Only days after President Bush announced his support for sending astronauts to Mars, he made a trip Thursday to Roswell, N.M. Merely a coincidence? (Cue “X-Files” theme.)
UFO cultism is an essential part of Roswell’s economy, owing to the alleged crash of an alien spaceship there in 1947.
Shops such as Alien Encounter, across from the McDonald’s, and the International UFO Research Center flourish along Main Street. The oval globes on city street lamps are painted with alien-looking eyes. Even the local Arby’s has on its sign, “Aliens welcome.”
Bush is hoping to win re-election with the help of New Mexico, where he lost by 366 votes in 2000. He gave a serious speech in Roswell on Thursday, but couldn’t resist a mention of Air Force One flying near Area 51.
“I understand you had reports this morning of an unfamiliar aircraft,” Bush told the audience. “Don’t worry, it was just me.”
–Rick Pearson
BLOWING IN THE WIND
John Kerry is angling for the windsurfer vote.
At the Elks Lodge in Laconia, N.H., where he was campaigning Thursday, his aides were passing out free copies of the latest edition of American Windsurfer. The glossy magazine, with Kerry on its cover, features 26 pages of flattering photographs and commentary about the Massachusetts senator.
There he is, on Page 82, grimacing as he withstands intense winds. On Page 96, a shirtless Kerry smiles as he holds a purple and black body suit. And on Page 103, he’s patching up blisters on his hand with gray duct tape after a punishing day of surfing in Aruba.
The article, a glowing yearlong account, comes five days before the New Hampshire primary. The cover, in red and white letters, reads “Senator John Kerry. The windsurfer who could be president.”
During his speech, when a member of the audience held up a copy of the magazine for the senator, Kerry grinned.
“Where’d you get this windsurfer magazine?” he said. “I guess it didn’t sell so well before.”
–Jeff Zeleny
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PREP WORK
Teresa Heinz Kerry was received more warmly than husband John during a campaign stop at Phillips Exeter Academy in tony Exeter, N.H.
Her late first husband, Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.), attended Exeter. Heinz Kerry, who served on the prep school’s board of trustees, said she fought to integrate female students and faculty.
“You’d be surprised, but there was a lot of resistance to that,” she said.
The school no longer is male-only.
Heinz Kerry said she often has dreamed of retiring to a home in Exeter, where she would invite her neighbors each afternoon for tea, scones, whipped cream and civilized discussions about world affairs.
But many in the overflow crowd of about 1,000 hissed when John Kerry confessed to attending St. Paul, a rival private academy. He placated the crowd by noting that his chief of staff went to Exeter.
–Dan Mihalopoulos
NO ONE FROM CHAD?
New Hampshire may not be a burgeoning Third World democracy, but election observers from six countries are descending to monitor the famous first-in-the-nation primary. Representatives have come from Cypress, Angola, Tajikistan, Germany, the Netherlands and France, said George Bruno, a former U.S. ambassador to Belize and a Democratic activist backing retired Gen. Wesley Clark.
“It’s sort of a reverse of what the United States does in other countries,” Bruno said. “They’re here to see how American democracy unfolds and to observe it all.”
–Jill Zuckman
THE $5,704 SWEATER
For a while it seemed that the argyle sweater made famous by Wesley Clark would become the most expensive in history. After the much-maligned sweater was posted for auction on eBay, bids went as high as $15,000.
Now it seems that the bidding was inflated by people unable to pony up the big bucks. The current tally is $5,704, with two days to go.
The sweater actually belonged to Gene Caulfield, Clark’s brother-in-law and constant companion on the campaign trail. Clark borrowed the too-big sweater one day and was roundly ridiculed by reporters. The money raised on eBay is intended for Liberty House, a shelter being built in Manchester for homeless veterans.
Caulfield said he was stunned by the bids for his sweater and is considering donating his shoes next.
–Jill Zuckman