Our man in New Hampshire
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| AP |
Exeter, N.H. – It’s perhaps a telling explanation for former Sen. Mike Gravel’s struggling campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination that he decided to hold a campaign event Sunday night at New Hampshire’s prestigious prep school Phillips Exeter Academy — where perhaps only a few attendees were even old enough to vote.
But Gravel is nothing if not quirky, which would explain some of his odd remarks to students about drugs.
“We’ve all got addictions,” Gravel said. “Anyone in here not taking any drugs?” Looks. Laughter. Chuckles. “Tylenol, aspirin, we’re all druggies! I don’t know about you. I’ll own up to it. I’m on painkillers!”
But Gravel also chimed in on alcohol as well, as he dropped the line that’s gotten him plenty of blogosphere buzz lately: “I’m sure that a lot of you have tripped out on alcohol.” Again: Laughter, chuckles. “Well, it’s a lot safer to do it on marijuana.”
That’s right, kids: Stay in school and stay high.
Maybe Gravel could use some more of those painkillers to help numb the pain of his campaign. “Is it fun running for president? Hell no, it’s painful. … I don’t care if I’m president of the United States. It’s not burning in my heart.”
Gravel, of course, can say such things because he doesn’t expect much in the way of intelligence from his average American. “That the American public may be ignorant? Fine, I’ll go along with that. I’ll stipulate that all day long.”
And he can also easily shock because, well, these students apparently can’t make much of a difference anyway. “You can’t make a difference. Have I told you anything different?”
