...day two in photos...

Joel attempting to build a snowman.

The fruits of his effort.

Joel, Laura, and Adam tonight at our class dinner.

Andrew with the glow-in-the-dark glasses we all got from Dr. McLauchlan.

Dr. McLauchlan!

And, just for fun, here's a video that I took while we trying to take a group picture in the dark with our glowing glasses. We were all crammed in Paul and Brandon's hotel room, and though we certainly tried, the picture didn't turn out very well so we gave up on the dark shot.

...on the road...again.

the picturesque scene outside of the Nashua Obama headquarters

Today was an unusual day. After meeting briefly as a class over breakfast, we headed out around 9:00 a.m. to go to our campaigns. Because it was snowing and Dr. McLauchlan wanted everyone to see everyone else's campaign offices, it took a looooong time for me to get to my office headquarters. We're staying in Nashua and most everyone's campaign's are in town, but mine is about an hour away in Concord, along with Brandon and Shadi's. In between Nashua and Concord are the Manchester offices, so obviously we did Nashua people, Manchester, then Concord.

I was finally dropped off around 3:30 p.m., to a very quiet campaign office. Their were about 5 staffers -Cassidy, Abby, Chris, Perklis, and Rick (I think it was Rick...!)- in the office and no other volunteers, but at least I had things to do. I did phone banking for about 45 minutes and then helped some of the staffers out with two mailers. I only worked for about 2 and half hours because most people closed early due to New Year's Eve.

Tomorrow I'm going to be working in Milford with Cassidy and the rest of the gang on a 20,000 piece mailer. I'm looking forward to it because it's not phones! :P I don't mind doing phones at all, but it's definitely not at the top of my list of fun things to do around a campaign.

Hopefully my experience will get better as time goes on. I know a lot of my classmates had tons of fun meeting people and working on their campaigns, so helpful things will get more exciting over the next few days, especially after Iowa.

The tremendous amount of car riding that I participated in today did have some benefit. I had some great conversations with my classmates, which I really enjoyed, and I also got to know a bit more about some of them; I like hearing people's stories.

Anyway, that's it for tonight. I'll be posting another photo blog in a few minutes...

Until tomorrow then!

...day one in photos...

...meeting at TIA with Dr. McLauchlan and her daughter, Peggy, before our flight...

...my roommate, Maggie...

...Adam and Steve, boarding...

...New Hampshire from the air...

...Team Romney: Scott, George, and Laura...

...Damaris...

...New Hampshire!

...Emilio, outside waiting for the vans...

...outside our hotel, Damaris loves the snow...

...Andrew and Deb...

...Shadi...

...camping out in the lobby waiting for our room keys...


That's it for now! More tomorrow...

...here in New Hampshire...

We arrived here in New Hampshire this morning at 11:20 a.m., about a half an hour early. Dr. McLauchlan and Brandon left to get the vans and the rest of us got a little more familiar with each other in the food court. One of the more prominent things I was nervous about was the fact that I really didn't know anyone on the trip all that well, but we had a lot of fun today and I can see that I had no reason to worry.

Once we got to the hotel we quickly checked in (after marveling at the snow, that is) and settled our things. We took a trip to Wal Mart, which amply reinforced the lovely wonder that is no sales tax, and stocked up on "toasty toes" and snack food. Other than that, we just had some dinner and now have the night to get prepared for the rest of this week. Tomorrow the real fun begins!

Okay, now down to business...

I first heard about Mike Huckabee around 8 months ago through my friend's blog. The post peaked my interest, so I clicked around online for more info. I liked what I saw, but I didn't really think he had a chance so I let it slide from my mind. Fast forward to learning about this trip a few months ago. With over a dozen candidates to pick from, I couldn't find anyone I identified with as much as Huckabee, so I decided to work for him anyway and enjoy the experience on a smaller campaign. Obviously, things have changed in the past two months.

Ultimately I like Mike Huckabee because he seems the most straightforward and open of all the candidates. Clearly, should I get the chance to meet him, I'll be able to gauge this in person, but for now I'm happy with what I've seen and read. He handles tough issues and questions with deft and skill; he isn't contrived. Out of all the Republican candidates, he is most attuned to the needs of middle class families. Click here to learn more about his policies and positions.

...pre-trip thoughts...

Bright and early tomorrow morning we will be heading out for the icy cold of New Hampshire! I have been anticipating this trip for months with great excitement, yet I'm also mildly nervous about how these next ten days are going to be brought to life, or shall I say what exactly they will bring to life.

I've read and heard quite a bit in preparation for this course, whether it's about the primary itself, the candidates, or just the weather. My context is forming, but it's not very clear; I suppose the fun part is getting up there and seeing what of my context can be pushed around, thrown out, re-inserted and created.

Tomorrow I'll be sure to fill in what gaps I can so far, and also let you in on some of the reasons why I chose to intern for Mike Huckabee's campaign. In the meantime, be sure to look at the links provided on the right to Mike Huckabee's website and other news sites with information on his campaign. Further, I've linked all my classmates blogs on the lower right and our course website, Road to the Whitehouse, is listed in the "Relevant Links" section.

More to follow...