MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ, co-host:
Well, even when the weather is bitter cold like that, you always see the
politicians out there in the primaries, getting out, shaking hands, kissing babies. One New Hampshire resident decided to take advantage of that. He set out to see if he could get pictures of his five-month-old daughter, Dahlia, with all the president hopefuls. And he documented his efforts for Slate magazine. He's joining us now. Darren Garnick, his family, wife, Stacy, son, Ari, and of course the little star herself, baby Dahlia.
Good morning to all of you.
Mr. DARREN GARNICK (Contributor, "Slate" Magazine): Hi. Thanks for having us.
Ms. STACY GARNICK: Hello.
RODRIGUEZ: What a great idea, Darren. How'd you come up with the idea?
Mr. GARNICK: Well, I'm kind of like a--I'm a goofball and I like taking silly pictures of my kids. And you know, when we're at minor league baseball games, we take pictures of the kids with the mascots and take pictures at amusement parks with Bugs Bunny and Disney and all that. And so--although they've never been to Disney; they'll pressure me for that. It was just--you know, New Hampshire's just surreal, it's like a political Disneyland, and I just thought it would be fun to take pictures of my kids with presidential candidates.
RODRIGUEZ: But it can be tricky. I mean, it's a little baby. As we're seeing right now, she can be fussy, she can cry. Spend--these are long events. How do you get her to sit still and not cry through all of it?
Mr. GARNICK: Absolutely. Like, right now--like, I don't judge Rudy Giuliani or John McCain because the baby cried, because right now the baby's crying in my own arms and--but it is fun to project our own adult emotions and ideas on what it means for the baby to cry or how the candidates respond.
RODRIGUEZ: Stacy...
Ms. GARNICK: Mm-hmm.
RODRIGUEZ: ...he tells you, `I'm taking the baby out in freezing weather for a couple of hours.' You OK with that?
Ms. GARNICK: I am, because, I mean, if Dahlia can't be with her own father and if her own father's not going to be responsible for her, then I think we'd all be in trouble, so--and he always--he always did it. He did it with Ari, and it's--I just would humor him.
RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, it's fun.
Ms. GARNICK: It is fun. It is fun.
RODRIGUEZ: Now, I have to say, Darren, you're a genius in your approach. To get the picture with Barack...
Mr. GARNICK: Thank you.
RODRIGUEZ: ...Dahlia wore this, everybody. Now, I don't know how he wouldn't stop for this bib here. I'm holding up a bib.
Mr. GARNICK: Baby Power.
RODRIGUEZ: Baby Power. She's endorsing Obama. This must have been a magnet for him. Did he come right to her when he saw her wearing this?
Mr. GARNICK: You know, no. I don't--it didn't work like I thought it would. He actually was just attracted by the back of the baby's head. He saw the baby--I was in the third row behind some other people, pressed up against the barricade three days before the primary, and the auditorium was packed, and he just saw the baby and instinctively reached out.
RODRIGUEZ: Hm.
Mr. GARNICK: And I know that he--there's no way candidates aren't thinking, `Photo op with baby,' no doubt...
RODRIGUEZ: Right.
Mr. GARNICK: ...and they're using the baby as a prop and I'm using them as a prop.
RODRIGUEZ: Right.
Mr. GARNICK: So it's--it works two ways. But I have to say, when Obama held the baby, he held her for a good 30 seconds, which is unheard of during one of these things, and people were waiting for him to get to the podium. So I think he really does appreciate the moment and the wonderment in a child's eyes.
RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, I was going to say, it's so cliche to have a politician kiss a baby.
Mr. GARNICK: Sure.
RODRIGUEZ: It could be disingenuous. Did you get the impression that most of them were just doing it for a photo op, or did you get the impression that they really had interest in your child?
Mr. GARNICK: Well, first of all, I went to them, they didn't come to me, so again, like I said, I was using them as a prop and they were using me as a prop.
RODRIGUEZ: Right.
Mr. GARNICK: So I do think that most of the candidates--John Edwards actually had a--OK, he was very polite and everything, but I definitely got the sense that John Edwards was going through the motions. Maybe because John Edwards has little babies of his own and he's like, `OK, another baby.'
RODRIGUEZ: Right, right, right.
Mr. GARNICK: But he was very polite. But, no, I think for the most part the candidates enjoy it, because some of them have grandchildren and some of them have children. And it's just how can you not want to hold a baby for a minute?
RODRIGUEZ: Yeah.
All right, she's wearing red. Is that a political statement? Is she going to be...
Mr. GARNICK: For Soviet Russia or--no, she's...
RODRIGUEZ: Is she going to be voting for Rudy or Mike and Mitt?
Mr. GARNICK: I...
Ms. GARNICK: (Unintelligible)
Mr. GARNICK: Based on how she's responded with the candidates, she has cried with the Republicans and she has been calm with the Democrats, but that doesn't reflect our family's political views...
RODRIGUEZ: Uh-huh.
Mr. GARNICK: ...but maybe if you want to judge, I guess you would go Democrat.
RODRIGUEZ: All right. An unscientific poll. Thank you so much, Darren, Stacy, Ari and baby Dahlia.
Mr. GARNICK: Thank you.
Ms. GARNICK: Thanks for having us, Maggie.
RODRIGUEZ: She's going to get such a kick out of it when she grows up.
Mr. GARNICK: Thank you.
RODRIGUEZ: Ahead this morning, how to get rid of that weird thing that's growing in your fridge. We'll be right back. You're watching THE EARLY SHOW on CBS.
