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Bush ducks protesters in Exeter

Politics/Elections News
Source: Manchester Union-Leader
Published: 02/01/00 Author: By JOHN DiSTASO
Posted on 01/31/2000 22:19:20 PST by JohnHuang2

Bush ducks protesters in Exeter
By JOHN DiSTASO
Senior Political Reporter
  EXETER — Texas Gov. George W. Bush left more than 100 supporters and some undecided voters standing in the slush yesterday when his campaign abruptly canceled a scheduled primary eve walk through this politically important Seacoast community.
  The Bush campaign said the decision to scrap Exeter from his final campaign swing was made because its security team had received word there were protesters in town.
  The downtown area was indeed alive with political activity before Bush arrived, but no major protest was evident.
  A small group of environmental protesters stood across Water Street from the Loaf and Ladle restaurant, where Bush was slated to begin his walk. A fringe candidate, Jim Taylor, stood with them, shouting out requests for votes. A few men in a van called good-natured slogans.
  And a block away, near the Exeter bandstand, two dozen supporters of Vice President Al Gore stood on sidewalks urging drivers to blow their horns for their candidate.
  But it appeared to be nothing more than a typical New Hampshire primary eve scene. Exeter police officials said they were aware of no major protests.
  The largest groups left behind by Bush were hundreds of his own supporters, including many from his home state, and members of the media — including CBS News anchorman Dan Rather.
  A government class from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard had taken a bus from Boston to speak with Bush. The campaign said the group met Bush later in Derry.
  "A lot of people" were angry, said a woman who sat in traffic downtown as the Bush supporters filed away.
  "I knew something was up when Dan Rather left," said Loaf and Ladle owner Peter Stolper. No one officially told Stolper of the change of plans.
  "Most of the people came because of the event," Stolper said. He said anyone who traveled far to see Bush "would be a little annoyed."
  As the crowd disbursed — many carrying their "Bush for President" signs with them — candidate Taylor and his small group of followers mounted the bandstand in the middle of town.
  "At least he showed up!" a Taylor disciple proclaimed to anyone who would listen.
  Bill Ceverha, in New Hampshire from Dallas to work for Bush, said he was not disappointed. He said that instead of trying to drive to Bush’s next event, however, he’d "go work the neighborhood" that he had been assigned by the campaign.
  Likewise, Gordon Clark of Dumas, Texas, said he would have "loved to have met him," but he was still devoted to Bush.
  But Louise Yacovone of Exeter, an independent voter leaning toward Bill Bradley, said, "It’s hard to believe that’s a good reason. With all of his security, you’d think they could have handled that."
  Bush spokesman Patrick Griffin said the campaign worried about meeting "a bunch of union guys with megaphones" who he said have been following Bush. "It doesn’t make sense to let them interfere with our ability to touch New Hampshire voters," Griffin said.
  One woman who asked not to be identified said she did "get to talking with some labor union people" from Boston who "were very organized and were here deliberately." She assumed they were the reason Bush was diverted.
  The Bush camp took another odd strategic turn last night when it refused to release his primary day schedule. Instead, reporters wishing to cover him were told to meet him at his hotel at 5:45 a.m. and be taken on what will essentially be a mystery ride.
  Spokesman Janna Nuzum denied there were security concerns and said the campaign simply wanted "to keep the schedule fluid."
  These weren’t the only strange turns on the GOP campaign trail yesterday.
-- Former Reagan White House staffer Gary Bauer, who is trailing the field in the polls, fell off the stage at a flapjack flipping contest, sponsored by Bisquick.
  He lofted a pancake high into the air, caught it, but then fell off the back of the approximately 4-foot-high stage. Bauer disappeared behind the backdrop.
  The crowd gasped, but a few seconds later, Bauer leapt onto the stage, raised his spatula over his head and proclaimed, "He lives! He lives!"
  His flipping score was doubled, and as a result, he beat lone competitor Bush’s near-perfect toss. Bauer was uninjured.
-- Arizona Sen. John McCain, the New Hampshire GOP front-runner, was hailed by the piercing blasts of the horns aboard the massive oil tanker Maersk Shetland as he spoke to hundreds of supporters at Prescott Park in Portsmouth yesterday afternoon.
  McCain turned from the crowd to face the ship and raised his arms over his head triumphantly as the tanker hailed him again and again.
  McCain turned to the cheering crowd and said, dryly, "I think that was Gov. Bush driving."
  The five GOP candidates — McCain, Bush, Steve Forbes, Bauer and former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes — crisscrossed the state, trying to round up last-minute support for today’s primary.
  Secretary of State William Gardner is predicting a record turnout in the GOP and Democratic primaries.
  He is predicting that 351,000 votes will be cast today, compared with 303,000 four years ago. Gardner says 81,000 voters will enter the polling places as independent — or undeclared — voters.
  In all, he says, 191,000 votes will be cast in the GOP primary and 160,000 will be cast in the Democratic primary.
  McCain and Bush are running neck and neck in most polls. Forbes is in third place, ahead of Keyes and Bauer, according to the polls. A key to victory for McCain will be a high turnout of independent supporters.
  Forbes kept his scheduled appearance in Exeter yesterday, meeting the Daley family at their well-known fish market.
  Fred Daley, his wife, Leigh, and their three children are unable to afford health insurance, but said they would save enough money in taxes under Forbes’ flat-tax plan to afford it.
  In an ad in yesterday’s editions of The Union Leader, the Bush campaign accused Forbes of trying to "distort" his record and "trash a good man."
  "It shows that the establishment fears me," said Forbes.
  Forbes also promised that regardless of today’s results, he will remain in the race.
  "To those Washington politicians and establishment-types who wish I’d disappear, good luck. We’re in it to stay," Forbes said.
  In Portsmouth, McCain said, "Bush has the vaunted (Sen. Judd) Gregg machine that we’re up against. And we’ve got the foot soldiers and the sergeants and a veterans organization in every town."
  Last night in Bedford, McCain told a packed town hall, "This has been the greatest experience of my life."
  Bush was confident, saying, "There’s something going on out there. It’s called energy and enthusiasm and excitement, and I like my chances a lot."

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