PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Five hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to make a campaign stop at Strawbery Banke Museum, with Vice President Joe Biden and their wives, supporters stood at a makeshift federal checkpoint, prepared to wait it out.
At the front of the line, at Court and Washington streets, was University of New Hampshire English instructor Meaghan Elliott. She brought books and coffee for sustenance and pointed to a nearby portable toilet as completing her list of needs. Elliott and fellow university instructor Brad Dittrich drove from Dover for the historic campaign stop and said they’ll take what they hear back to their classrooms. They said they teach “political rhetoric,” and together with their students analyze political speeches.
On their way to Portsmouth, the university instructors picked up an 18-year-old UNH student who said he’ll be able to vote for the first time in November and Friday’s speech could influence his vote.
Behind them, Zelita Morgan and her 8-year-old daughter, Luisa, played Scattergories on a sidewalk to pass the time. It will be the second time Luisa sees President Obama, said her father, Tom Morgan, who brought her to Pease four years ago to meet the commander-in-chief.
“We wanted to make sure we get in,” said Zelita Morgan, about their early arrival. “Just because you have a ticket doesn’t guarantee you’ll get in.”
Zelita said she wished the president and first lady well, said they have “a tough road” and came out to “give support.”
At 7:30 a.m., about 100 people waited at the checkpoint, while a group of Obama volunteers stood nearby chanting, “Fired up and ready to go.” Federal agents in uniforms and plain clothes could be seen throughout the city, in addition to local and area members of law enforcement.
At the corner of Pleasant and Court streets, Republicans gathered early to protest. Diane Bitter of Rye placed an empty chair at the intersection in reference to Clint Eastwood’s anti-Obama speech at the Republican National Convention. She said she’ll likely stay until midday and hold signs with messages including; “We can do better” and “Better off than four years ago?” Bitter was joined by fellow Rye residents Tom Pearson and Pat DuBois.
Pearson said he listened to Obama’s Thursday night speech after accepting the presidential nomination and called it “more of the same.”
“Except now it looks like he’s trying to give away free college educations,” he said.
Television trucks parked in Market Square while a news anchor interviewed a man in a mask. Most of the large contingent of media staged in the Parrott Avenue playground parking lot to be shuttled to Strawbery Banke.
The campaign stop is scheduled to begin in Strawbery Banke at 12:20 p.m. According to a White House agenda, Obama will leave Portsmouth at 2:30 p.m. for a campaign stop in Iowa and from there fly to Florida.
The President is right about that “basic bargain” slipping away — how if you work hard, it will pay off. We’re not all playing by the same rules. If you’re at the bottom, it’s harder and harder to not only move up, but even to just get by. How can you get a kid to believe hard work pays off when he sees recent graduates at the top of their class struggling to find work? Or that those who created the financial crisis or a credit card company scams customers with illegal fees (for example) are being rewarded for their poor behavior?
We need a strong middle class again and the Romney/Ryan answer of tax cuts for the super rich and tax increases for the working class is absolutely not the path to a strong middle class.
Note to Wolfie – Empty Chair has been president for 4 years. It is his policies that have made it harder for those at the bottom to make ends meet (higher gas/utility prices, higher grocery bills, devalued dollar) and harder for the college graduate to find a job (23,000,000 unemployed – the most in US history).
History will see this Obama Depression as a turning point. Soon jobs and businesses will be supported and rewarded, not attacked and demonized, and the massive expansion in the size and control of the government will be rejected in favor of the free market.
Obama didn’t cause those job losses and he didn’t increase prices either. How ridiculous. History will won’t treat the wild radicals like you kindly.
Radical is having the Rev. Jeremiah Wright baptized your two daughters.
I love how he’s both a Muslim and ascribes to Rev. Wright at the same time. You guys are so logical.
So let me get the liberal logic straight. tag states facts and he is somehow a “radical”. wolf states DNC lies and he believes he is somehow the superior one.
