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Katheryn Fausett, 28, of Little Rock, left, and Hadley Glover, 30, of Rogers, right, show their allegiance Monday while campaigning roadside for presidential candidate and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark in Manchester, N.H. Fausett and Glover were among about 50 Arkansans who traveled to New Hampshire over the weekend to campaign for Clark. Photo by Alison Vekshin, Stephens Washington Bureau. 
Joined by a cardboard cutout of presidential candidate and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, Arkansans whoop it up at a busy intersection in Manchester, N.H., Monday morning. The group, who called themselves the "Clark Convoy," were in the Granite State for four days of campaigning for their home-state candidate. Photo by Alison Vekshin, Stephens Washington Bureau. "Clarkansans" rally for candidate in New Hampshire Tuesday, Dec 9, 2003 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Grasping a red, white and blue "Clark for President" poster in her gloved hand, Hadley Glover climbed atop a three-foot snowbank at a busy intersection on Monday morning. Undeterred by the numbness creeping down her fingertips, the 30-year-old mother of three from Rogers held up her placard and beamed at passing cars during rush hour -- including a Tyson Foods truck that honked vigorously as it roared by. Glover was among about 50 Arkansans who braved heavy snowfall and fierce winds to campaign for presidential candidate and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark. The group arrived on Saturday via chartered flight from Little Rock. They planned to stay until Tuesday. Clark, who was campaigning in other parts of the state, was there -- in a way. The Arkansans carted around a life-sized cardboard cutout of the candidate. "It's such a great opportunity to have a presidential candidate from your home state," said Glover, bundled up in her newly purchased scarf, gloves and hat. "I couldn't pass it up." Calling themselves the "Clark Convoy," the pilgrims borrowed the idea of the "Arkansas Travelers," who rallied support for Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns in places far from home. "As you recall, Bill Clinton won in 1992 and we'd like to remind people we are on the same track," Clark spokesman Matt Bennett said. The Arkansans arrived to a snow-blanketed Manchester early Saturday morning, in the wake of a ferocious storm that crippled much of New England. Dotted with pins that read "I'm a Clarkansan" and "I'm from Arkansas. Ask me about Wes Clark," one group trudged through more than a foot of snow Monday to visit the quaint shops in Peterborough, which inspired Thornton Wilder's classic play "Our Town." "He's a real fine fella. We hope you'll consider him," Clark's cousin Wayne Clark, 70, a retired banker from Berryville, told sales clerk Don MacIsaac, 61, at Peterborough Outfitting Company, a sporting goods store. MacIsaac, an independent, wouldn't say how he intended to vote but admitted to graduating from West Point two years before Clark and being impressed with the candidate. Meanwhile, Jeff Dailey, a Clark campaign aide, went store-to-store, entertaining local shop owners by introducing them to the Clark cutout. After 10 minutes of rallying at a Peterborough intersection, the group drove in two vans to Keene, 20 miles away. While half the group rallied at street corners, others built a miniature snowman and engaged in a good-natured snowball fight. Some of the supporters were retirees. Others were teachers, accountants, attorneys or businesspeople who took two days off from their jobs and paid their own way to make the trip to the state that will hold the nation's first primary on Jan. 27. Clark, who has abandoned hopes of competing in the Iowa caucuses, has made New Hampshire a priority. He is running third in the state behind former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., according to a Dec. 3 Zogby International poll. The Arkansans spent Saturday rallying at intersections, working phone banks and going door-to-door to sway the state's voters to the idea that Clark is their man. On Sunday, when weather conditions grew more treacherous, the supporters stayed indoors working the telephones at the campaign's state headquarters in Manchester and speaking to curious shoppers at a local mall. Ann Filiatreau, 59, a teacher from Little Rock, said she noticed many of the locals were very informed about the presidential race. "They are much more involved in politics," she said. "It's like they expect you to come. If someone came and knocked at my door (in Little Rock) I'd be shocked." William Huddleston, 70, a health system administrator from Batesville, was one of 30 Arkansas Travelers who stumped for Clinton in Iowa in 1991. He drew similarities between the two campaigns. "It was also an uncertain time when we were having economic problems," he said. He said he also noticed an excitement level surrounding Clark's candidacy reminiscent of Clinton. "We have two men from Arkansas and we're proud of both of them," he said. "Both men are capable of turning our country around." "There's just something very compelling about a group of people coming 1,500 miles in a blizzard and saying 'I'm from Arkansas and I'm here to tell you about Wes Clark,'" said Steve Bouchard, the campaign's New Hampshire director. The campaign will dispatch a second Clark Convoy on Thursday, this one headed to the milder temperatures of South Carolina. -- 30 -- |
