Open Thread: Dixville Notch Edition

Primary Day (0.00 / 0)

Having worked hard for Richardson (particularly during the final push), I was disheartened when I left the "victory" party that night, but I got home, and I saw Obama's speech, and that sealed the deal for me.  I got over Richardson's loss pretty quickly.

Obama had a somewhat different message in 2008 than in 2007.  After New Hampshire, it seems his team decided they couldn't assume everyone was on the same page with "hope" and "change"--though I was always on board with what he was talking about.  The 2007 version was just fine for me (the first time I saw him in person was the 100 Club the night after Iowa), but I believe 2008 will go down as the year Obama lived up to his hype.

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 06:53:18 AM CST

Going back to the 2008 post about Dixville Notch, I need to (0.00 / 0)

respond to this comment:

"Ted Miller from NARAL contacted me to tell me that they are calling 82,000 pro-choice Independent voters in New Hampshire with a message from NARAL president Nancy Keenan: "All the Democratic candidates running for president are pro-choice and will support and defend a woman's right to choose."

Not because I got a call (I didn't), but because the verbiage is really out of date.  We are not looking for a president to "defend" our human rights; we're looking for an executive to follow the Constitution and insure that our rights are respected.
Choice is a human capacity and ours to exercise by right.  However, it's an optional capacity which some people may not exercise.  Regardless, that's why the Constitution addresses the behavior of the agents of government, who are prohibited from interfering with a person's health care.  Period.

Funding particular goods and services does not cancel out the fundamental prohibitions against interference, including the prohibition against unequal service.

There's a lot of "if we pay for it we get to tell you how to use it" thinking going on.  If we decide that nationally funded medical service delivery is more efficient and more in tune with a population that likes to travel/move around, individuals will still be served by appropriate medical professionals.
It's not like the Department of Defense, which has both organizational and program delivery responsibilities.

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by: hannah @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 07:29:51 AM CST

Hoefer is right (0.00 / 0)

http://www.soapblox.net/blog/s...

Dean, you might want to consider a "tin hat" open SoapBlox thread. Maybe I'll start one.

As much as I admire the constructive responses to this, I think a little handwringing -- say, one day's worth -- is in order to hit everybody's reset button.

The thing I keep thinking is, what if it had been November 30, 2007? That was the day I felt most dependent on Blue Hampshire, more so than any primary day.

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by: JimC @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 09:04:54 AM CST

Hold on to that thought (0.00 / 0)

I think you will see something (regarding funds)in the next day or so about the future of soapblox and how folks can participate.

Hope > Fear



Create a free Blue Hampshire account and join the conversation.

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by: Mike Hoefer @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:37:16 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Held (0.00 / 0)

Thanks Mike.

By the way, what do you think of the open source notion floating around?

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by: JimC @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:17:19 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Also, a word from Paul himself (0.00 / 0)

on dKos about the situation.

But we will have more to say shortly on how to make this movement stronger and more secure still.

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by: Dean Barker @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 20:34:40 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Al Jazeera (4.00 / 2)

I will NEVER forget President-elect Obama's speech that night. I was in the NBC/Universal "studio" at the Radisson doing commentary for Al-Jazeera English (wild, huh?! I didn't know they existed prior to that). Most of the time though I sat at a table with a TV and a couple laptops alongside Mike Barnicle and some P.A.'s, mostly spending my time watching Chuck Todd run around with his blackberry, and Brian Williams & Tim Russert do live newscasts (we have some pix on NHYD's website).

Once the contest was called, I had one more segment to do and I was devastated. When Barack came out to speak, however, the hustle and bustle of that news studio stopped. Barnicle put down his newspaper and David Gregory sat down next to me with a notepad to watch the monitor. I just remember feeling rejuvenated and inspired at so many points during that speech that I knew Barack would win the nomination. Yes, I was on the bandwagon, but that speech is when I knew.

So, somewhere buried in the NBC archives is tape of me smiling broadly on Al-Jazeera English saying we just witnessed "the best concession speech in American history" :-)

One of the most surreal nights of my life. Hard to believe it was one year ago today.

