Prior to attending events, I basically I liked Senator Obama, Mayor Giuliani, and Senator McCain. I thought I’d probably end up voting Giuliani, as I like moderates, and was impressed by his performance during 9/11. Sort of saw it as his time. However, I had a different take after attending the town halls of several different candidates, both Republican and Democrat. My candidate preference shifted, and more importantly, I became a die-hard McCain fan.
McCain events were plentiful and easy to attend. A number of candidates had events during working hours, yet Senator McCain routinely had them after 5:00 or on weekends. Since I was not thrilled with President Bush or the way the Iraq War was being handled, Senator McCain had some explaining to do in order to win my vote. The first town hall I saw him at was in Exeter, and he did not win my vote immediately, but he did convince me that he was sincere and that he knew what he was talking about.
The town hall events suit Senator McCain perfectly. It’s essentially an informal interview and conversation. The other candidate well-suited to this format was Senator Edwards. The basic reason these two candidates did well at town halls is that they knew their stuff, they cared about the issues, and they cared about the people asking the questions. Their answers could not have been more different, but it appeared that both candidates appreciated that the questions people asked were directly connected to their lives, and the questioners and attendees were taking time out of their day to see these candidates, so they could make a well-informed decision about how to vote.
The two that I was least impressed by were the other two in my top three. I saw Senator Obama twice (oddly enough, I also flew on the same flight that he did from Boston to Chicago the day after he gave his impressive 2004 convention speech). First, he gave a speech at Dartmouth. The outdoor venue, situated between several of the old brick dormitories, was packed, and he gave a good speech. It wasn’t filled with detail, but it wasn’t a question and answer format, so that was understandable.
I saw him again on a town green in southern New Hampshire, again with a huge crowd. This time he answered voters’ questions, and I was not terribly impressed. A young man asked him about whether troop withdrawals in Iraq would lead to chaos in the region. Senator Obama stated that there would likely be a brief escalation in violence, but that through diplomacy it would work out. His answers were so generic, particularly on Iraq, that his ability to deal with foreign policy matters became what concerned me most throughout the primary and general election. On a range of questions there basically seemed to be a lack of detail to his answers, as he tended to give stock campaign answers. However, the crowd loved him, and he didn’t say anything that would have turned off a supporter.
Oddly enough, my reaction to Mayor Giuliani was somewhat similar. I had wanted to see him from the very beginning, and was finally able to attend a town hall event of his in a hotel conference hall. He seemed somewhat defensive of being asked questions and was not specific in his answers. A young man who was a Marine at the time of 9/11 thanked the Mayor for his service, but asked him a tough question directly quoting the 9/11 commission’s report, and the Mayor essentially took a pass on the question. It was surprising that he had no real response, and a little disappointing that he didn’t see the difference between a citizen asking him a question and a journalist asking him a question. Again, he was likable enough, but his answers just lacked detail.
An Indpendent Call by Katherine J. Morrison available at Amazon.
The Wizard of Oz Meets NH Politics – AIC Excerpt #3
