Tuesday, July 15, 2025



Kerry-ing on in New Hampshire

As idealistic college freshmen, eager to make a difference in our first presidential election, we have trekked up north for the weekend to help John Kerry win the democratic nomination. The thermometer reads three degrees above zero but the radio says the wind-chill is fifteen below. We pull up to the designated meeting spot, an empty parking lot for a software solutions company, where we see a collection of John Kerry bumper stickers decorating an old Volvo station wagon, a Ford minivan, and a Jeep Wrangler.

Dan O’Conner, a recent Colby graduate and currently the head Kerry staffer in Laconia, N.H., steps out of the minivan dressed for the weather complete with a New England Patriots jersey. Dan introduces us to Nick Odatto, a sophomore political studies major at Tufts, who has been volunteering for Kerry since November. We are also joined by an older crowd of eager citizens that includes a local lawyer.

This being our first time helping out with a political campaign, we are not exactly sure what to do. We begin by each taking a large John Kerry sign from the back of the minivan and follow Dan out to a busy intersection, where we divide up so that each of the four corners has ample Kerry exposure.

As we try to face the sun in the sub-zero weather, we realize that our fingers and toes are already numb. The cold becomes more bearable with each car that drives by honking in support. The very eager people driving Subaru Outbacks and Hybrid cars roll down their windows and yell their support. One lady in a Honda CRV pulls over, expresses her support for Kerry and insists on making a run to the closest Dunkin’ Donuts to pick up a round of coffee and hot chocolate.

As we smile and wave at all the cars going by, we take a moment to remark on the fact that we never thought we would be standing on a street-corner waving signs around. But we are impressed by this first-hand evidence that idealism still exists in American politics, even if it can only be found in rural New Hampshire.

Eventually our ability to withstand the cold deserts us completely, and we move to our cars to convene for coffee and hot chocolate. In Dunkin’ Donuts, we peruse the local paper and are happy to see a big Kerry advertisement placed by a group of local Democrats. Dan comes over to our table to explain that we will spend the afternoon canvassing.

Canvassing in New Hampshire consists of driving to houses of registered Democrats or Independents in the local area and trying to persuade them to vote for Kerry. So we set out in the car with a list of names and addresses, and a map.

To our delight, the map is actually quite well-highlighted, and we have no trouble locating the first house. Nick offers to go to the door with one of us, the idea being that he, as an experienced canvasser, can show us how the whole thing works.

Our first attempt proves to be one that occurs frequently; we get no answer at the door but leave our Kerry literature anyway, marking down our efforts as a drop. The next house we approach seems to have life inside. Nick and Lirra Schiebler ’07 go to the door. As Molly Shuster ’07 and I watch, the door seems to be opened and then shut immediately. We wonder what could possibly have been so scary about Lirra and Nick that someone would not even accept their literature. Upon returning, they tell us the person said “I like Bush” and shut the door.

Another common encounter is when a similar L. L. Bean wearer opens the door and smiles at our idealistic pursuits and our support of the Democratic Party. They then shyly admit that they are still deciding between Kerry and Dean. These situations are ideal for us because they offer us a chance to persuade them that Kerry can win. However after putting our best effort into explaining his platform, it seems that we have not changed our host’s opinion one way or the other.

At the end of the day, we were marginally frostbitten, completely exhausted, and entirely impressed by our fellow Kerry supporters. As we said goodbye to Dan and Nick, they were getting ready to set up a giant Kerry sign on what seemed to be the windiest road in New Hampshire. We will be eagerly watching the numbers come in on Tuesday, wondering if and hoping that our frozen efforts were not in vain.

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