Meeting the Clintons

Today was absolutely the most exciting day of the internship so far; not only did we finally get to meet Hillary, we also met Bill and Chelsea. The day started extremely early, as we had to be at the Nashua Airport by 6:30 in the morning. Our assignment was to stand along the road leading into the airport and hold signs and wave to people as they showed up to the rally event, which was open to the public. We stood in the frigid cold for almost two hours, but it was completely worth it because for the first time ever I got to meet a past and a future president. We were able to get right up in the front of the crowd, and when Hillary and the family walked into the rally we were the first people they greeted. I cannot express in words how exciting it truly was to be face-to-face with such fascinating people. Hillary took the stage and gave an excellent stump speech, reminding the audience exactly why she is the most qualified candidate for president. I must say, Hillary is amazing in person, she exhibited a warm and welcoming personality and she connected with and inspired the crowd in a manner reminiscent of the Democrat’s own “Great Communicator”, Bill Clinton.

After the “Welcome to New Hampshire” rally, we headed over to the campaign office to prepare for another day of canvassing. However, instead of canvassing, we were asked to do visibility (also known as “vis”) campaigning. This type of campaigning is pretty simple, all you do is stand on a corner waving your candidate’s signs. We shuffled down to a spot known as Library Hill, a very high profile intersection on Nashua’s main drag. It was invigorating to see and hear all the drivers who honked and waved as they drove past us; of course, there were a few who drove past with their thumbs pointing down as they honked, but I guess we can’t expect everybody to realize how great Hillary will be for this country. After our visibility stint in Nashua, the campaign staff corralled us into the van and shuttled us down to Milford, NH, to do more visibility outside the 100 Club Dinner; the dinner is a fundraising event hosted by the state Democratic Party at which all of the party’s presidential candidates (at least those still in the race at this point) gave speeches. Three out of the five USF students working for Hillary’s campaign managed to get tickets to the event; Steve and I did not attend, but the event was broadcast live on CSPAN so we ordered in a pizza and watched it from the hotel room. Hillary rocked it, just as I expected.

Phone Banking and Caucus Night

When we got to the campaign office today, the place was buzzing with activity. Everything that had been upstairs was now downstairs in the basement, and we were joined by several new volunteers. My first activity of the day was phone-banking, a process which involved calling undecided voters and gauging their support for Hillary Clinton. Most people I called were not home, so I left many, many answering machine messages. Those who did answer were generally still undecided (as so many New Hampshire voters tend to be, even though there are only a few days left until the primary contest) but I did reach quite a few who had made the choice to support Senator Clinton. Still, many people who were home and did answer the phone hung up as soon as they found out I was calling from a campaign. At first I thought it was a little rude, but then I realized that these people are being called by every campaign in town, and have been receiving these calls for some time now.

After a few hours of phone canvassing, I was asked by the staff if I would mind driving the van out to the Nashua dump; all that moving and reorganizing from the morning hours had produced more garbage than could fit into the trash can outside. Always a team player (and perhaps a little exhausted with phone calls), I quickly agreed and raced up the stairs to the van. Adam came along, and we had the van emptied in no time.

When we returned to the office, we scooped up the rest of our USF team (Steve, Debbie, and Damaris) and the five of us wandered down to Martha’s Exchange, a very nice restaurant that the candidates tend to frequent while in town. Upon returning to the office, we jumped back on the phones and contacted a few dozen more undecided voters. Shortly thereafter, we were asked to do “lit drops”, a process where we went to voters’ homes and left flyers on their front doors. The flyers advertised a rally event planned for Friday morning where Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea were scheduled to arrive from Iowa. After completing this task, we headed back to the hotel to meet with Professor McLauchlan and the class to watch the Iowa caucus results. It was a little disappointing that Hillary did not take first place in Iowa, but we were not too upset; I am confident that the voters of New Hampshire will give Hillary a victory.

