Tonight, Saturday October 13th John Edwards held a town hall meeting at Winnisquam High School in Tilton, NH.  This is not particularly unique since Labor Day has come and gone and all the candidates are giving New Hampshire some serious attention.  I decided to go and support my candidate and treat myself to a live event in my part of the state.  I was a little concerned about turnout since the Red Sox were playing and this is a very Republican town.

There were about 120 people.  Most, I didn't know, although some of the faces were familiar from County Democrats meetings.  This is a good thing because I do know most of the active Edwards supporters in the region.  The majority were middle age (that would be me) and older.  There was no discernable trend in gender or income level.  An outsider might label the crowd "crunchy" and they wouldn't be wrong.  I was happy with the turnout because it was better than I expected and clearly these were voters who were interested in hearing a candidate.  I hear criticism in various blog posts about the key position NH has in the primary.  Sometimes, when I see the "institutional" pressure for the favorite (read Clinton) I too question the value.  Tonight, I saw the process in action the way it should be and was proud to be a participant.