Officer Sullivan and his partner Akima

The Senator poses with Hudson Police officer
Kevin Sullivan and his partner Akima after the town hall meeting . Officer Sullivan told me about his meeting with the Senator in the 2000 race. The Hudson police had their hands full when the town hall meeting became a huge success and the turn out blocked the local streets.

January 5 2008 road to the white house

The morning started with a meeting with the academic voice of the New Hampshire primary . Dante Scala schooled the interns on the ins and outs of the NH Primary . After a quick lecture the much quoted professor fielded questions about demographics and his predictions about the 2008 primary. At 9am sharp the alarm went off and the class was confronted with a fire in their wing of the hotel this threw a wrench into our day as our hotel was burning with our belongings inside it. The entire day was a loss but good news followed as we were transfered to a much nicer Radisson hotel .

January 4 2008 Hudson Florida

After having a couple of Coronas with the local vets, my new friend Omar Kerr and I stepped from the bar at the Hudson VFW hall to hear Presidential candidate John McCain speak in front of crowd of over three hundred Veterans and their families .
The senator spoke about his usual topics and took question from the crowd and posed for pictures . WE waited until he was done speaking and headed for our own photo op and grabbed a quick picture with the candidate

Derry town meeting

The senator from Arizona speaks at Derry New Hampshire to a standing room only crowd.The senator touched on issues such as the war in Iraq, pork barrel spending ,and taking on medicare and social security .He then lent a microphone to senator Lieberman and the two answered questions from the crowd.

New Hampshire Jan 3 2008

Today I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Nashua's 8th ward Alderman
Dave McLaughlin. Alderman McLaughlin has served several terms and is an experienced city legislator. The Alderman gave me a quick lesson in the local political culture and operational environment of Nashua's government. He told me " New Hampshire is like a live political classroom" . The City of Nashua has fifteen alderman and six of those alderman are supporting John McCain in the primary .The other alderman are all over the spectrum with their support so among the Nashua city council it seems McCain is the man to beat.
The Nashua McCain Office has been put into high gear with most of the staff and volunteers working the phones. The Cold weather is preventing the grassroots house to house visits so its back inside to man the lines.

WHY NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARIES ARE SO UNIQUE

January 2, 2008 One day after celebrating the new year the campaign to elect John McCain is running at full stride hitting each step with a constant pace that may just carry him into the front of the pack. The 8th ward of the city of Nashua is the place to be . A local member of the county steering committee plans a party for the county republicans as a small get together of neighbors and friends and some elected officials . The highlight of the night is a visit from the Connecticut senator who has been a loyal supporter of john McCain for years. Senator Lieberman arrived with a small security force and an aid de camp in tow ,to speak to this small enclave of very dedicated supporters mixed with some neighborhood friends. The evening could not have been more pleasant the house was warm and charming the food impeccably prepared mixed with a New England holiday atmosphere it was just amazing . The fact that this even happens in this day and age of mass media . The fact that you throw a party and a senator from the other party shows up to support your candidate is just out of the ordinary.

Wednesday jan 2

Finally the snow has stopped and we are able to move around in the vans without risking our lives. The trip so far has been a whirlwind of activity on the campaign road. I spent yesterday making hundreds of phone calls and talking with a well disciplined hard working group of volunteers . The best way to describe the Nashua McCain Campaign office is disciplined From our director Rob to our team leader Andy and all of the volunteers it has been like a well oiled machine . Six thousand phone calls by eight people in two days . I challenge anyone to match that volume of phone canvasing.
The response on the phones and in the neighborhood canvasing has been excellent McCain is a New Hampshire favorite . The senator has several town hall meetings scheduled this week I plan on working at one of those events and hopefully spend some time with the staff away from the campaign office .
Let me tell you a little about the staff , the Nashua office is made up of a cross section of people from throughout the country . The men that make up the Nashua campaign office range in age from 18 to 80 and come from every race creed and color which shows Senator McCain's widespread appeal among Americans . There seems to be a very patriotic conservative trend in the make up of the staff and all are well mannered gentlemen with sharp political minds and a passion for the candidate it has been a real pleasure to spend time with them and listen to their reasons for joining the campaign.
My last few days have been exhausting and a bit trying, but I actually feel invigorated and energized . The morning meetings are a great way to get together for the class and a great way to see everyone off to work. The time spent discussing politics with the other students is the Greatest part of this trip. I have never met such a intelligent well spoken group of people in my entire life I feel privileged to be with them on this trip, their passion and energy is rubbing off on my 45 year old carcass .