"Read My Lips" - Part II

Lunch at Young's was our first sit down restaurant experience since arriving in New Hampshire. We had time before Giuliani's Town Hall in Exeter, so we were unhurried. It felt like vacation. During our lunch conversation, I began to sense that Marra was absorbing some of the issues that had been force fed to her for a day and a half. She was talking a little like a liberal, but who isn't under the age of 15? Right before ordering lunch, we were briefly interviewed for the University newspaper by an aspiring journalist. She jotted down quotes from both of us, got the proper spelling of "Marra", and thanked us. Not exactly the Washington Post, but it's the press, nonetheless.

Directions to Exeter from Durham sounded easy. They weren't. I got us lost for the first time, and we sacrificed about 20 minutes seeing more of rural NH than we had planned. There was no panic, though. After the fire drill schedule of yesterday, 3 Sunday events seemed effortless. And the weather was so spectacular, it was impossible to feel stress. We knew we'd get there. We did, and we were late.

Exeter, NH did not appear to have changed in 100 years, from the gazebo in the middle of Main Street to the Whirlygigs Toy Store with its red awning. I am certain that I had seen a Twilight Zone episode that had been filmed with Exeter as a backdrop, an episode in which time stands still and the inhabitants never die. Marra and I were the visiting aliens, with our modern gadgets and funny clothes. Once out of the car, I took pictures of the downtown area, hoping to prove to outsiders that this place really exists.

The Town Hall was nothing but a Town Hall. It was not a room within a government building, it was not a school gymnasium, it was not an arena. It looked to be built specifically to hold political meetings involving all the citizens of the tiny hamlet. The room was full when we arrived (250 people?), so we made our way to the front right to sit on a small riser under the windows. The front backdrop was an enormous "Rudy" red and blue sign, and two rows of average Joes were placed in folding chairs beneath it. They were facing the crowd, like a jury in a small town trial. Once again, we had an excellent vantage point for pictures and maybe being called on for a question.

This was not good enough for my daughter, however. She wanted us in the balcony looking down on the proceedings. "Please, Daddy," she pleaded, "Let's at least look." I gave in, we went upstairs, and the view was fine - until we sat. Once you sat down and leaned back into the chair, three-quarters of the room disappeared from view. Nice move, Marra. Next time, we do like your Old Man wants.

Rudy entered from behind the curtain, Secret Service in plain view. Like all the other candidates, he received a rousing standing ovation.

His stump speech centered on several themes. First, Hillary is bad. Second, he is a leader who gets results with LOW taxes. Third, Hillary is bad. OK, just 2 themes. I learned that NYC was the 17th largest economy in the world, that's impressive. I learned that he is very intelligent, just like I read in the past. He explains his positions with depth of understanding, and he uses great illustrations to support his points. I also learned that front runners take no chances. He spoke to the group for longer than Edwards, and left very little time for questions. Front runners don't want questions. He emphasized the anti-Hillary message repeatedly. He is clearly angling for the "I can beat Hillary" vote. At one point in his speech, he says he has a quote from Hillary to read, and he make a dramatic pull of a piece of paper from his pocket and reads the quote: "I have a million ideas. This country can't afford them all." He then quips, "I'm not sure America can afford any of her ideas." He blasts the Democrats for not having any leading candidates with executive experience, reinforcing his contention that only he has the ideas that he can move forward. He is a doer, not a talker.

We were again shut out on the question asking, but remember, we were now in the balcony, way out of range. But here were the questions I was prepared to ask:

"President Clinton raised taxes in 1993, and the country experienced explosive growth for almost a decade after. You are saying that any tax increase will stifle growth and always does. How do you explain this, given the history of the 1990s?"

"You are repeatedly stating your opposition to "socialized" health care in this country. We already have "socialized" retirement with Social Security. We have "socialized" public education. Medicare is already a "socialized" health care system. Given your rhetoric against anything "socialized", which one of the previously described programs would you eliminate as President?"

(This question was developed after he pulled the Hillary quote from his pocket) "Mr. Mayor, have you ever had a quote taken out of its original context used against you in a political campaign, and if so, is that fair game?"

I didn't get to ask anything, but his final question was from a young boy near the front. I paraphrase: "If there was something bad on another planet, and it came to Earth and tried to hurt us, what would you do?" After the laughter died down, he was very gracious, assured the boy that we take care of it, and then offered to answer one more question, "about anything here on this planet."

As we filed out at the end of the event, I asked Marra what she thought of this guy. Her answer: "He wasn't very nice to Hillary Clinton or John Edwards." Niceness should still count for something. I am glad that she recognizes that.

JS