Monday...
Mccomma raised a question in response to my blog items from last week while in New Hampshire chasing U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd. He noted in his comment that despite all the items posted, not a single comment was made by anyone from Connecticut. He said he found that "interesting." So do I.
I made my weekly appearance on the Lee Elci radio show this morning, and needless to say the conversation centered on my four-day trek to NH with Dodd. Lee asked me what impression I came away with after spending four-days there watching Dodd interactive with NH voters.
The answer was: There's good news and bad news for the senator.
The good news is that he is making an impression, and people are interested in knowing more about him. There were numerous examples of that, from the private house party in Jackson where the owners invited 87 of their friends to come and meet him - and close to 150 people showed up.
There was the 21-year-old college co-ed who was leaning in favor of Hillary Clinton, but after listening To Dodd's education proposal, told me that she "had to rethink that" because she found his plan to be "remarkable." (Her words). It is a pretty remarkable proposal that if put into place could cut the cost of a college education in half. (You can read more about it on Dodd's Web page....www.ChrisDodd.com)
There was the Manchester alderman who accompanied Dodd on the events in his city, introducing the senator to everyone he knew - and he knew just about everyone. Some might dismiss the support of a single alderman as significant, but in a city with a population of 108,000 - and a 16-year veteran of the Board of Alderman, you got to figure this guy has friends in order to get elected eight times. I wouldn't term it insignificant.
Then there were the five people who waited an hour at the Portsmouth Farmer's Market just because they wanted to see and talk to Dodd. Why? They told me they've seen him on TV doing interviews and the debates, and they wanted to see him up close and personal to see if "he's for real." They wanted to size him up.
There were examples like that at almost every stop we made over those four-days.
Now...does that "interest" translate into votes. Who knows at this point. But for those who would say he's simply wasting his time because of his showing in the polls, I would suggest that would be short-sighted.
On the down side...the polls will hurt him, particularly in the money race. He needs to start moving up in the polls or otherwise fundraising is going to become of a problem.
I made my weekly appearance on the Lee Elci radio show this morning, and needless to say the conversation centered on my four-day trek to NH with Dodd. Lee asked me what impression I came away with after spending four-days there watching Dodd interactive with NH voters.
The answer was: There's good news and bad news for the senator.
The good news is that he is making an impression, and people are interested in knowing more about him. There were numerous examples of that, from the private house party in Jackson where the owners invited 87 of their friends to come and meet him - and close to 150 people showed up.
There was the 21-year-old college co-ed who was leaning in favor of Hillary Clinton, but after listening To Dodd's education proposal, told me that she "had to rethink that" because she found his plan to be "remarkable." (Her words). It is a pretty remarkable proposal that if put into place could cut the cost of a college education in half. (You can read more about it on Dodd's Web page....www.ChrisDodd.com)
There was the Manchester alderman who accompanied Dodd on the events in his city, introducing the senator to everyone he knew - and he knew just about everyone. Some might dismiss the support of a single alderman as significant, but in a city with a population of 108,000 - and a 16-year veteran of the Board of Alderman, you got to figure this guy has friends in order to get elected eight times. I wouldn't term it insignificant.
Then there were the five people who waited an hour at the Portsmouth Farmer's Market just because they wanted to see and talk to Dodd. Why? They told me they've seen him on TV doing interviews and the debates, and they wanted to see him up close and personal to see if "he's for real." They wanted to size him up.
There were examples like that at almost every stop we made over those four-days.
Now...does that "interest" translate into votes. Who knows at this point. But for those who would say he's simply wasting his time because of his showing in the polls, I would suggest that would be short-sighted.
On the down side...the polls will hurt him, particularly in the money race. He needs to start moving up in the polls or otherwise fundraising is going to become of a problem.
posted by Ray Hackett at 9:29 AM
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