I rarely spend much time preparing for a campaign event. All I need is a few hours to charge my camera batteries and I'm on my way.
My routine changed for yesterday's "United for Change" rally. Not only did I repeatedly (and unnecessarily) submit my request for press credentials to guarantee that I was given access, but I gave the event more that its fair share of attention over the past few days. On Wednesday I predicted a larger crowd than expected, imagining news headlines like: "Tens of Thousands Make Pilgrimage to Unity." As it happens one could summarize the whole event as simply, "2,500 Unite for Historic Event," but that doesn't tell the whole story.
Driving to New Hampshire yesterday I played out a number of scenarios in my head about the rally. I expected a bunch of older voters and stay-at-home moms and dads to show up. I also figured there would be a smattering of protesters, both Republicans and Democrats. It seemed pretty simple: the two candidates would share the stage as a symbol of the Democratic Party's unification, and while most everyone would be excited, a handful of disgruntled ex-Clinton supporters would try to make the news with "Obama's an Empty Suit!" signs.
True, true, and true.
I had never felt it before at an Obama event, but I half expected (to borrow Clinton's previously sarcastic line) "the sky to open, the light to come down, and celestial choirs to start singing" outside the middle school in Unity. As it turns out, I could barely muster goosebumps.
Although the rally was a solid event, it never really took off the way one would have expected given the two historic candidates who were uniting their efforts for the first time. In part, I believe this was due to some missed opportunities. I expected (as did others I spoke with) that both Senators Obama and Clinton would finally loosen up and use yesterday's event as an opportunity to poke fun at their long primary fight in order to lighten the mood and release some of the tension and pent up emotions between their two campaigns, and to move on, with a shared laugh, towards a sense of shared community that would be felt by both of the candidates' backers. That never happened. In addition, for so long now, Obama and Clinton supporters have prided themselves on being different from each other and I never felt like either of the Senators took a moment yesterday to simply break the ice and acknowledge those differences (the proverbial "elephant in the room") and state that they would be valued and respected, as part of the process of bridging the interests of their respective campaigns.
As I stepped off the school bus that transported the media to the event, I couldn't help but notice the giant wooden "U-N-I-T-Y" prop that had been suspended on the side of the stage, not to mention the new "United for Change" signs that were being distributed. It was clear that the Obama campaign wanted to turn this rally into something truly spectacular. From my point of view that did not happen.
It strikes me now that it was not the Obama campaign's fault that yesterday's rally was not one of the more memorable campaign events I've been to. Beyond the logistical difficulties inherent in organizing a campaign event --delays in bussing thousands of people into and out of a tiny rural town, long waits, and occasionally inadequate facilities--all of which occurred here, first, in the hot sun, and then, in a fierce thunderstorm. The hardest part—the part that the Obama campaign had difficulty achieving —was how to market the idea of "unity" in ways to create a compelling front page story and make a big splash.
New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter said it best yesterday: "Did anyone ever doubt this moment would happen?"
Whether or not anyone will remember what was said in Unity, NH, the moment has occurred.
(Photo credit: Luke N. Vargas. 2008. All Rights Reserved)