And just so you know wolf, myself and about 150 of my coworkers (and probably thousands more) lost our jobs in 2009 directly because of Obama’s policy towards the coal pwoer industry.
He didn’t state facts, he blamed Obama for everything like he’s the only one impacting things in this word. That is ridiculous.
Guess how many teachers, police officers, etc. lost their jobs due to Republican policies across the country?
Like is that how simple your view of this is? Obama did everything bad and the Republicans are perfect angels waiting in the wings to clean it all up? Get real.
So gas pirces are not higher under Obama? Food prices are not higher under Obama? Are you saying those are lies when you say tag didn’t state facts? And just so you know, the federal government does not hire (or fire) the teachers, police and firefighters in my town.
And you need to learn a little reading comprehension, I did not say “Obama did everything bad and the Republicans are perfect angels waiting in the wings to clean it all up?”
I’d say it is time for you to put down the koolaid and get real yourself.
You’re ridiculous. We just landed a space craft on Mars and it happened under Obama — doesn’t mean he’s directly responsible for it. OBVIOUSLY.
You’re going to come after me for reading comprehension? I said “Guess how many teachers, police officers, etc. lost their jobs due to Republican policies across the country?” Please point to the part of that sentence where I claimed Republicans did this in the federal government.
And enough with the koolaid line, it’s not funny or clever and it’s just a pathetic attempt to win an argument without actually using facts.
So how is the president responsible for fuel prices? This isn’t Venezuela (thank God. And guess what. Food prices go up (esp. in Maine, the end of the food chain) along with fuel prices.
His policies effect the price.
Gas prices are not determined by the POTUS see Chevron’s explanation http://www.thepriceoffuel.com/whataffectsfuelpricing/
The gas and oil prices are effected by the POTUS policies.
Those coal fired power plants, outmoded for decades, were living on borrowed time and they draged you down with them. The corps. were too stingy to update them when they could have. They’re the ones who shafted you, not the EPA.
When your boy GW Bush was president and your party was in total control, they drove our economy right into the toilet.
Do a little research instead of listening to your heroes on Fox.
The TRUTH is that job creation and our overall economy has ALWAYS been stronger when Democrats held the White House.
Look it up Tag, if you can stand a little truth, for once.
Maybe GW drove our economy right into the toilet but the ‘annoited one’ keeps adding paper to it and forgets to flush it!
The TRUTH is that we are $16 Trillion in debt (that’s $16,000 Billion or $160,000,000 Million).
It’s one thing to tell people what you are going to do to fix this mess wer’re in, but quite another when you fail to tell us “how” you’re going to fix it, unless taxing the rich is the solution, which pays for running our government for eight days. GOD!!!
Granted, GW left quite a mess; but wasn’t Obama elected on the ‘hope and change’ ticket? By the way; how’s that working out for you?
The TRUTH is: The economy is in the pits and Obama has failed as a President and 4 more years of his policy ideas will most likely put us on the path of no return.
It’s time to pull our heads out of the sand and take a look around. This country is in serious trouble financially; we simply cannot keep spending at the level we’re doing. Obama just doesn’t seem to understand that fact; even leading Democrats have admitted to that fact.
Supported in China, of course…
A vote for Romney/Ryan is a vote to further line the pockets of the already rich.
It is a vote to eliminate medicare.
It is a vote to raise taxes on the middle class.
It is a vote to deny women healthcare.
It is a vote to continue the senseless increases in military spending.
It is a vote to further deregulate Wall Street.
Implementing the draconian Republican platform will destroy this great country.
a Vote for Obama/Biden is a vote to make his deficit wider, and let all the illegal immigrants in.
Do you have any FACTS to back up your mindless quotes?
Deny women healthcare????? Are you for real?
LMAO!!!!
Boy, I don’t know where to start with people like you.
I mean did you even read your own party’s platform?
Obviously doing so would get in the way of all the propaganda you love so much.
