Just got back from the venue in Newcastle. Didn't get to see or hear the Governor though I waited in the overflow crowd for a while. There were just too many people.
The Latenight crew were in the lobby, doing silly interviews of the guy selling Dean cards, the alternative energy crew dressed in orange jump suits and yours truly trying to sell some Dean Plates.
The young woman doing the interviewing had the most annoying laugh, but a cute baby she used as a prop. I asked the husband if the baby was a permanent fixture and he said he hoped so.
During my interview the young woman wanted to know if Dean would kiss her baby. I told her I thought not, because as a doctor he knows such close contact with strangers should be avoided, especially in the winter. (Doubt that will get on Latenight). For some reason this person did not seem to know that the candidate is a doctor, nor that his wife is one as well. Perhaps it was just an act, but I'm afraid that even media people are not very well informed. At one point the baby was encouraged to scream/growl but was drowned out by her mom's laugh.
I sold three plates. One to a gentleman from Denmark. Another to a man who'd been at the rally in Philadelphia and the third to a young woman who'd come up from Baltimore for the weekend to stand on street corners and hold signs.
I don't think people are going door to door. For one thing, it's just too bloody cold. Also, they don't seem to have been issued any special head gear. There were a few people with those orange caps from Iowa around, but not a whole lot.
Nobody left early as far as I could tell. The crowd in the hotel lobby stayed a pretty constant size. One staff person said that a lot of undecideds had been invited, but most people had either Dean buttons or stick-ons when they left.
I did have a long chat with a graduate student from the Fletcher School of Economics who told me that his goal was to make sure the United States retains its superiority over the rest of the world. I couldn't help myself from wondering if his severe stammer had anything to do with his need to be part of the most powerful nation, but I argued the merits of his antagonism (to the United Nations, for example) in good faith.
The Governor had some competition in the lobby from Chris P. Carrot who is being promoted for President by the PETA people. Chris P. Carrot and Kernel Corn were in appropriate costumes. (They will probably appear on Latenight).
As you may have guessed, the campaign scene has a bit of a circus atmosphere.
The plates, by the way, are available from:
http://www.americatakingaction.com/HD/
Posted by Monica Smith at January 24, 2004 05:09 PM