Crowds Size Up Edwards (Wash Post)

[chimpymustgo]

Even Candidate Is Surprised by Large Turnout for N.H. Rallies

By Vanessa Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 27, 2004; Page A04


PORTSMOUTH, N.H., Jan. 26 -- Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) had reserved the basement of South Church for a rally Monday in this seacoast town, but it quickly became clear that the basement would not do. The crowd was ushered upstairs to the main sanctuary and filled every pew.


So many people tried to cram into the Merrimack Ten Pin bowling alley Saturday night to see Edwards that the management called the fire marshal to come clear the place out. Instead, local authorities wedged Edwards through the crowd to a makeshift stage, where he delivered brief remarks, kissed a baby and squeezed a few hands.

The next morning, about 1,000 people showed up at Fairgrounds Middle School in Nashua, spilling out of the gymnasium and into the auditorium. The candidate's wife, Elizabeth, talked to the crowd in the auditorium, and the candidate visited them after addressing the gathering in the gym.

The Edwards phenomenon that began a week ago when the North Carolina senator catapulted from the back of the pack to second place in the Iowa caucuses has continued in New Hampshire.

Even Edwards is amazed by the size of the crowds showing up to see him. "I don't know what it means," he said in an interview Monday night. "Even when it was happening in Iowa, when you saw the crowds building and building, even then I didn't know if it meant anything the results showed that it was connected. Is it different in New Hampshire? I don't know."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50537-2004Jan26.html
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Good, on-the-ground reporting. Edwards crowds have been amazing. If you caught them on C-SPAN over the weekend, you could see that they were huge and really hyped. Will they translate into votes?

Crossing fingers.

[PurityOfEssence]

1. The big logjam was the "unelectable" tag; that's now gone.

A president needs charisma, and not just to get elected. Preparation and improvisational skills are paramount, and this guy's got 'em both, in no-trump.

He's EXTREMELY comfortable in his own skin and a very engaged speaker. In just the brief moment of conversation I had with him, he really connected. It shows. The more who see him, the more he'll sway.

Break a leg in NH, John!

[AP]

2. Listen to NPR's slam piece on the bowling alley rally:

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1618304

They try to turn all Edwards's streghts into weaknesses.

They make it sound like working class people hate Edwards, they make it sound like his big crowds are a product of poor planning, rather than enthusiasm, and they make it sound like his supporters are rude.

[chimpymustgo]

3. The electricity in that bowling alley and the other rallies is undeniable.

NPR can spin it any way they want. Thank God for C-SPAN.