Politicians and parades…
We always enjoy the Independence Day parade in Parkville, Mo. It’s an ordinary small-town parade that features local scout troops, fire trucks, civic bands, clowns, and kids on bicycles. That ordinariness is what makes it special: Americans celebrating the normal stuff of life.
Oh, and like all such parades it features the local politicians.
Now I suspect there’s a great deal of local variation in these parades. For example, in New Hampshire the local politicians share the limelight with the presidential candidates.
Will marching in parades in New Hampshire help a candidate win that state’s primary? Who knows…or cares? Does one have to win New Hampshire to win the nomination? Clearly not.
Just as clearly, however, one must win the last poll before the Iowa caucuses. If I were advising one of the candidates, someone polling in the single digits, I would have suggested they march in a parade in a media-rich state–say a small town in California, Illinois, New York, or Florida.
UPDATE (1:43 p.m.): CNN considers the changing political landscape in New Hampshire.
