Rocking with the oldies
I took a bus to New Hampshire yesterday for a Democratic presidential candidate forum sponsored by the AARP. The bus I was on was filled with seniors from Rhode Island, most of whom it seemed were undecided about which candidate to vote for. It was a fun drive and I got to meet some very nice older folks. When we got there, we tried to look around in the lobby, but this retired dude who was one of the ushers got extremely nervous and ushered us into the auditorium, sternly warning us that there was no walking around. Holy elementary school! Maybe if I get a hall pass from Howard Dean I can walk around.

Most of the candidate's lit into the AARP for supporting the Medicare prescription drug plan currently under consideration. (It's a big giveaway to HMO's and pharmaceutical companies.) When the candidates criticized AARP, the crowd -- made up of AARP members -- cheered them for their remarks. By the way, the guy who is currently head of the AARP once wrote a forward to a book by Newt Gingrich. Oh, that explains it.

Near the end of the forum, this lady came and sat in our row. Dressed all in red, she croaked like a bullfrog each time one of the candidates started to talk. Then she would tsk-tsk whatever they said. Finally, another lady in our row asked her which candidate she supported and she said, "President Bush." On the way out, we tried to figure out what she was doing there. I figure she was there for the free bag lunch.