicking, it was off to a private breakfast with Democratic activists at the Chateau restaurant in Manchester. Then came the private Manchester house party, followed immediately by the private Nashua party at the home of Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli. In Manchester and Nashua, Clinton fielded questions on Iraq (which she called "a gnawing, painful sore"), the search for Osama bin Laden ("it is a mystery to me how we still haven't found the tallest man in Afghanistan"), and her strategy for overcoming future attacks from right-wing political operatives ("Bill and I do know how to beat them"). She joked about her failed 1993 attempt at crafting a universal health care system, expounded on her ideas for weaning the United States off foreign oil and decried what she called the Bush administration's "cowboy mentality." And in between her analysis of biomass and the importance of the United Nations, Clinton shook dozens of hands, posed for countless pictures and generally left Democratic activists swooning. "I came in a little unsure, and I was so won over by her," said Paul LeBlanc, who attended the Manchester house party, which drew about 60 guests. LeBlanc's hesitance, he said, was rooted in "the lingering question of electability." But after hearing Clinton hold court, he was using adjectives like "cogent" and "intelligent" to describe the New York senator. John Cunningham, a Concord lawyer, is also drawn to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, another Democrat who formally announced his candidacy over the weekend. But a glimpse of Clinton was enough to generate this response: "I'll be surprised if those two guys (Obama and John Edwards) - who are both incredibly impressive men - are as impressive as her. "She spoke passionately, but with none of the bloviation, none of the preachiness," Cunningham said. After the house parties, it was time for the ride to Keene, where Clinton planned to hold another town-hall-style event before flying out of the state. It was an impressive performance, said Deb Butler, a Democratic activist who attended the Manchester event. "She's brilliant and she's great," said Butler, who has yet to settle on a candidate. But she has one lingering concern: "That the average voter is going to shut the door before they get a chance to talk to her." ------ End of article By SARAH LIEBOWITZ Monitor staff This article is: 2 days old. | 
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 1