Field Trips and More Canvassing

Today was another fascinating day of internship. We started by taking a field trip to New Hampshire’s capital city, Concord. Our first stop was the New Hampshire State Library, where a cordial and knowledgeable gentleman named Michael Chaney gave us an overview of the state’s presidential primary history and then led us over to the Historical Society building. There we toured an exhibition titled New Hampshire: A Proven Primary Tradition which featured some notable items from primaries of the past. It was a very interesting and informative experience.

Next we met Ray Buckley, chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Mr. Buckley shared his knowledge of the party, the primary, and the issues facing the state today. The discussion was very interesting, as Mr. Buckley was able to share his insight as a campaign worker, an elected representative, and a party executive. Our next stop was at the state’s GOP headquarters, although that meeting was not nearly as engaging. The Republican chair generally stuck to his party’s talking points, and did not offer as much useful information as the Democratic chair.

After a fun day in Concord, we headed back to Nashua to Hillary’s campaign office. The staff had rented a 12-passenger van and offered it to the five of us from USF to use for canvassing. Because I am over 21 (just barely, of course!) and have experience driving all types of vehicles, I was selected as our driver for the day. Our group was joined by an interesting young woman named Elvia, a student from the University of New Hampshire. We set out canvassing the neighborhoods of Nashua and spent nearly seven hours in the field.

When our campaign work was over, we got a ride back to the hotel from a woman named Kate, who works directly for Senator Clinton. Kate shared an anecdote with us about her boss, something that seems to typify my opinion of Hillary; Kate told us that yesterday was her birthday and that Senator Clinton took time out of her busy campaign schedule in Iowa to call Kate and personally wish her a happy birthday. I have always believed that Hillary is a warm and caring person, and this just proves my point. I know that I have picked the right person to support in 2008!

Arrival and First Day of Internship

Happy New Year to everyone! We arrived in New Hampshire on Sunday, and for the first time in more than 20 years I got to play in snow! We’re staying in Nashua, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. One thing I noticed right off the bat is how friendly people are here in New Hampshire. Every time I tell someone that I’m here to work on a presidential primary campaign I get the most positive responses, even from people who are not supporting Hillary Clinton. For example, I spent nearly thirty minutes talking to the gentleman working at the front desk of our hotel; he is supporting one of the Republican candidates (won’t say which one, don’t want to give any of Hillary’s opponents free advertising), but he was still willing to listen to my pitch about Senator Clinton. Who knows, perhaps over the next week I can convince him to cast his primary ballot for Hillary rather than the other candidate!

Monday was my first day working at Hillary’s campaign office here in Nashua. From the moment we walked in the door, the staff and volunteers made us feel right at home. Our first assignment was door-to-door canvassing. The staff had lists of likely Democratic primary voters, and our job was to knock on their doors and find out if they will be supporting Hillary. At first I thought that people would be a little peeved at us for bothering them, but these New Hampshire voters seem to really enjoy the personal contact. One thing I did notice though was that the vast majority of them said that they are still undecided as to which candidate they will vote for in the upcoming primary, which is only a week away at this point.

After canvassing for the first part of the day, our next assignment was to place yard signs all over the city. We broke up into teams of two and each team was responsible for a specific part of town. It was amazing this morning to see all the Hillary Clinton signs lining almost every street we drove down; there were far more Hillary signs than any other candidate. I am confident that Senator Clinton will win the New Hampshire primary, and I am very happy that I will be here when she does!

Preparing for New Hampshire

Well here we are, less than 24 hours from our arrival in New Hampshire. Our first class meeting was yesterday, and my excitement level is definitely building. What an amazing opportunity this will be for us all! Professor McLauchlan told us this will be an intense experience, something that we will remember forever. I have no doubt at all that this will be the best memory of my college career.

I expect that this internship will be a lot of hard work, but it will be completely worth it, especially when Senator Clinton wins the New Hampshire primary! I am really looking forward to making my contribution to Hillary’s team. I know that she is the best person to lead our country right now, and when she is elected as the 44th President of the United States, I will be extremely grateful for having been a part of this historic event.

There is so much more to say, but there is also a lot of packing to be done, so I will leave it at this for now. Please check back at this website often as I expect to post a blog every day that we are in New Hampshire.