As a lifetime political junkie and someone who appreciates the subtleties of small town retail politics, I know the value of a dingy restaurant on a corner facing Main St. Or in the case of the Merrimack Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire, Elm Street.

For every election cycle since the time I was a fetus, the Merrimack has served as a place where presidential hopefuls could easily mingle with regular, hard-working folk in this former mill town. But we junkies of the political realm will have to find a new place to warm our hands and noses. Over the weekend the Merrimack, with their delightful if not sharp-tongued staff serving up endless cups of hot coffee with a dose of dish, opened their doors for the last time.

I feel honored to have had the privilege of getting "The Full Merrimack" this past January, and I will miss it when I'm there for the next go around in 8 years.

Thanks Jane for the extra cream in my cup. You were enough sugar for me.

Labels: Justin Schuck, Manchester, Merrimack Diner, New Hampshire

It's all my fault. I have been seduced by the promise of a completely different and improved America. I've been blinded by the Great Hope. I've fallen pray to lofty rhetoric. I've fallen victim to my utter disgust for the politics of the 1990's. I've been mean. I said something this morning that I shouldn't have said, in a tone I shouldn't have taken.

It was around 10:30 this morning and I had already been to the Merrimack Diner and listened to the local radio personalities talk with various politicians passing through. (Katie Couric among many other news celebs passed through.) I was in the frenzy -- I'm still in the frenzy. I felt totally connected to the political current pulsating through this state.

As I walked up Elm street away from Granite, I just wanted to see the parade of political animals who I could capture with my lens. I heard ABC News had a big tent up the street so I walked a bit then stopped to take a look at my camera screen. I was just playing around. My fingers were cold and so was my coffee.

This couple came walking towards me covered from head to toe in Hillary stickers and yard signs. It was truly a sight to behold.




I captured their image from behind before I asked them to turn around. As I was snapping pictures of their front side I said one of the dumbest things I could have said in my position as a blog-journalist: "You know Hillary's not going to win. Obama's going to kick her ass."

Yes, I said it. I'm not proud of it, but it came out of my mouth. It was an out-of-body experience almost. I knew that as I uttered that vile two-sentence statement that I have doomed Obama to lose today's primary. A couple standing to my right admonished me with their eyes, shook their head and walked away. I knew right then that Obama's fate is sealed.

I guess we'll have to see, but I finally saw the Clinton undercurrent that has been pulsating beneath the surface. And with the rip tide of Hillary's tear show, I'm all the more convinced that today's prophecy is true.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Justin Schuck, Katie Couric, Manchester, Merrimack Diner, New Hampshire, Palace Theater, Politics Aside, Primary