Random notes
Posted: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 5:20 PM by Daily Nightly Editor
Filed Under:
Brian Williams, Notes from the field
By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor
Risking charges of TMI, in no particular order, here's the news from Manchester, New Hampshire:
1) The town square has become a free-fire zone. Every human is taking images (either moving or still) of some sort -- and seemingly everyone here is pushing a particular candidate, working for one or covering one. The networks are set up in various camps -- hotels, tents, trailers. The people here are marvelous, and seem to relish the political axe they will wield with their primary votes. My favorite story so far: the Manchester attorney named Jasmine who is apparently such a fan and loyal reader of this blog that she came to our hotel to tell us so.
2) Several of us are trying to talk ourselves out of the stomach bug that is spreading throughout the NBC workspace. Hand sanitizer has become indispensable.
3) The lobby of the Radisson has become its own free-fire zone -- with students, local folks, the curious and political types, looking to buttonhole or take a picture with anyone passing by who is remotely recognizable. In the space of 60 seconds I just saw Dennis Kucinich, the "Obama Girl," and Patrick Healy of the New York Times, who covers the Clinton Campaign. I just told Mike Barnicle to tuck in his shirt, and one of our producers, Mario Garcia, is missing a pair of pants. Sometimes it's best not to ask too many questions.
4) I just spoke to a veteran Clinton loyalist, upset over the rumors emerging from the campaign about a shakeup. In his words, Senator Clinton "is who she is" -- she "went out there, and through no fault of her own, has run into an ideal...a genuine movement in American politics." It is true that the rumors of a campaign staff shakeup, names attached, have been a huge topic of conversation here in Manchester today. It's not like people are waiting for the results tonight, seemingly, to make a judgment about what this moment represents for the Clinton campaign.
5) The weather here today was stunning. Sunny and warm, though not enough to melt the perma-frost that covers the town square -- pretty much from now until Spring. The weather simply must be a factor in what we are hearing may be a record turnout.
From here, the attention shifts to Nevada -- our attention will shift there, too, starting tomorrow evening. But we have miles to go before we sleep (I couldn't help it -- we're in New England, after all) and we will stay on the air all night tonight, well after Nightly News, and will come on the NBC television network and MSNBC with each new update. We appreciate you watching our coverage. It promises to be quite a night. It promises to be quite a campaign.
