Behind the debate
On Saturday, January 16, as the rest of thenation watched the Republican presidential candidates spar in Hopkins Center, Whitney Campbell Intern Tim Burger '88 skulked behind thescenes. Here are a few of his notes.
• The media stars glittered almost as brightly as the politicians. I saw Phil Jones of CBS, Lisa Myers of NBC and Robin Toner of the New York Times. Overall, 221 media people represented 94 media outlets as diverse as ARD German Television, Kyodo News Service of Japan and The Quechee Times.
• Among the reporters were Morton Kondracke '60 of The New Republic and David Shribman '76 of The Wall Street Journal. Even for non-Greeners, the scene in the press center in Alumni Hall was in many ways like a reunion: journalists and columnists milled around, getting reacquainted as they prepared for the Hanover edition of campaign 1988.
• At nine p.m. on Friday before the debate, Vice President George Bush's Secret Service contingent, complete with bomb-sniffing dogs, secured the Hopkins Center. They had done the same thing to the Howard Johnson's in White River Junction. The vice president's king-bedded suite reportedly included a small refrigerator containing orange juice and yogurt; Mrs. Bush was provided with an exercise bike.
• On the day before the debate, Bush jogged, played tennis in Leverone Field House, and pumped iron in the new Kresge Fitness Center in Berry Sports Center. He came to his Spaulding sound check wearing a red and blue running suit.
• Once the debate began, each candidate had the security of a private portable toilet backstage. But intermissions were only a minute long.
• After the debate, General Haig characterized the event as "a wild and woolly, rough and tumble affair during which I just sat there, lovable fellow that I am." Before the debate, Pierre du Pont advised Haig's makeup artist to give up. "There's nothing you can do with that granite face," maintained the former governor of Delaware.
• Syndicated columnist Robert Novak said after the debate that it was the best of the four held so far. He thought Bush probably suffered the most.
• I asked moderator John Chancellor what he thought of the candidates' responses to his questions. "I was sitting there firing questions at them," he replied. "When you're doing that you're not listening to the responses. You're trying to think of the next question." He said he liked the liveliness of the audience, which "loosened me up" because they "laughed at my jokes."
• I asked a reporter from People if she had just four words of wisdom regarding the debate. She responded, "No, I really don't."
"I want to thank President Freedman, who did quite well in lowa and then came over to New Hampshire. I think he sets an excellent example." —Senator Robert Dole, speaking at the Republican debate held at Dartmouth.
