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By Frank Marlo (MALD '00)
Before going any further, however, I should probably answer the question, "Why Bush?" While I admire both Bush and his rival, Sen. John McCain, my volunteering for the campaign was more a function of fortuitous timing than any deeply-rooted commitment to the Governor. Keith, a friend of mine from college now living in Texas, worked on Bush's exploratory committee and is a volunteer for the Governor's campaign. He was coming to New Hampshire as one of 200 Texan volunteers and called to ask whether my wife and I would be interested in seeing a presidential campaign in action. We jumped at the chance. We arrived in Concord on Sunday, Jan. 30, two days before the primary. One of the first things to strike me was the casual, almost chaotic, atmosphere of the campaign. After hearing so much about the "strong, well-organized Bush machine," I was expecting detailed instructions and firm timetables for the three days we would be in New Hampshire. Instead, the volunteers were broken up into teams of about 15 people, given a van, some signs, a box of literature and some general geographic areas to work, and (largely) allowed to do their own thing. The campaign emphasized that we had to be flexible and use our best judgment when interacting with the voters. At the initial volunteer meeting, we were told that there was really only one major rule: "Don't spaz!" As I would learn later, this "organized chaos" was a feature common to every campaign. The three days we spent on the campaign trail were educational in several ways. First of all, I was amazed at the range of volunteers who had spent their own money and given up vacation time to work for the campaign. While almost all our team members came from Texas, they lived in vastly different sections of the state, had very different backgrounds and came from very different economic circumstances. We had several state and local government officials, an elderly retired gentleman and several middle-class, married couples. What unified these people was an honest belief in their governor. Second, there truly is something unique about the New Hampshire primary. The state is so small and the stakes are so high that it was almost inevitable that we would run into other candidates, the press and even the Governor himself. On Super Bowl Sunday, our team watched the second half of the game in a bar at the Manchester Holiday Inn alongside Peter Jennings and his crew. On Monday, our team leader received a call from the campaign informing us that Bush was at a restaurant a few blocks from the area we were assigned and asking us to rendezvous there. This tip gave us a chance to see the Governor, and I managed to get a picture taken with him. Later that day, ABC News filmed our team campaigning door-to-door and used some of those segments on the six o'clock broadcast.
Finally, this trip was gave us a welcome chance to speak with volunteers from several other campaigns, both Republicans and Democrats. After getting past the good-natured teasing, I found them to be (with a few unfortunate exceptions) dedicated, intelligent, and friendly men and women who were excited about participating in the political process. For many, it was also their first exposure to presidential campaigns, and I found it reassuring to hear that every campaign was run on that strange mixture of carefully planned events and absolute chaos that I had attributed to the Bush effort. It was especially nice to hear these volunteers explain, without the distortions and blatant biases of the national or local media, why they supported a particular candidate. The three days we spent in New Hampshire were a revealing and rather encouraging experience. There is something deeply satisfying about seeing the democratic process at work and meeting people who were genuinely excited about their candidate. The Massachusetts primary will be held March 7, a.k.a. "Super Tuesday," a day which could very well determine the nominations for both the Republican and Democratic parties. If you have already figured out which candidate you support, think about volunteering some of your time. If you're still deciding, try to attend a few campaign events. You might be surprised at how much you'll learn. Comments? Write us at letter@fletcherledger.com |
