I Witness: McCain's 'Last' Town Hall Meeting

Yes. I was there. The message IS the medium, the proof in the picture: my self-portrait in front of Peterborough, NH's lovely town hall moments before John McCain would speak from its steps proves that I was crazy enough to endure rather cold weather for more than two hours just so I could witness what is possibly the end of a man's bid for the White House.

But permit me to backtrack a moment.

When my wife and I chose at the last minute (practically) to attend the John McCain rally in gorgeous Peterborough, NH (where Thornton Wilder wrote "Our Town"), I decided, like a fool, to travel lightly: no cameras, no gear. If any of you have been to a major political event involving tight security and Secret Service, you know what I mean; and any of you who have worked in the press and have been "handled" by the campaign operatives know what I mean by "handling." Besides, I have brought my photo gear to work such events "outside" the press handlers' reach, and even then I have been hassled. Traveling without any potential hindrances sure made sense as I stood in my house planning my strategy.

But I was a fool for leaving my cameras home. Peterborough, after all, is essentially my home turf. I lived in that fine village for five years; my wife and I, though we live less than 10 miles away, run most of our errands there. It is the local hub. So what was I thinking when I jumped into an incredible queue without my cameras when there was so much pure political theater going on out on Grove Street (though there is a Main Street, Grove Street FEELS more like Peterborough's main street)? Obama supporters were set on the east side of Grove; they chanted and shouted and sang and, at times, harangued. Giant puppets paraded down the street; McCain supporters mostly stationed on the west side of Grove waved signs and sang "God bless America!" and did their own bit of preaching. Besides both teams chanting in unison "USA!", which was nice, some of both parties' representatives taunted each other; the badinage was quite humorous and delightful, at least to me. But I am getting ahead of myself for, you see, a friend of my wife's was queued up with my sweet bride; hearing my lament that I was stuck using my cell phone camera to record what was going on, she handed me (thanks Lauren!) her Nikon point-and-shoot (I am a Canon guy so Nikons are utterly backward). Assured that I had a spot saved in line, I took off with a dinky camera and did my best.

What sort of things did I see? [Images are not chronological; click on each one for larger view.]

Well, there was the frightening:

And the surreal:

(Apparently this moving parody of a red demon GOP elephant steered by the diminutive George W. Bush set atop its head and leading a disfigured John McCain was intended to make an effective point.)

And then there was the REALLY surreal:

There was a surprising visit by an old icon:

(Uncle Sam shouted -- you can guess which side he was on -- such inspirations as "No friends of Paris† in the White House!")

There was the predictable (it amazes me that a friend of mine, a self-described Marxist, would choose to pick a fight with this guy as I took this shot):

There was also the rather wordy (though this poor photographer nixed the punch line, which read "Keep the change").

And there was just the plain-Jane sort of stuff (cell phone picture):

But in the end, what I saw was really a slice of America, united in its division, divided in its unity: E Pluribus Unum all topsy-turvy.

______________________

You may be wondering what an award-winning photographer came up with for an image of Sen. John McCain. Well, I don't mind boasting: I got an incredible shot. It combines everything great about my talents with a borrowed camera; it shows you my deft skills as I handle even an unfamiliar camera while being jostled by cheering, jumping fans of John McCain. This IS the quintessential image, sharp, clear, precise, professional. It's clearly fit for a national journal's cover. In fact, it is so good it might even be prophetic.

Besides, what would you expect of a guy who has been "nothing but a hack" for all things McCain? Judge for yourself:

(Only seconds after taking this image, I did shake Mr. McCain's left hand with my own left hand. A secret leftist's handshake, you know.)

OK. So the image is itself part of the surreal, the fantastical, the ephemeral. But at least I've left a surprise for Lauren when she downloads her images (uh, sorry Lauren).

Peace.

†For the uninitiated, that would be "Paris Hilton."

©Bill Gnade 2008/Contratimes. All Rights Reserved.