A track record of candidate confrontations

The Flip Side: Judging America?s ratings of inequality

As those who have been following the presidential race know, John Edwards recently made his exit. In his 2004 campaign, Edwards frequently talked about "two Americas," describing a country where the rich have everything and the poor have nothing.

The Flip Side: Responding to Hitchens?s ethical challenge

As author of this column, I feel compelled to respond to Christopher Hitchens's Common Hour last Friday. If you are not familiar with him, Hitchens recently published "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything." During Common Hour, Hitchens gave a brief summary of his dislike for religion. He also gave a challenge he believes is unanswerable.

The Flip Side

A track record of candidate confrontations

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

February 22, 2008

2004. Concord High School is the ideal place to be for a teenager interested in politics. As the public high school of the state capital where the first primary takes place, a lot of the presidential candidates come to speak. As Concord tends to be one of New Hampshire's liberal hubs, the "student center" (dirty cafeteria) and auditorium tend to hold talks and rallies, particularly for the Democrats.

Back in the day, Howard Dean was the student favorite. I remember I was late to basketball practice one day, and actually bumped into him rounding a tight corner too fast. Then he ruined his hopes of the presidency after everyone got scared of him after his red-faced rant after a third place in Iowa. I was thankful he didn't eat me after I ran into him.

Next I got to sit on stage during Carol Mosley Braun's talk. I hope you lovers of irony can appreciate that picture. I had a great interaction with Robert Haines, who came into the Concord YMCA to play basketball with us. The lady at the front desk (who was always cranky and clearly a John Kerry fan) came up and started yelling at him because he didn't buy a day pass.

He tried to explain to her that he was running for president of the United States. Haines's entourage didn't know how to react. She wouldn't budge, called for backup, and about three people were ready to physically give him the boot. He reluctantly (more due to confusion than anything else) agreed to leave and passed me back my basketball.

Then came Wesley Clark. My friends and I were bored, saw him on the news and, recognizing Concord's Main Street, rushed down to see him. We found him in a candy store. We logically told the four-star general that we would cast our votes for him in exchange for a jumping jacks demonstration. The next morning I woke up to a picture of him doing jumping jacks on the front of half of the newspapers in New England (which couldn't be printed due to copyright restrictions). The picture actually was part of Charles Dharapak's second-place photojournalism essay for the National Press Photogrophers Association. I kept my promise and voted for Clark. Unfortunately, he received a lot of flack on internet blogs that criticized the American political process: "Hey! Wesley Clark! I'll vote for you if you do a jumping jack. Now jump off a cliff!" Whoops...

2008. The campaign returns to New Hampshire, a hot spot for political tourism around the time of the primary. I woke up groggily and saw a notice in the Concord Monitor. Chuck Norris was to be with Mike Huckabee in downtown Concord. Yes, a mile from my house would be the man who has no chin behind his beard, just another fist. The man who once shot down a German fighter plane by pointing his finger and saying bang. The man who, when jumping into water, does not get wet, rather the water gets Chuck Norris.

I immediately called everyone I knew, but my friends all had "jobs" and were "working." I, however, carpe diem-ed and headed straight for the advertised location of the man who, when doing a push-up, doesn't push up; he pushes the whole world down.

Alas, Chuck Norris was not there. The Washington Wire of the January 7 Wall Street Journal reports, "Down Main Street, a few patrons were gathered at Bread and Chocolate, where Huckabee was expected at 12:45. Turns out, he and his entourage stopped by early. 'Was Chuck Norris already here?' said a disappointed Jeff Lombardo, sad that he had missed the action star campaigning with Huckabee today."

Jeff Lombardo was actually me. While I was lamenting about the fact that Chuck Norris was not at Bread and Chocolate, I didn't notice the woman in front of me scribbling furiously. When she diverted her whole attention to me and asked me my name, I panicked. "J-J-Jeff Lombardo" was somehow the first thing that came to mind.

Anyway, I found out where Huckabee was going to be next in the off-chance Norris was still with him. He wasn't. But, I did hide behind the door of Huckabee's bus to pop out and get a sketchy picture with him and about half of my face.

I sort of did the same for Bill Bradley at the local Obama rally, getting part of my face and a shot of the tall, goofy guy in the background.

Anyway, I returned to Bowdoin thinking my political shenanigans would finally come to a rest. Wrong again. Chelsea Clinton decided to tour through Maine prior to the state's caucus, engaging with college students for younger voter appeal. Why, of course I got to talk to Chelsea. She inquired about the Bowdoin Track T-shirt I was wearing. I told her I ran the 400.

After I finished our conversation, I walked to the lobby of Thorne to wait for a friend. After a few minutes, Chelsea passed by on her way out. She gave me a half wink on the by and said, "Good luck in the 400." People keep trying to tell me politicians are trained to remember details and that was nothing out of the ordinary. I choose to believe she was a little bit into me.

Then Channel 8 news made a huge mistake. They decided to broadcast their 11 p.m. news in front of Chamberlain Hall. My roommates and I noticed that our room had a perfect view of the van. I did the most logical thing I could think of: I removed my shirt, put on a bike helmet, and ran around the reporter. I have a beautiful still frame of the news segment that shows my half naked body in the background.

Alas, my shirtless finale on the 11 o'clock news will probably end my public political activity. The next time around, I'll be 26 and, I don't know, it just seems a little less socially acceptable. But who knows?

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