By Lisa Wexler, host of The Lisa Wexler Show on WGCH 1490 AM, weekdays from 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Fans of Marco Rubio in New Hampshire. Credit: Lisa Wexler
Rubio
Crowds build at MCkelvie Intermediate School, Bedford New Hampshire to wait for Rubio. Word is 1,100 people showed to Nashua for a pancake breakfast early Sunday morning. Rubio joked about Saturday night’s weak performance at debate.
Packed crowd in Bedford, tons of press. People here to observe, not all committed to him, but many are. Rubio said his message is for people living paycheck-to-paycheck. Talks about student loans, parental values, strong families, undoing damage of Obama. He said we have a selfish generation of leadership and we all may have to retire at 68.
Rubio says Obama divides the country, but he won’t. He will be the president of people who disagree with him.
Memorable line: “I have a debt to America that I will never be able to repay.”
Crowd listening but not roaring. Sounds like another stump speech but performed well. Rubio looks young, fit, energetic.
When asked about Supreme Court, Rubio said he wants more judges like Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. Crowd goes for that answer.
Lisa Wexler and John Kasich. Credit: Lisa Wexler
John Kasich
Onward to smaller but still sizable crowd for John Kasich at Nashua Community College. Kasich is friendly and approachable enough to take a picture with me as he enters. Patient, too.
Governor Hassan opened with stories of addiction, cancer, personal stories of pain and hope.
Hundreds of volunteers from Ohio arrived in the state to support him. I’ve spoken with at least six, each of whom came because they think he is doing a great job in Ohio. All are men.
Memorable line: “We have to slow down because we have so many people around us who are so lonely and they live right next to us. Can’t we slow down and listen?”
Kasich took questions from the crowd. On abortion, he said the only exceptions he believes in are rape, incest and the life of the mother. He turned around the answer to stress his support of pay equality and child care for working moms. He threw in that this issue is not a litmus test for him in choosing judges.
Against the wall stood Mike Barnicle and John Heillman. I took a picture.
As I leave, my reflection is that John Kasich reminded me of Henry Fonda in Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man.” He would be a fine president, but he probably won’t make it.
By 3:00, we were at Milford MS, waiting for Bill Clinton. There were no chairs for anyone except a few of us lucky press. Feet and back were starting to ache after standing all day- this kind of thing requires a special kind of stamina. Or flats. I ended up sitting on the floor with my back against the wall. Apparently I started a trend.
Sizable crowd of around 150. Music notable for anthems of powerful women. “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger,” by Kelly Clarkson seems an apt fit.
Chris Matthews in the room, leaning against the wall.
Bill Clinton Photo credit: Lisa Wexler
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton enters. He is gaunt, pale, white- haired and hoarse. But he’s still got it. When he starts speaking, you can hear a pin drop.
Memorable line: “When I got elected it worked out pretty well for you , didn’t it?”
“When you realize you have more yesterdays than tomorrows you want for other people to live their dreams.”
President Clinton talked about bringing down cost of health care, refinancing student loans, lots of platitudes. Defends Muslims in America. Defends gay rights.
Says next President will have 1-3 seats to place on the Supreme Court. He said Hillary wants to reverse the Citizens United case, and will go to a constitutional amendment to reverse it.
Cleverly took on Bernie Sanders without ever mentioning his name. Not once – I was paying close attention. Bill goes after Bernie re looting information from the DNC. Said Bernie drove the car away after the DNC left the keys in it. Bill said Hillary believes in going after bad actors in the system, not in changing the system, as opposed to the opponent, who is unrealistic.
Memorable line: “The New Hampshire I knew would not have voted for me if I had done what the opponent did. ”
Closing theme: “Hillary always makes something good happen”.
After an hour, in which I admit to closing my eyes here and there, we took ourselves to the Radisson to partake in a group media Super Bowl party.
Hoping snow will not get in the way for Monday’s festivities. Broadcast starts 4:00pm. Tune in to WGCH 1490am from 4:00pmto 6:00pm.
See also:
Saturday: Dispatch from New Hampshire: Greenwich Radio Host Lisa Wexler Hits the Ground Running
A talk radio host, Probate Judge, attorney, advocate, author and public speaker, Lisa Wexler is a master at communicating information in an entertaining way. She is also the Probate Judge for the Westport/Weston District in Connecticut, having been elected twice.
She is an attorney admitted to the Bars in Connecticut and New York and graduated from The Johns Hopkins University and The New York University School of Law. Lisa is the co-author of “Secrets of a Jewish Mother,” (Penguin/Dutton) with her sister, “Real Housewives of NYC” Jill Zarin, and her mother, advice columnist Gloria Kamen. Lisa has always been active in her community, serving on the Westport Planning and Zoning Commission the Westport Zoning Board of Appeals.