But just addressing your failure to understand your party’s stance on women’s healthcare:
I’m not sure what planet you’re from, but the Republican Party has made it clear for over two years that it intends to completely defund Planned Parenthood. Republican states such as Arizona and Ohio are already doing this. Did you know that less that 15% of PP services are focused on birth control? So if you defund PP you destroy a woman’s access to breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, blood tests, children’s medical services, the list goes on and on.
So yes, this is DEFINITELY denying women healthcare.
But I’m sure people like you will still deny even this indisputable truth.
I just wish your decisions (and your posts) were made based on truth and facts instead of lies and ignorance.
There you have it folks, when a liberal is asked to show facts to back up their claims, they simple attack and quote more lies and misinformation from the DNC script.
Nowhere in the GOP platform does it call for eliminating medicare, raising taxes on the middle class and denying women healthcare.
Here you go stingah, look for yourself: http://www.gop.com/2012-republican-platform_Renewing/
OK JW, there you go again.
Will you just please answer one question without your usual change-the-subject reaction.
Do you Josey, deny that the Republican Party has made it clear that its intentions are to defund Planned Parenthood?
I will concede this JW:
I admittedly did choose the wrong words when I said Republicans would deny woman’s healthcare.
It is more accurate to say that the GOP would restrict or limit women’s healthcare.
My mistake.
After that great big gulp of kool-aid, you need to release some pressure in your intestinal tract.
How you do it is your choice, which is more than we will get when it comes to healthcare.
Yes we’ve all taken note on how you adore making infantile, moronic, and now, really gross observations.
What you never seem to do is present a reasonable, fact based argument supporting anything you say.
I guess a little research would be expecting too much.
There is no real choice. You either drink the “kool-aid” or roll and smoke the tea.
Here is what I think after watching all of both the RNC and DNC.
I’m not a big fan of Mitt Romney politics and never have been. As a Republican, he is obviously the only choice. After listening to his speech at the RNC I will admit that he grew on me a little. A lot of that had to do with the vocal support of his wife, Paul Ryan and Chris Christie. Plus let’s be honest, he had some excellent speech writers. The “I grew up with struggles too” is a bit much though.
I am also not a huge fan of President Obama politics but I will admit, after watching him 4 years in office all the way through his speech last night he has grown on me some. He too was presented very well by Clinton (slick Willy is the best speech giver on the planet, although not as fluid as GW…Kidding!), Biden and Michelle. I am sure he has excellent speech writers but he is a better salesman than Romney. He is more affable and quite honestly, I think he believes he is doing what is best for the American people and he is doing some good. Bin Laden is dead.
The bottom line, I think both parties have very valid points and views but conversly, I think that both sides, if they were allowed to pass their own parties agenda fully, could destroy the America we know. The older I get the more independent I get.
I don’t agree with everything the Republicans or the Democrats are selling. Both sides have their flaws in my opinion. I am really getting sick and tired of being told what to think because of my party affiliation. I know democrats that argue points they really don’t believe but are told to do so. I personally am finding it quite liberating to be able to weigh out every problem without being blurred by the party affiliation agenda.
So I guess that is where the House and Senate comes in. I think I will be voting this November for the candidate I believe will be the best at doing 2 things.
1. Which one can motivate the House and Senate to get along better and stop acting like playground children and come to some concessions to get this country on the best path to success.
2. Which one is going to do the best at keeping our ports, planes, and nation the safest from terrorism.
Row V Wade isn’t going anywhere. The entitlements are dug in so deep they aren’t going anywhere and some shouldn’t, but some should. The rich will not be giving up their wealth and Universal Health Care is going to be a mess to begin with but also is here to stay. Bridges, roads and infrastructure will continue to be improved. Teachers, police and fire will still be funded. The 16T that both parties borrowed from China isn’t going to get paid off….EVER and will continue to climb until this country realizes some serious inflation. We are drilling in Texas, California, and Oklahoma so much right now that the west looks like swiss cheese but it takes time to build that reserve when we consume as much as we do. We want to be friendly to our enemies so they are friendly to their neighbors (specifically Isreal) so we will continue to buy oil from the middle east forever even if we didn’t need it.
