Hello all:

I got to see John Kerry and John Edwards when they came to Central Pennsylvania this past Friday.

They spoke at the State Capitol building in Harrisburg, PA.

Thanks to a slight flaw in the otherwise tight security, I was able to work my way to the front of the crowd. There I got to meet Cate Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, Chris Heinz, Andre Heinz, Vanessa Kerry, and yes, the biggest star of all -- Ben Affleck.
In each case, I was able to have a reasonably lengthy conversation. Elizabeth Edwards is quite impressive. She asked me where I lived, what I did for a living, and how I liked living in Central PA.
Cate Edwards told me how nervous she was the night she introduced her mother at the DNC earlier in the week. She said she was "scared to death" the whole time. Prior to that night, the largest crowd she had addressed was "about 30 people".
Vanessa Kerry is really sharp as well. She thanked us for coming out and laughed when I asked her if the candidates kids bus was the fun bus. She said yes, especially with Ben Affleck on it!
And I had quite a funny interaction with Affleck himself. He, too was interested in where I was from and how involved I was in the Kerry campaign. Later -- and Nicole is really upset about this -- a small group had gathered and the excitement of the evening had calmed down...I thought "Nicole will never believe that I'm chatting with Ben Affleck", so I called her on my cell phone. Ben agreed to say hello to her -- but I dialed (by accident, I swear!) her cell phone number instead of our home number (in the excitement, I clicked the wrong name in my phone's address book). Sorry, Nicole...he's no big deal anyway!
My favorite chats of the evening came with Andre and Chris Heinz. Both have spent a good bit of time in Pittsburgh and we had a nice time talking about mutual friends and our memories of Pittsburgh. (Though Andre was busy chatting up a woman in Spanish the whole time...)
I must admit seeing some things in John Kerry that I didn't think he had. He has a warm, thoughtful, intellectual side that doesn't always come out on TV. And John Edwards is definitely high energy! Great motivator.
So, it was a fascinating evening watching the whole campaign event unfold. Certainly a major undertaking. (I do have some questions about security, though, if someone like me can walk uncontested -- without being searched/scanned/or questioned -- into handshaking distance of the candidates. Sort of scary.
Anyway, I had a great time...as did 25,000 other Democratic supporters in a historically Republican stronghold. I think Kerry has a good chance this November. Thanks, in part actually, to John Edwards and his energy. I compare Edwards to Dick Cheney and can't imagine who would CHOOSE Cheney's demeanor and record over Edwards enthusiasm and positive nature.
Anyway, it was a great event. And great to see the Kerry/Edwards ticket having some real impact. Should be an interesting election!