Out-of-Staters Out of Sight in Dean's New Hampshire Efforts
By ADAM NAGOURNEY - NYT
KEENE, N.H., Jan. 26 — Howard Dean's headquarters by the banks of the Merrimack River in Manchester was hustling and bustling on Monday with volunteers working the telephones and preparing for election day. But one thing was conspicuously missing: the people in the orange caps.
Those would be the soldiers of the Dean Perfect Storm, the well-publicized tactic the Dean campaign used in Iowa in which it encouraged 3,500 out-of-state volunteers to come by plane, bus and car pool and go door-to-door to tell Iowans why they should vote for the former governor and doctor from Vermont.
This tactic would seem to be the latest casualty of Dr. Dean's third-place showing in Iowa. Karen Hicks, the New Hampshire state director for Dr. Dean, said Monday that she would prefer to rely on people who actually lived in New Hampshire.
"The core of our organization is in-state people who have been working in their community to get out the vote," said Ms. Hicks, who has methodically organized more than 1,000 house meetings to build a base of support that Dr. Dean's advisers believe may be their best hope for turning around the election.
Ms. Hicks diplomatically demurred when asked if she thought the use of out-of-state volunteers in Iowa contributed to Dr. Dean's 20-point loss to Mr. Kerry.
But, she said, "it is much more effective for people to talk to people they know about why they are supporting Howard Dean. I believe you need a corps of in-state people, and they are in the best position to deliver the message of this campaign."
Ms. Hicks said she did not want to discourage out-of-state people who turn up at the door, bright orange caps in hand — there were two Monday afternoon. "We welcome their help," she said.
But they should not expect the choice assignments. The out-of-staters, another official said, had been put to work driving the shuttle between a parking lot downtown and the campaign headquarters.
High School Challenge
One of the challenges for campaign organizers in trying to put together a big, loud rally on the Monday before election day is trying to find enough people to fill a hall. That is why candidates on weekdays can often be found at schools and colleges, where they are sure to draw a captive crowd.
That put Senator John Edwards of North Carolina in a peculiar position Monday morning. He found himself talking at the gymnasium at Milford High School to a few hundred teenagers about health care and the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. His audience stared at him bored and blankly, playing with cellphones and whispering jokes as Mr. Edwards went through his campaign speech.
"We are one day away from the day when you" — Mr. Edwards paused at that, taking in his audience of 16-year-olds — "YOUR FAMILIES can vote," he said.
Still, this being New Hampshire, the appearance of a big-name Democrat did not particularly impress the children.
"We had Howard Dean's brother — and Joe Lieberman's son," Scott Crocker, 16, who had an electric guitar slung around his neck.
"We had Howard Dean's brother?" responded his friend, Kevin Parquette, with evident excitement.
But Scott suggested that his excitement might be misplaced. "Yes," Scott said. "But since Howard Dean tweaked, I don't think that guy should be president."
`Dr. Kerry' to the Rescue
Maybe Howard Dean isn't the only doctor in the presidential race. In an appearance at an auditorium at Keene State College, John Kerry was into the 30th minute of a very long presentation when one of the young campaign volunteers standing behind him, Patrick Doyle, 14, collapsed under the hot klieg lights.
The room went silent as Mr. Kerry sprung into action. He waved his hand over young Patrick's face, and called for water. He elevated the boy's legs, to get blood into his head.
And as voters started yelling at news photographers and television cameras for shooting this image of presidential candidate coming to the rescue, Mr. Kerry held his hand up — though, truth be told, not very forcefully — as if to block the photographers from getting the shot on the last day of the campaign.
Finally, to applause, Patrick sat up and, as "Dr. Kerry" rubbed his shoulder, got up and walked stiffly off the stage.
"I'm just told that he's one of our hardest working volunteers," Mr. Kerry said.
"He sure fell for you!" someone shouted from the crowd as Patrick stood unsteadily at the side.
Mr. Kerry ignored that and, without missing a beat, looked up into the audience to start answering more questions about Medicare.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company |