Long story short, it would be nice as a nation if we could be a little nicer to one another and try to see it from the other sides point of view. We are teaching our children hate, they will teach their children hate and as a result many people will suffer along the way.
I am sure many people will hate this post well if you do I am sorry. Someone has to say the words, “can’t we all just get along”. I’m trying.
God Bless.
Speaking to point #2 in your 2-point referendum;
I think that Obama has done an outstanding job keeping America “safe from terrorism.”
He has hunted down more terrorists then in the last 3 years then his predecessor did in 6 years.
I’m hoping that those independents like yourself give him the credit he deserves.
As to your first point: I can’t remember another president (I go back to Eisenhower) who has been more willing to compromise their agenda than Obama. The gridlock in Congress comes almost totally from the Republican party’s unwillingness to compromise on ANYTHING.
The Republicans only concern was to make Obama a 1 term president. It’s congress that needs the overhaul, not the executive branch.
“The gridlock in Congress comes almost totally from the Republican party’s unwillingness to compromise on ANYTHING.”
So comprimise in your world is for the republicans to give in to anything the dems want?? If the republicans are the problem then why did ZERO, natta, none, zip of the democrats vote for any of Obama’s budgets? And in his 1st 2 years the dems had control of everything. Sounds to me like poor leadership, ie, Obama, Pelosi and Reid.
Obama didnt hunt down anyone. The Troops that has been saving your life all these years did the work. I am so tired of people giving Obama credit where it isnt due.
Not giving Bush credit but the search did start on his watch and with a lot of time and alot of effort on our Troops part he was finially found. Bad timing for Bush, good timing for Obama but he did absolutly nothing in the capture of Bin Laden.
very well said! Even though your screen name is “Bushfan” :-P
I thought he was supposed to be running the country, sure has a lot of time for two-bit campaign stops…
This guy could not run a hand cranked jack in the box……
Never really has done anything other than campaign, near as I can tell.
so, you don’t think Presidents should be able to get re-elected? If Obama can’t campaign, we would be stuck with Romney…
I wish we weren’t stuck with either of them. That said, I find it odd that presidents these days find so much time for vacation, campaigning, brewing White House beer and so many other things.
Obama started campaigning for his reelection back in November 2008.
He had to, given the stated opposition. They began on inauguration night, possibly before.
Obama’s been campaigning since he got elected. He started running and raising funds one and a half years ago. What has he done as President? Are you better off now than 2008?
He says he needs more time? More time to grow the deficit.
When your boy GW Bush took office, the government had a budget SURPLUS!
He left us $10 TRILLION in debt.
But don’t let these facts get in the way of your pointlessly bogus and completely fictitious rants.
Wow, you have ingested too much of the DNC koolaid. Do you even know the differance between deficit/surplus and debt? The US national debt has not gone down since 1960. Every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower have left office with higher debt than when they entered.
I used the word DEBT very deliberately and correctly and if you have a problem knowing that the deficit is what ultimately determines the debt, then go somewhere and study.
It is wearying dealing with people like you. People who never speak to the point – in this case Bush’s adding to the DEBT. You duck and weave, deflect, obfuscate, insult.
You right wingers don’t want to face the facts of ANYTHING. It was your boys that ran up the deficit/debt to historic levels. It was your boys that got into 2 terrible wars, it was the Republicans who held the White House on 9/11.
But you conveniently don’t want to go anywhere near those facts.
You want to get into word games.
JW, it is YOUR party that is mostly responsible for the financial mess we’re in.
Your state of denial, and weak attempts to ignore those facts do not make them any less true.
