Tiny N.H. town readies for Obama-Clinton swarm

[Forkboy]

UNITY, N.H.—No one cared much about Unity -- the town or the ideal -- back when more than a dozen candidates were competing in the New Hampshire primary.

"We've had state senators, and congressmen and people like that who've walked in our Old Home Day parade when they were campaigning, but I don't remember having any presidential candidates here in my time," said Roberta Callum, who has lived in the tiny western New Hampshire town for all but 12 of her 84 years.

That will change on Friday, when former rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign together for the first time since he won enough delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination. As they try to ease tensions and bring their party together, they are seizing upon both the town's symbolism and symmetry -- each received 107 Democratic votes in Unity on Jan. 8, plus one write-in vote apiece from Republicans.
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The town was founded in 1764 and named Unity because in granting the land, King George III unified a group of petitioners who had lost their land elsewhere in the colony. The 2,500 people expected to attend the rally far exceed the town's population of about 1,700 residents. Locals say the last time there was a crowd that big was in the 1970s when folk singer Arlo Guthrie performed in town.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/24/tiny_nh_town_readies_for_obama_clinton_swarm/

[sniffa]

1. Any idea what time it is?

I usually get let loose kinda early on Fridays, sooooo....

[Forkboy]

2. No idea, sorry.

Just blow the whole day off. :evilgrin:

[sniffa]

3. Ah, I can't

I don't think I can even miss a day right now. I'd like to put in for vacation next month. x(

[AllentownJake]

4. Gotta hand it to the Obama or Clinton Research Team

They found a town in a battleground state that Clinton won called Unity where the vote was split equally.

[PM7nj]

6. I know! What are the chances of that? nt

[Cha]

9. Yes, it's totally adorable..

probably not the right word but that's what I'm feelin' right now.:)

[blondeatlast]

5. Hope Arlo Guthrie dosn't mind then breaking his record. I think he won't mind

much at all!

This is going to be good, good, good.

[cbayer]

7. This is going to be a great event.

Hopefully will heal up some of the remaining wounds and we can get on with it.

Thanks for posting, Forkboy.

[Cha]

8. What a totally riveting political and human

interest story.

"Sen. John McCain won the state's Republican primary -- taking Unity with 81 votes -- and has been back several times since, though not to Unity, recognizing that New Hampshire will be a critical battleground state in November. President Bush won the state in the 2000 general election, but Democrat John Kerry narrowly captured it in 2004, and Democrats took control of the state Legislature and both congressional seats in 2006."

My sister and I went to see John Kerry in 2004 on Nov 2 in Manchester, NH for a last minute rally where 15, 000 people showed up. We were so excited when Kerry took New Hampshire!

[slinkerwink]

10. Ha! That's cute!

[graywarrior]

11. I can drive there in an hour!