I first saw Liddy Dole, wife of that original political stage diver Bob Dole, on March 12. She was on her Lilith Fair tour through the early primary states and the Republican riot grrrl got a full house for her stop at the ballroom of CR Sparks. The pep rally was choreographed down to the minute. Less structured was a coffee for Miss Liddy in May at the home of a Goffstown supporter. Far fewer of us media types shoved our way through that event but we, along with her audience, stood closer and Dole was clearly unnerved.
Coffees require a candidate to stand and address a crowd gathered with in poking distance.
And without the spacious convention room, Liddy was stuck in a small semi-circle of space, rocking back and forth like an uneasy fifth grader giving a book report to unforgiving peers. Included in his pack was David Broder, veteran political reporter for the Washington Post. As has been widely reported, McCain has endeared himself to reporters covering the campaign and I am no exception. I first covered Vice President Al Gore in mid-April. Though I spent most of the evening with an Associated Press photographer and a Secret Service guy trying to figure out how we could get some hors d' oeuvres, I did get to stand with the other reporters in the kitchen while Gore gave his speech.