by Paul West
When it comes to presidential politicking, the kickoff primary state of New Hampshire has seen just about everything. Leave it to the campaign of first-time presidential contender Rudolph Giuliani to come up with something new.
The former federal prosecutor is hiring court reporters to transcribe his public events, such as today’s “town hall”-style question-and-answer session in tony New Castle on the seacoast, possibly the most affluent zip code in the state.
Not only was a stenographer paid to take down every word Giuliani and his questioners uttered, but a second, legal video specialist taped the event with a sophisticated digital video rig.
Presidential campaigns always try to keep records of candidate events. But the usual method is to have an aide stick a tape recorder by a loudspeaker. The only exceptions are campaign stops by an incumbent president, whose every word is preserved for history by a steno pool that is paid by the taxpayers.
Rival campaigns might see Giuliani’s stenographers as evidence of a campaign that isn’t managing its spending wisely (though Giuliani’s spokeswoman says it is cheaper to do it this way than have a staffer transcribe tapes later). Or perhaps it’s merely a sign of confidence–that Rudy’s utterances deserve presidential-style treatment, even before he is elected, which at the very least would be a valuable resource for future historians.
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