Optimism, hope in New Hampshire

[rumguy]

John Edwards was speaking in a junior high school gym crammed with supporters and media, and he started off with a kind of apology. Elizabeth, his wife, would have to leave the rally early, he said, to head down the hall and talk to "the hundreds of people who couldn't get in here."

About an hour later, Wesley Clark, speaking not far away at another gym with an almost identical setup -- bleachers, pulled-up basketball backboards, etc. -- seemed equally regretful. "I'm sorry there were 300 people or 500 that couldn't get in," he said.

For the record, there were actually fewer people shut out of the Clark event. But the fact that these trailing candidates are creating fire hazards wherever they go demonstrates that there's a lot more to the picture here than the marquis Kerry vs. Dean event. Because of the unprecedented primary schedule this year, Clark, Edwards and even Joe Lieberman are arousing interest on the ground that isn't necessarily clear from the polls, which generally show John Kerry with a lead and Howard Dean trailing.

snip

Outside the Soda Shoppe in Laconia Saturday, where Edwards' visit turned a modest diner into a too-close-for-comfort swarm of humanity, a number of undecided voters pronounced themselves delighted with what they saw. "I'm really impressed with his experience and delivery," said Bill Noelte, an auditor for the state of New Hampshire and an independent. "I just really liked what I saw."


http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/01/26/newhampshire/