Report from Clinton Campaign HQ in Manchester, NH: They're expanding! And fortunately, some space just opened up: Chris Dodd's old campaign headquarters, now no longer in use. At a rally this morning at Clinton HQ, volunteers were told that the new staging area where volunteers meet before canvassing was being moved to Dodd's old space, where there was more space. According to Clinton volunteer Sophie Donelson, who was on site, Hillary Clinton was in "very high spirits" and reiterated her message from last night's debate: Change will come with action, not words. "Hillary rolled in and she basically backed up all last night's topics with real statistics," said Donelson. "She rattled off things that she had done, specifically in New Hampshire, like there's 7,000 more children in New Hampshire with health care because of her, that sort of thing." Donelson said that Clinton looked relaxed and at ease, noting that walking around with a microphone seemed to free her to be a more "naturally charismatic and upbeat speaker."
Against the backdrop of the campaign bus and the usual phalanx of cameras and journos (plus Chelsea, but no Bill), Donelson said there was chanting and optimism for the final push of the campaign here, backed up by the expansion into a larger space for volunteers.
According to Donelson, Clinton stayed at HQ for a long time, taking pictures with everyone and shaking hands (even Chelsea took photos). To the right is a portion of the flyer handed out this morning at the rally (emphasis added); Clinton's new staging area is at 379 Elm Street in Manchester (R.I.P. Dodd HQ).
Obama held a rally this morning as well, where an attendee told us there were "big crowds and tons of press," with a lineup outside the building that had apparently been there since early morning. According to the attendee, Obama picked up on Hillary Clinton's point in last night's debate about words vs. action (without mentioning her by name), saying America had been built on hope, and spun Clinton's comments as a dismissal of that hope, asserting himself as a "hopemonger" — a frequent Obama phrase from the stump. Press attendees included Tim Russert, David Brooks and Chris Matthews. Read more about the Obama rally on HuffPolitics shortly from Sam Stein. Photos courtesy of Sophie Donelson