One nice detail about spending time in New Hampshire this summer is we start getting a decent amount of presidential candidate hopefuls visiting. Of course, this year one has to be discerning (it's amazing how many times I looked at someone visiting and thought "who?"), and we are in northern NH which most candidates don't come to compared to the south. So there is a good balance between "do I think this person will actually get somewhere" and "I'm not driving two hours at this stage of the game to see someone speak." (Or, if you're Kristin Gillibrand, I won't even drive 30 minutes- she's done dozens of events in the state but I still can't believe she'll get anywhere.)
Anyway, Kamala Harris was in the sweet spot of my Venn diagram of criteria yesterday, speaking a 30ish minute drive away and actually has a reasonable chance, so went to check her out. It was a "house party" which means they convert a lot of space in someone's backyard (a former Congresswoman in this case) and it was a fairly rural spot, but we still had to park a 15min walk down the road as hundreds of people showed up! Here is a pic of everyone if you want to do a Where's Waldo of me.
Harris gave what I imagine is her typical stump speech, which was 40ish minutes long, and she definitely gives it well- I mean, there's a reason she's already a Senator from California. She also definitely looks younger than she is, which never hurts- we guessed 40s, but looked it up after and she's 54. Also clearly very passionate about issues, but very much a domestic emphasis- she basically didn't say much of anything about foreign policy, which is a shame because I think that's one real area where a president can make real strides. Also, Q&A was cut to just two questions (and one was a softball question from a kid about what she thinks about kids in cages) due to a faulty mic- embarrassing!
So with that, having seen her I do think she might have the right criteria to get the nomination- established politician but not one of the "old guard," passionate and speaks well, no serious baggage to speak of. (I know some are against some of her decisions from when she was a California prosecutor, but I'd argue that's nothing that can't be smoothed out if addressed.) I think if she does well in the next few debates that will cinch it for her- obviously the crowd was so huge because this was her first NH appearance since said debates, and people were curious, but you have to keep the momentum going. Of course, feel free to quote this again in a few months when we know how everything really goes down.
Anyway, I think the bf and I will check out some other events too if they're nearby etc, but they probably need to be more popular than Harris for us to go (aka Biden, Sanders, Warren). Funny thing is I definitely don't want to see the first two get it for sure- no offense to old guys, but I don't think a general election down to two old guys will go well- and while I'd be interested in hearing Warren I don't think she'd do well if she got the nomination (because you can argue about if it's fair, but too many people think "didn't she lie about being Native American to get her job at Harvard?"). But hey, I guess it's interesting to see politicians you've heard about for so long, so if they make it up north of Concord why not.
