Manchester, N.H.
Mitt Romney’s (sort of) triumphant return to New Hampshire was held at Manchester Central High School, a big old building in a down-on-its-heels section of town. The campaign put the rally in the gym, but for some reason curtained off three-quarters of the space. Only three small sections of risers and a little area of folding chairs were available. But maybe that was smart: Fifteen minutes before show time, several of the 250 or so seats were empty. Although they eventually filled, as it turned out, not everyone in the audience was there to support Romney. 

In the most superficially inappropriate use of campaign music since Hillary Clinton entered to “American Girl” (go read the lyrics if you don’t believe me), the Romney people began the warm-up program with “Eye of the Tiger,” a song made famous in Rocky III. For the training montage in which a bloated, lazy former champion (Rocky) has to make a comeback after being surprised by a gritty, unheralded insurgent (Clubber Lang). Come to think of it, maybe the song fits after all.