There was sound and vision when President George Bush addressed a rally in New Hampshire, writes Deaglán De Bréadún
Boom!! First of all, George W. Bush was talking about September 11th and introducing relatives of the victims.
Then there was a loud explosion. The President, the entire platform party and many spectators were showered with red, white and blue confetti.
It seemed to go on for several minutes. Seasoned wedding-goers nodded sagely and said it was a type of confetti-bomb.
But you didn't need a photographic memory to be reminded of the vast snowstorm of paper that followed the disaster at the World Trade Centre.
In these days of image-making and spin, such things don't happen by accident.
Even highly successful campaigns focus on their bedrock issues in the last few days. In a tight race like this one between "W" and JFK (for John Forbes Kerry), the incentive to focus on the fundamentals is all the greater.
As one of the warm-up speakers suggested, it was time to get back to basics and the banner behind the speaker's podium spelt out the message: "A safer America".
That's what the President was selling. If only the election could have been held a few days or weeks after September 11th, Mr Bush would have walked it.
This was Manchester in New Hampshire, a small state but potentially important in a knife-edge contest. The location was the local ice-hockey arena which doubles as a concert venue.
A neon sign outside flashed today's attraction: "The President and Mrs Bush". Others coming soon: "Australian Pink Floyd" and the ominous-sounding "Velvet Revolver".
The people lining up were mainly blue-collar folk. With a shortage of professionals and yuppies, these were the Plain People of America.
Older ones held up placards proclaiming, "Seniors for Bush". Men of military bearing waved "Veterans for Bush" signs. There were Farmers for Bush and Sportsmen for Bush, but no African-Americans for Bush, because virtually every face was white. Female members of the audience who had no particular feminist aura about them nevertheless carried signs stating, "W stands for Women".
A group of women and children were wearing T-shirts with pictures of sons, husbands or fathers who are currently serving in Iraq. One T-shirt featured a quotation from George Orwell: "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." What would he have thought? A barking dog sniffed the resuscitation trolley which may have been intended for the President, in case he got a weakness, or maybe someone in the audience: nobody was sure.
Garth Brooks songs played and even Frank Sinatra's My Way. A silverhaired male trio strummed and sang, This Land is Your Land. A local Democratic politician declared his support for the President. Another speaker said it was the biggest crowd he had ever seen at a political rally in New Hampshire. Yet it was still only about 3,000 people and there were hundreds of empty seats.
When Bush came on, he looked strangely vulnerable. The campaign has not been going that well and the most powerful man in the world is fighting for his political life.
Still he has a popular touch that Kerry lacks. He flashes his "regular guy" grin, then adds in a little bit of flattery, "We are honoured you are here . . . you have lifted our spirits." Mrs Bush is dressed in bright turquoise and the President coos to the audience: "I love her dearly, she's a great First Lady."
After a quick gallop through the economic issues and a subtle but well-understood reference to the gay marriage controversy, he got down to business.
His message was: when you are under threat from terrorism, who you gonna trust, me or that waverer and vacillator, John Kerry? He never mentioned his opponent's name once but everyone knew who he meant, and cheered accordingly.
A few protesters waved signs about stolen explosives in Iraq but they were shouted down by the crowd, urging "Four more years" for Bush.
Highlighting what he said were successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, the President declared, "Freedom is on the march and America and the world are more secure." Everything he said got a cheer but the loudest one of all was when he proclaimed, "Freedom is Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world." But Tuesday's vote will show whether George W. Bush really does have God on his side.