What is the matter stingah, can’t handle the FACT I put in front of you. That FACT would be that EVERY president has added to the DEBT since 1960. FACT: the last time the debt went down was in 1960. FACT: when GW Bush took office in 2001 the debt was ~$6 trillion. When he left office 8 years later it was ~$11 trillion. 3 1/2 years of Obama has added as much as Bush did in 8 years. clinton took office at $4.5 t and left ~$6 trillion.
So saying that only the republicans or “your boys” as you like to say, have run up the debt to historical levels is a blatant LIE on your part.
So unlike you, I am not ducking and weaving just staing facts.
And Obama promised what in 2009? If unemployment did not go under 8% during Obama’s term he is looking at a one term proposition. Well he gets one term.
I have been reading your rant and insults and clearly see that no reasonable debate is possible with you. Why don’t you cool it a little and recognize that there are other opinions out there that; even though you don’t agree with them, they are valid and that people are concerned where this country is headed and most love their country enough to want things to be right again without personal gain.
Insulting others in order to get your point across makes many of us realize that with the open hostility between different points of view; it seems more clearly that not only society is demoralised but our government is the same. Too bad our President isn’t able to work together with both parties. A sign of bad leadership!!
From my point of view, the insults are pretty evenly distributed.
But yes, civility is better. Point taken.
Have a good weekend.
You don’t have your facts… the national debt increased $4.899Trillion during the eight years Bush was in office. The national debt increased $4.93Trillion in the 3 and one half years Obama has been in office. To intimate that Bush increased the national debt $10Trillion is BS. Under Clinton the national debt increased by $1.6Trillion. The surplus at the end of the Clinton era is attributed to the budget “deficit” not the debt. If Obama gets re-elected he will double the national debt in 8 years. More than all Presidents combined since the formation of our country.
What I get a kick out is they always say that under Clinton he had a surplus. I never understand how you can have a surplus when you have a deficit. I think Obama will do far more than double the deficit, he is already destroying Medicare and next comes S.S.
What you fail to grasp is what the deficit increased after Obama got into office. Sorry to say I can not count that high, and it will be even higher if he gets back in. Like he said, ” I need more time”.I am sorry you are so mesmorized by someone that is making things worse.
Hi Bruce – No where in ANY of my posts have I said that I thought Obama has done a good job.
I don’t think he has. Just want to point that out. Have a nice weekend.
Blaming former President Bush is so old and so over used . I don’t think the good people in the unemployment lines who possibly have lost their homes too, want to hear any Blame it on Bush statements. Most of those unemployed would be glad to have a decent paying job. Something to think about as you sit in your home with a full stomach and bills paid. Obama has nearly ruined the economy and promises more of the SOS. If re elected, he will bankrupt the country.
These are such heartwarming stories about the supporters.
Makes one wonder why they weren’t working.
Did you wonder the same thing about the Republicans who took some time off to attend RNC?
No, of course not.
That would be applying the same standards to both parties.
Something that you won’t do.
I suspect that support for the Obamessiah is pretty thin, even in liberal Portsmouth.
They had to close the schools so the teachers could attend.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/09/05/obama-visit-forces-portsmouth-to-close-schools-friday/
Should we ask you the same question?
Independantly wealthy.
And you ???
*laughing out loud*
No wonder you cheer for the Rs.
Work? Gadzooks, forbid the thought, when they can get everything free!…That WE pay for.
ROMNEY / RYAN 2012 !!!
Danny one note …
The community organizer told his sheep, if
he couldn’t do the job in 3 years, he would be a
1 termer. Yet they want 4 more years of transforming
America? Libbers want a ruler…not a leader. They want
the govt to feed them…not work for anything. Obama is
the one to do that for them. Go sheep….flock to your
shepard, and say…..BAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Joe Biden at AFL-CIO rally on Monday: “America is better off today than they left us when they left. If it weren’t so hot, I’d go into detail.”
Obama to ABC: “I don’t think they’re better off than they were four years ago.”
This administration has been a colossal failure in every way and it’s time for them to move on. One and done.