Alderman-elect, City of Manchester (Ward Six)


President, NH Young Democrats

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by: Garth Corriveau @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 15:09:20 PM CST

Can't remember where I read it, (4.00 / 1)

but recently it was revealed that that speech was the victory speech; they left it largely unchanged as his concession speech.

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by: Dean Barker @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 18:32:03 PM CST

[ Parent ]

He didn't have to change his speech... (4.00 / 1)

He was in it for the long haul, and, as evidenced by the will.i.am, that speech was an instant classic, launching him on toward victory.  Any potential Obama supporter who saw that speech felt a renewed support for his possibility and plausibility.

In the end, I believe Barack Obama was a stronger candidate for having lost NH.  

If he'd won NH, the "freakshow" backlash would have been too much for ANYONE to rise above.

As it stood, the much-too-long primary campaign made him stronger.  It also helped him build strengths in Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, etc... It allowed Barack to deepen his network in key Republican strongholds for the eventual general election victory.

I think someone once said that it's in our days of defeat that we prepare for our biggest eventual victory of all.  

And if someone hadn't said that before, then I just did... and it's true.


Be the Change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi)

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by: KrisSchultz @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 21:24:48 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Obama's firewall (0.00 / 0)

When Clinton won NH, it was even steven. Obama now needed a firewall.

I knew that speech, as I heard it given, was the speech that was meant to be the coup-de-grace. Hillary's victory scuttled that effect.

What the speech did do, was fix in our guts how f'ing cool and audacious this man was. The words were so bold. There was no trepidation to be found. We saw the person that we wished was President after 9/11.

It made Obama a peer to Clinton. Strategy took it from there.

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 21:29:45 PM CST

[ Parent ]

strategy and hope (4.00 / 1)

"There's never been anything false about hope."

Alderman-elect, City of Manchester (Ward Six)


President, NH Young Democrats

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by: Garth Corriveau @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 21:54:02 PM CST

[ Parent ]

h/t Kelly Nordstrom (0.00 / 0)

For these pics:

(Autographed by Barack, Michelle and sister Auma.)

And thanks to Brandon Hurlbut for getting us in.

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 15:25:59 PM CST

A different perspective! (4.00 / 3)

I remember sitting in the Clinton war room in the afternoon, when Nick Clemons came in and said, okay, we're going to send Senator Clinton over to Granite Street to do visibility and that will get her on WMUR - everyone grab a sign and get over there!"  Except me, who was sent over to do live standups with tv and radio at SNHU, with the message, "the polls are still open, you still have time to get out and vote for Hillary Clinton."  We were fighting for the last vote until the polls closed every way we could - and when the numbers started to come in, and her lead kept holding as more and more precincts came in, it was unbelievably exciting.

I also remember that at SNHU, for some reason, Mike Vlacich and I recited the president's speech from the movie Independence Day while waiting for the election to be called officially. Must have been giddiness.

And, last but not least, how tired but happy the Clintons were when they all came in to a classroom at SNHU to thank the state senators, Speaker Norelli and a few others (mostly a team of women) who had supported Hillary and worked so hard for her.  

In other words, no matter what happened later, we'll always have SNHU...    

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 16:27:55 PM CST

A Great Feeling (4.00 / 1)

I did not make the SNHU Party because I was so exhausted from all our campaign efforts on behalf of Senator Clinton in Cheshire County.

We were watching MSNBC on the computers in the local headquarters and when the "expert" TV analyst said that a key precinct was Rindge because of the high numbers of Independent voters, I knew we had a chance because we already knew Senator Clinton had won Rindge handily.

Nevertheless, I still cannot forget the exhilaration I felt when the statewide returns confirmed that she had won. It was a great day!

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by: gradysdad @ Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 07:56:13 AM CST

[ Parent ]

YES WE DID (0.00 / 0)

I can't watch that will.i.am vid without feeling profoundly inspired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

just in case you missed it during the campaign, or didn't click on Dean's link above.


Be the Change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi)

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by: KrisSchultz @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 21:17:48 PM CST

The clip above (0.00 / 0)

has alot of cut aways of NH. It is not a head shot video.
I always look for people I know. It is fun.

The only face I recognized is Paul O'Connor.

www.KusterforCongress.com  

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 22:04:48 PM CST