Waterloo Events

Since returning from NH, I've attended two candidate's events in my hometown. Hillary Clinton had a large event on the fourth of July, and she was accompanied by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Mr. Clinton introduced his wife with a speech of his own, which really connected very well to the audience. Senator Clinton's speech that followed touched on the inaptitude of the Bush administration, and focused on turning America back around, focusing on withdrawing from Iraq and restoring the economy to a balanced budget. The event was not exactly the retail political event that Iowa can boast of, and was swarming with national media outlets, especially since this was the first time former President Clinton had campaigned with his wife. The next event I went to was the Bill Richardson event, the following week in downtown Waterloo at La Chiquita Mexican restaurant. The Richardson event was midday, but considering the venue and time, had a very strong turnout. Richardson was able to have a question and answer session, which proved useful because it forced him to speak to pretty much every major issue for the 2008 election. What struck me about Richardson was his emphasis of his experience with foreign policy, and his ability to integrate his sense of humor while campaigning. Both events were interesting in their own way, and I hope to attend many more in the upcoming months.

New Hampshire Experience

The week I spent in New Hampshire confirmed many of the beliefs I had about their civic engagement and political activity. Much like Iowa, citizens from New Hampshire feel the obligation to become informed on the candidates, since they have the unique opportunity to meet a candidate up close and in person. While in New Hampshire, we were able to have an interview with Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich seemed optimisitc about the caucus and primary systems set up in Iowa and New Hampshire, saying that the grassroots approach allowed candidates like himself, who are not heavily funded, to compete and get their message across. We also went to a fundraising event for Fred Thompson, who has not officialy entered into the GOP race, but is highly expected to. I was able to have a front row seat during his speech, which once again illustrates how available candidates are to residents of New Hampshire. Thompson is expected to become one of the front-running Republican candidates once he makes his announcement, which won't be until the fiscal second-quarter has to reported by all campaigns. Another interesting experience we had in New Hampshire was visiting the Merrimack Diner, a stop that any candidate going through New Hampshire must make. The diner is in Manchester on Elm Street, and has served as a platform for many presidential hopefuls to get their message to the people of New Hampshire. To wrap up, I'd like to implore you to visit the Washington Post's website, which keeps a daily schedule of where any of the candidate's are going to visit. It is a great chance to find out where any candidate you want to hear is going to be on any day, and gives you the chance to get out and ask the questons you want answered.

Iowa experience

The week that the Franklin Pierce students came to Iowa was the first time we were able to get together and truly colloborate on this project. It was also the first time we were able to connect the issues that are important to our states, and discuss the unique process that each state has in choosing the Presidential nominees for each political party. We were able to visit some of the important political sites throughout the state, including many of the candidates' campaign headquarters. Other valuable academic trips included visiting WHO, a radio station based in Des Moines, where we were able to have a panel discussion with members from the television, radio, and print media. Their insight into the Caucus process in Iowa from a reporter's aspect was the most interesting academic experience we had. Visiting different candidates' campaign headquarters and viewing the different operations was a good activity at the ground level of the campaign process. Inside and outside of the classroom, we were able to have in-depth political issue and candidate discussions, which deeply increased my knowledge of the aspects surrounding the '08 election. I came into this program with a rather elementary understanding of candidate's and their stances on the issues, so discussing these matters with my peers was the most beneficial part of this process up to this point. It isn't difficult to become politically aware or involved, it's just that it is intimidating for most people, especially the youth. Hopefully I'll post my New Hampshire experiences soon.