John Stockton ’68 and Henry Von Kohorn ’66 snuck into the Sen. Barack Obama Concord High School rally with press passes around their necks. Neither works for a media outlet, but they had learned that planning on getting in could be risky, especially with the Obama and Clinton events often spilling over into overflow rooms.
The pair couldn’t vote during the primary, neither lives in New Hampshire, yet they came because, according to Von Kohorn, “We’re political junkies.” They intended to see as many candidates as possible, and by Jan. 4 they had seen former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
There are many Princeton alumni in New Hampshire for the primary working for the campaigns, covering the politics or just watching the melee in addition to the 607 alumni who live here.
Melissa Haris-Lacewell, professor of politics and African-American studies, said “Everywhere I look … our school is part of it, right in the mix of everything that’s going on nationally.
Melissa Haris-Lacewell, professor of politics and African-American studies, said “Everywhere I look … our school is part of it, right in the mix of everything that’s going on nationally.
Like the current Princeton students who traveled up to volunteer during the last six days before primary, many alumni, old and young, work within the campaigns. Chris Lu ’88 is Obama’s legislative director and on the Republican side Alex Maugery ’07 works for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Craig Robinson ’83 is supporting Obama, but perhaps for a different reason from the other voters. Obama is his brother-in-law. Robinson’s fellow Princeton basketball alum, Bill Bradley ’65, endorsed Obama on Monday morning and campaigned for him at three sites the day before the primary.
Bradley, himself a former presidential candidate, said, before a crowd of about 100 outside the “Obama for America” Concord field office, “I believe that Barack Obama is what the country needs.”
He described Obama as embracing a politics not restrained by issues of “red or blue” but rather recognizes “the good in people” and can engage them. Bradley described red versus blue as a lie and felt that Obama’s disregard for that idea would allow him to reform democracy.
He added, “Princeton supports Obama.”
Princeton’s other most recent presidential candidate, Ralph Nader ’55, supported Edwards during the Iowa caucus, directing voters to “giv[e] him a victory.”
Perhaps the most visible Princetonian during the New Hampshire debate was not a candidate but the moderator Charles Gibson ’65, host of ABC World News with Charles Gibson. The Republican and Democratic debates ran 90 minutes back to back, with Gibson offering a question and then quietly allowing the candidates to interact with each other.
Dugald McConnell ’93, a producer for CNN, is also covering the New Hampshire primary. McConnell, who’s covered campaigns in the past, noted one major change in the way the media is covering the contest. McConnell noted there is “Less of journalist intervention, filter, and analysis and more of simply putting direct material on the internet for anyone to see and read and make whatever of it they will.”
He added “I’ve seen a number of Princeton alums out on the trails.”
