There she was, Drew Barrymore, standing in the scrum of newspaper reporters and television videographers on Main Street in downtown Nashua, N.H.
The actress, of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Riding in Cars With Boys,” was taking in the sights of the New Hampshire primary race. Her subject? Wesley Clark. She and a small film crew documented the behind-the-scenes chaos of the campaign. It’s a venture into the art of reality film.
Standing on the corner of Prospect and Main streets, she was barely recognizable in tall snow boots and a giant parka. The flashy, designer sunglasses gave her away, though, despite her attempts to blend into the Fourth Estate gaggle.
–Jeff Zeleny
TV DEBATE IN SHOW-ME STATE
Like good friends scrambling to cook dinner for unexpected out-of-town guests, the Missouri Democratic Party is hastily trying to arrange a joint televised appearance by the presidential candidates on the eve of the state’s Feb. 3 primary.
Details have not been nailed down, but party officials are planning a TV debate Monday night at the University of Missouri’s St. Louis campus. Seating is available for 1,000. It would be the second televised event for the candidates in less than a week, coming four days after a debate in Greenville, S.C.
The Missouri primary was supposed to be little more than a rubber-stamp for the state’s favorite son, veteran Rep. Richard Gephardt of St. Louis. But Gephardt finished fourth in Iowa and pulled the plug on his presidential campaign.
–Tim Jones
SWOON IN THE KERRY CAMPAIGN
A 14-year-old supporter wobbled and collapsed a few feet from John Kerry’s side while the Massachusetts senator was speaking on a theater stage before more than 500 people Monday afternoon at Keene State College in Keene, N.H.
Kerry knelt over the boy, who had been standing with a group of supporters behind him, and raised the boy’s legs. Kerry also stuck out an arm to shoo photographers from the boy when many in the crowd shouted, “Get the cameras away!”
The boy regained consciousness in a couple of minutes and was able to walk away before Kerry resumed answering questions.
“Let there be no doubt how hard we’re working to win this thing,” Kerry said. “I’m just told he’s one of our hardest-working volunteers, the best we have.”
–Dan Mihalopoulos
