cbs 20080107 STAMINA

Now I know why the first primary has to be here.   This is Dave Ross on the CBS Radio Network this week in New Hampshire.

Nvere mind the stamina it takes to be a candidate -- what about the stamina it takes to listen to them?

In Salem, three hundred people plus me showed up for a John McCain town meeting  which means you park a quarter of a mile away, wait in a gym which was soon in the grip of man-made global warming -- you get a perfect bleacher seat and then 4 TV cameras set up right in front of you -- and then AIDS demonstrators stand up and start chanting.  Fortunately, Mc Cain had his secret weapon.

Or how about Hillary Clinton's town hall meeting at the high school in Hampton.  Supposed to start at 5.   At 5:15 we get Hillary trivia:

Then we hear a lot of U-2, Bob seeger, then at 6:00 -- the MC says Hillary will be here in 15 minutes, the music fades back up:

That's the actual song they were playing:

6:15 comes and goes.  They send out a state senator:

6:20, they give away more T-shirts...

Then at 6:34 -- the announcement everyone's been waiting for:

Because you know what that means:

And she takes questions for an hour and a half which means most people in the audience have been on their feet for four hours.   And yet:

And she's going to ANOTHER town hall tomorrow.   Only people raised with all this snow could remain so calm.

Now this.