NH Primary Update: Wesley Clark Rally

I made it to a rally for General Wesley Clark this evening. His campaign called a couple of days ago to invite me, but I actually already had it penciled in on my calendar. It took place in the high school auditorium in Hudson, which is right across the river from Nashua. The room was packed. I'd guess 600 people, give or take. Lots of media, of course. The brightest camera light was shining directly in my eyes most of the time.

The crowd was more diverse than I expected. If you believe the media, Dean has a lock on the young people, but there a lot of college-age kids at this rally. True, the majority was somewhat older... I probably fell close to the median age, and that's really about the way it should be I think. The video that they showed before Clark arrived was inspiring, and Clark's speech was very good. He definitely remains on my short list. I've met a couple of four star military men, and they're all impressive.

Clark's intelligence came across much like Clinton's did. Communicating complex ideas in terms everyone can understand is almost effortless for him, totally unlike Gore and Bush, for example. (Either Bush, by the way.) The only other candidate who comes close in that regard is Dean, but Dean does it differently. Dean effortlessly simplifies the issue. Clark effortlessly simplifies the communication, while still showing clearly that he has full grasp of the issue. The difference comes across loud and clear to people who go to the trouble of actually learning about the issues. That's not the majority, however, which may be the reason why Dean is doing so well.

I'm not going to say much about General Clark on the issues in this post. I'll save that for later. My decision time is getting pretty close. The absentee ballot will have to be in the mail by mid next week to assure that it is counted. When I do come to a decision, I will post some specifics about key issues that swayed me toward the candidate.

This event was much less orchestrated than most of the similar events I've been to. There were no advance men assigning seating. I've seen some candidates' staffers purposely select "the right mix" of people to be in line with the cameras, but that didn't happen here. General Clark selected the questioners himself, and staffers hurried to get microphones to them. The questions were better than I've heard at most rallys, and they covered a wide range of issues. General Clark handled all but one question very straightforwardly. There was one that he dodged, but he did dodge it quite adeptly. It was about legalization of drugs, and he changed the subject to the blatant racial and class biases of mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. He demonstrated knowledge of many issues, and although I couldn't agree with him completely on some, I was very impressed with his answers on many others. The best moment was when he was asked what he thought about all the fuss about revitalizing the space program with new missions to the moon and Mars, and his answer was "Well, if someone has to go to Mars, I can't think of anyone better than George W. Bush to send there." ;-)

I didn't get to shake General Clark's hand at the end. As the crowd was thinning out, I positioned myself between him and the door figuring that was the best bet at getting a few seconds to greet him and maybe ask one quick question. He came within about three feet of me, but by that point the crowd was down to a few dozen and it was getting late. One of his aides pulled him in a different direction, toward some reporters and another door... so I left.

It would be nice if I could get to one more candidate's rally this year, but I don't think it will happen. I'll check the campaign schedules, but I'm pretty sure that most of them are concentrating on Iowa right now, and I'll be too busy getting ready for Lotusphere just as they're all turning their attention back to New Hampshire. It would be good to see Kerry though. Clark and Kerry are the short list as of now.