Hillary Clinton was an hour late. Some said it was because the crowds in Nashua were so immense -- 3,700 when they expected 1,000. Others said that their campaign was having a hasty strategy meeting in advance of polls showing her 10 points down. Since it was New Hampshire, no one could say it was traffic. The gym was full, though, and so was an overflow room on the other side of the high school in Hanover. A Clinton advance worker tried to amp up the crowd's flagging energy with Hillary trivia and T-Shirts while the theme song from Shrek played on unironically in the background, giving the whole thing a feel much like the first day of camp.But eventually, Clinton did arrive. And she was very good. Or at least, very knowledgeable. There's simply no doubt that she possesses a better understanding of the mechanics and specifics of American policy than John Edwards and Barack Obama. And her campaign strategy is to prove it. If every voter in New Hampshire could ask Hillary their special snowflake of a question, she'd win the state. No matter what the query, she gives a long, detailed, comprehensive response. But it is a response specific to the question, to that voter and the six others interested in a disquisition on that issue. The rest of the crowd sort of stares at their feet. Then a new question comes up, and a new set of nine voters are engaged, and the rest of the crowd gets a soup-to-nuts explanation of No Child Left Behind.Unlike Obama and Edwards, who step before a crowd and try to convert them all at once with a rousing speech, Hillary is trying to convert them all one at a time, with a demonstration of mastery over their issues. As a wonk, I love this tendency to speak in policy. Her answer on NCLB was the best explanation of the policy that I've ever heard. But I also watched voters begin to trickle out after 45 minutes, even as Hillary continued to talk, to answer, to convince. It's too much detail, too overwhelming, too disconnected from themes. Hillary is running something of a "show, don't tell," campaign. This event was designed less to emphasize a message than leave an impression: Hillary is prepared. By the forum's finish, you may have been a bit dazed and overwhelmed, but there was no way you'd argue the point. It's as if she learned that repeatedly telling Iowans that she was the most experienced candidate didn't do the trick, so she decided to show Granite Staters that she is. It's something of a doubling down on the strategy that didn't work in Iowa. But what else can she do? It's who she is, what she believes about governance. This isn't poetry, it's politics. Or so she hopes to convince the voters, one answer at a time.(Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Marcn.) HILLARY CLINTON ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS. AND EVERYONE ELSE'S.
Hillary Clinton was an hour late. Some said it was because the crowds in Nashua were so immense -- 3,700 when they expected 1,000. Others said that their campaign was having a hasty strategy meeting in advance of polls showing her 10 points down. Since it was New Hampshire, no one could say it was traffic. The gym was full, though, and so was an overflow room on the other side of the high school in Hanover. A Clinton advance worker tried to amp up the crowd's flagging energy with Hillary trivia and T-Shirts while the theme song from Shrek played on unironically in the background, giving the whole thing a feel much like the first day of camp.But eventually, Clinton did arrive. And she was very good. Or at least, very knowledgeable. There's simply no doubt that she possesses a better understanding of the mechanics and specifics of American policy than John Edwards and Barack Obama. And her campaign strategy is to prove it. If every voter in New Hampshire could ask Hillary their special snowflake of a question, she'd win the state. No matter what the query, she gives a long, detailed, comprehensive response. But it is a response specific to the question, to that voter and the six others interested in a disquisition on that issue. The rest of the crowd sort of stares at their feet. Then a new question comes up, and a new set of nine voters are engaged, and the rest of the crowd gets a soup-to-nuts explanation of No Child Left Behind.Unlike Obama and Edwards, who step before a crowd and try to convert them all at once with a rousing speech, Hillary is trying to convert them all one at a time, with a demonstration of mastery over their issues. As a wonk, I love this tendency to speak in policy. Her answer on NCLB was the best explanation of the policy that I've ever heard. But I also watched voters begin to trickle out after 45 minutes, even as Hillary continued to talk, to answer, to convince. It's too much detail, too overwhelming, too disconnected from themes. Hillary is running something of a "show, don't tell," campaign. This event was designed less to emphasize a message than leave an impression: Hillary is prepared. By the forum's finish, you may have been a bit dazed and overwhelmed, but there was no way you'd argue the point. It's as if she learned that repeatedly telling Iowans that she was the most experienced candidate didn't do the trick, so she decided to show Granite Staters that she is. It's something of a doubling down on the strategy that didn't work in Iowa. But what else can she do? It's who she is, what she believes about governance. This isn't poetry, it's politics. Or so she hopes to convince the voters, one answer at a time.(Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Marcn.) 
