After weeks of fundraising and planning, I was recently able to cover a series of campaign events in New Hampshire with a pair of politically inclined friends, during which I learned a lot about myself and about covering politics on the national stage.
The opposite of Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72," our journalistic entourage had the opportunity to either engage with or listen to Senator Lindsey Graham, Governor Chris Christie, former Governor Jeb Bush, and Doctor Ben Carson at four events in twenty-five hours on the ground last weekend in New Hampshire, the home of the first presidential primary in the nation.
With a growing sense of urgency, each candidate entered his respective event with a mission: Graham was looking for one final hope as his campaign neared death, Christie was looking to make the most of his new found momentum, Bush was trying to shake the presence of Donald Trump, and Carson was trying to keep himself in the top tier with safe, non-politically threatening platitudes.
I was simply trying to take it all in. Hailing from a culturally remote county in Upstate New York, where few politicians of prominence dare step foot in, it was a form of culture shock to see how thousands of voters just seemingly interacted with men trying to become the next Commander in Chief, much in the same fashion as my neighbors will go to see a new, flavor of the week country band.
Originally intending to cover the Democratic debate between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders, and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, but unable to secure a press pass due to my status as a freelance reporter, I found no lack of political events to attend in the Granite State, as mid-afternoon town halls are considered entertainment to the state's electorate.
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| New Hampshire voters love politics so much, they feel the need to vandalize bathroom stalls to make their points. |
Perhaps most surprising was the relative ease of access to most of the candidates. No security was present for Graham's town hall, despite him being joined by fellow Senator John McCain, Christie's event was secured by his New Jersey security, but he still freely interacted with the crowd, and Bush had a few local cops present. Carson, who has Secret Service protection, was heavily guarded.
Furthermore, again colored by my history as a reporter in a small, rural county, I was surprised by the seemingly nonchalant relationship that existed between the local voters and the national press. It was as if both sides knew that they shared an unusual specter of power in the process of electing presidents, and as such, both held a grudging respect for one another.
The candidates also allowed themselves to open up, as they pushed aside their polished television personas for genuine encounters. (some of the time, anyway) Graham was blunt, yet humorous, while Christie used his decades of public speaking experience to forge personal connections, and Bush worked his inner wonk in with a mix of sarcasm that plays off better in person than on the big screen.
Carson was the only exception to this rule, and it might be unfair because he was separated from his audience by the Secret Service, but he came off more as a conservative talk show host than a candidate for the White House. Everything he said was in the context of a narrative and there were few human moments by the acclaimed neurosurgeon.
When all was said and done, after more than a full day's worth of news gathering and politicking, my one qualm with the trip is that New Hampshire is an exception to the rule in national politics. Candidates, journalists, and voters engage each other upfront and honestly, but respectfully, after relationships have been formed over months, and even years, but the same connection is almost nonexistent in Washington.
Maybe that's why we all turn our attention to New Hampshire every four years, because it's the one place where people still care about the decency and the future of the country, and where average, everyday folks still hold a measure of power over their government, while journalists leave their press pass gravitas in the luggage and relearn the value of tried and true shoe leather reporting.
Overall, considering the cost of my endeavor was approximately $250 (most of which was raised by friends and supporters), I'd say that the lessons I took home from New Hampshire were a real steal, especially since you can't put a price tag on experience, knowledge, and memories.
