Sunday, January 6, 2008

Late poll results

New polls out tonight indicate a major shift in momentum. Obama has taken a 10-point lead, according to a CNN/WMUR poll, and a 12-point lead in a USA Today/Gallup poll.

The margin between Republicans is much closer. McCain is up by four points in the USA Today poll

Newsday picks up on trip, and Chronicle blog

Newsday's Spin Cycle political blog has picked up on the University's trip to New Hampshire. Find the post here

Video: Obama rally in Salem, N.H.

Obama hours late to a rally in Salem, NH

The students waited more than three hours to hear from Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), but he spoke to an auditorium filled to capacity in Salem High School in Salem, N.H.

The overflow crowd packed into a gym down the hall to hear the audio from the 30-minute stump speech.
Obama was two hours late to the event, which was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. He began speaking at about 6 p.m.

He apologized for his lateness, saying “it was partially my fault.”

“I’m running because of what Dr. King called ‘the fierce urgency of now,”’ Obama said. “The American people are responding to a call for change.”

Obama’s speech turned a few students in his favor, according to a voice vote taken on the bus after the speech.

But not all students approved of Obama’s performance.

“He was a good speaker. He convinced me that he was passionate and genuine, but there were holes in his speech,” Loretta Jacobs, a freshman special education major said. “I think he did not go into specifics.”

Freshman Jeff Ahking disagreed. “Those people were lacking hope,” he said.

Public reaction to McCain

Outside the rally:

Students pose questions at Town Hall With John McCain

Two University students asked Sen. John McCain questions during a Town Hall meeting in Salem, N.H. in which McCain faced protests from activists supporting more funding for AIDS-related causes.

The students' questions focused on issues foreign policy in the Middle East. One student, Roy Seter, a senior political science major, asked about the massive killing of Armnenians during World War 1 that the hands of the Ottoman turks which the United States has refused to declare a genocide.

McCain did not directly address the Armenian genocide, saying he "did not vote for the measure" when it came up for a vote in the Senate, but he added: "I will be glad to condemn genocide wherever it takes place."

The other student asked about McCain's policy towards Iran, to which he responded by accusing the country of harboring and supporting terrorists.

University students were not the only active participants in the Town Hall meeting. Activists stood up yelling "People are dying! You are not trying!" as they held up paper signs saying "50 million people die of global AIDS."

The protest became heated as many holding signs were escorted out of the event. As they left, McCain supporters cheered "Mac is back!"

McCain delivered his stump speech, emphasizing his support for a line-item veto to cut spending on pet projects for districts, known as pork barrel spending. "I'm going to veto every pork-barrel project," he said.

McCain took a question from a youthful voter asking what he would do for young people.

"I'll do climate change because of your generation, not because of mine," he said.

Video: McCain at a Town Hall in Salem, N.H.