Tilt'n Diner patrons got more than a meal Thursday when presidential candidate and Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd joined them for lunch.
In New Hampshire as part of a four-day tour of the state, Dodd spoke briefly to reporters and key area Democrats before joining his fellow diners inside.
"In critical moments this country has always stood up for education," said Dodd, who cited the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862 and the G.I Bill as two pieces of legislation that generated some of the biggest dividends this country has seen.
"An ignorant public is not likely to support the Bill of Rights," said Dodd, responding to repeated queries about the soaring costs associated with getting an education. "Everything else hinges on it."
Brewster Smith and his daughter, Sarah, were having a quick lunch before visiting a relative when Dodd walked through the restaurant. When Sarah Smith told him she would begin college at the N.H. Community Technical College in Manchester this September, Dodd said that, as part of his education program, he would encourage the federal government to match, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of money a state puts into community college tuition. . . .
