New Hampshire Waits for the Onslaught

Thu, January 03, 2008 - 6:36 PM

CONCORD, N.H. -- While all eyes -- of the country, world and universe as we know it -- on Iowa, I flew to Boston this morning, rented a car and drove north.

On Boston radio, the talkers dismissed as “Bible thumpers and bull breeders” the heartlanders who soon would be the first Americans to vote for president in their peculiar “meetings” Iowa calls caucuses. How, the New Englanders groused, could anyone care how Iowa votes?

As I headed into the lull before New Hampshire's storm, Concord was bathed in clear, frigid sunlight. Light glinted off the gold dome of the state capitol and off piles of snow lining the streets. And yet, even with most presidential candidates a time zone away, Concord hummed. The campaign volunteers who make the calls, canvass door to door and pass out fliers never left -- and they are counting the minutes until their turn.

And so, with the temperature still in single digits in the afternoon, a hardy -- but polite -- band of supporters of Republican hopeful Ron Paul, paraded down Main Street, waving signs and chanting. They were so well mannered they kept to the sidewalk and stopped for traffic lights.

A couple of blocks away, fans of Bill Richardson stood on the corner waving signs at cars within sight of a couple of workers for John McCain planting campaign signs in the “snow mountains” on what must have been a median strip. A snow mountain is the huge pile of snow left when snowplows do the best they can to clean up after Mother Nature. December brought record snows of 44 ½ inches to Concord, and city streets are lined with snow mountains, some sedan high. Walking is crunchy and slick, and signs on buildings warn of falling snow and ice.

I stopped in the cozy campaign office of John Edwards, where they were giving away hand warmers. A roomful of people, heads bent industriously, talked on phones. Five days to change America. When I asked if anyone from North Carolina was working there, a staffer said, “Yes, but he can’t talk to the media.” She mentioned an event with Edwards at 6:15 tomorrow morning. I picked up some campaign literature and trudged into the bitter wind.

Near my car, I saw something flutter under my windshield wiper. What -- a ticket already? Nope, it was a small piece of paper inviting people to a restaurant in Manchester Sunday to meet Joe Biden and join his supporters for appetizers.

In a few hours, the lull will end, New Hampshire will become the center of the political universe and people down the road in South Carolina or Florida or California will wonder why anyone cares what New Hampshire thinks.

-- Marsha Mercer