I recently traveled to Washington D.C., for the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting. At this meeting, all 10 of the Democratic presidential candidates gave speeches and met attendees. I was able to meet all of the candidates except for Barack Obama and John Edwards. Being part of the New Hampshire delegation had its perks, allowing us access to the candidates that few other college students had. Here are my impressions of them.
The first candidate I met was Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. He has a reputation as being one of the Democratic Party's great communicators, and lived up to that reputation, speaking clearly and concisely about issues people were asking him about. He seemed to be a nice enough guy, and even remembered a number of us from his trip to Dartmouth.
After that, I had a chance to meet retired Army Gen.Wesley Clark. I only got a quick chance to shake his hand at the convention, but I had an opportunity to meet him over the summer at a fundraiser, so I will share my observations from that occasion. Clark seems to be a very no-nonsense type of guy, speaking in very direct terms about the issues, especially foreign policy issues. Also, when you are talking to him, he fixes you with a gaze that really makes you feel like he is listening to you.
Later in the afternoon of the first day of the convention came one of the most memorable moments of our trip. As we relaxed during some downtime before the next wave of events in the evening, we got word that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wanted to meet with us in private. We were led by her staff, past the Secret Service agents, to a conference room where she was meeting with individuals and small groups. We sat down and had a 20 minute discussion -- just the six of us and her. She was extremely nice, and listened intently to the things we had to say about the issues we discussed with her. She had a fantastic knowledge of all of the issues we spoke with her about, from student loans to New Hampshire tax policy.
Later that day, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., in what was the nicest gesture of any of the candidates, invited us both to a cocktail party he was hosting that evening and to his house to watch the Superbowl. At the party, he first gave a short speech, which was simply one of the best speeches I heard while in Washington, summing all of the core values of the Democratic Party. After that, we got to meet him and talk with him for a little while. He was very personable, taking pictures with us and cracking jokes. He honestly seemed to enjoy meeting people and talking with them.
Next, I met with former Sen. Mike Gravel, D-Alaska. He was quite a character, enthusiastically and at length speaking with us about the two events he has had here at Dartmouth so far, and promised to come up here again. He also took a number of pictures with us, introduced us to some important New Hampshire activists, and even called us "his Dartmouth guys."
Finally, we met Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M. He was especially friendly to us in a laid-back kind of way. In fact, when I introduced myself as being from Dartmouth, instead of shaking my hand, he gave me a high five and pulled me in for a one-armed man-hug. He spoke enthusiastically about coming to Dartmouth at some point, and took a number of pictures with us.
In meeting all the candidates, I was reminded that, despite the media hype, multi-million dollar campaigns and political posturing, at the end of the day, we are voting for individuals. While it is critical to know where candidates stand on the issues, all leadership is personal. It is important to know from whom you are voting, not just their platform.
