MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Joe Lieberman was half an hour late for Shabbat services on the Saturday morning before the New Hampshire primary, and by the time he walked into the Chabad house in Manchester, only one empty seat remained.
Lieberman sat down next to Marc Grinberg '05, who had traveled to New Hampshire the day before to volunteer for Lieberman's campaign.
When the prayer ended, Grinberg turned to the senator and introduced himself as a supporter and the campus coordinator of Princeton Students for Lieberman.
Chuckling, the senator told him, "You know, I went to Yale."
Grinberg replied that convincing Princeton students to elect another Yale alum to the White House was a challenge, so their group had devised a motto — "Yale on paper, Princeton at heart" — for campus fliers.
"He really liked that," Grinberg said later. "From then on, whenever I saw him, he would tell that story and point to me."
Over the next few days, Grinberg attended more than a dozen events with the senator. But late last night, Lieberman dropped out of the race after suffering several defeats in primaries around the country.
But while Lieberman was still in it, Grinberg cheered at rallies, traveled door-to-door with him to meet voters and even rode in the press section of Lieberman's official bus, "Integrity One."
Grinberg had been a Lieberman supporter for years, impressed by the candidate's unwavering commitment to his convictions and tied to him by their shared religious beliefs.
But when the politics major decided to volunteer for the campaign, he had no idea that spending four days amidst the personal politics of the New Hampshire primary would leave him on a first-name basis with his favorite contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
As the sole Princeton volunteer for Lieberman, Grinberg made arrangements through the Manchester campaign headquarters to catch a ride on Jan. 23 with students from Columbia and New York Universities.
After staying up all night Thursday to finish a take-home sociology final, he turned it in on Friday at 7 a.m. and boarded the train for New York an hour later.
Grinberg, who spent the next four days working for the campaign, said he didn't mind Lieberman's status as a long-shot candidate.
"There have been times since Iowa when I've thought, 'This is going nowhere,' " he admitted. "But I came up for the experience, and he's the only candidate I can put my whole heart into."
Family affair
As it turned out, the admiration was reciprocated. Grinberg was sitting in the Manchester headquarters Sunday evening when Lieberman's mother Marcia walked in to help make phone calls to voters.
When Grinberg introduced himself, she clasped his hand and smiled, saying, "Oh, my son told me about you."
He had called Grinberg "a lovely young man," Marcia Lieberman later told the 'Prince.' "He said he was proud of the caliber of the young man working for him."
Grinberg had yet another opportunity to see the senator later that evening, when word spread through the office that he would be barhopping nearby.
In the retail politics of the New Hampshire primary, Lieberman and the other candidates courted voters through casual events including unannounced restaurant stops.
Grinberg helped load signs into the volunteers' 15-person van, and they drove around the corner to the nearby Cahoot's Sports Bar and Grille.
Some stayed outside to hold signs, while others entered the restaurant where a few groups of three or four were enjoying a late dinner or early drink.
Half an hour later, Lieberman arrived with his wife, trailed by a handful of reporters and photographers. They slowly made their way around the bar, speaking with patrons, posing for photos with volunteers and fielding questions from reporters.
Asked by the 'Prince' why Princetonians should support another Yalie for the presidency, Lieberman called on students to put aside university rivalry.
"It's a test for you to choose the best candidate, regardless of college affiliation," he said, chuckling. "Equal-opportunity voting."
When he reached Grinberg, Lieberman greeted him by name and smiled as they shook hands.
"Marc told me the slogan," he said to the crowd. "Yale on paper, Princeton at heart.' "
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