DL21C
Dateline New York City: What the Primary-Watchers Did Last Night
Freelancer Caitlin Johnson, who went primary-watch-party-hopping last night, sends in this fun dispatch:
Tom Leger opened up his spacious Tribeca loft last night for gay Clinton supporters to watch the returns. By 9 p.m., only a handful of his friends showed up, but that didn't stop Leger, an English teacher at Hunter, from jumping off his couch each time the preliminary results showed Clinton ahead.
Leger said, "It's a pretty sorry election for queer people – it's a pretty sorry election for the country." He said Clinton rarely discusses gay rights, but he still feels she's the best person for the job. "I wanted Hillary because I love Bill Clinton, and when I went out canvassing for Clinton – when I saw her, it became about Hillary Clinton."
His guests, however, were not so sure. One was torn between Obama and Clinton; another confessed that deep down, he supported fellow vegan Dennis Kucinich.
Almost everyone at a Barack Obama party I went to, by contrast, was drunk off the Kool-Aid. The party, which took place at the Irish Rogue pub in Times Square, was organized by ObamaNYC. It drew a crowd of good-looking young professionals. Organizer Nina Arawal, sporting an "I got a crush on Obama" pin, said more than 200 people attended.
