And you thought "Bring it On" cheerleaders were bad...

John Edwards in Newton day! This will be a lengthy one. Much to discuss.

So we got up at the butt-crack of dawn to head to Newton, a town about 30 miles east of Des Moines for a big John Edwards rally.

As you can tell by the picture above, we not only had good and decent seats, but it was a very good event.

But for many reasons besides being that close to John Edwards.

For one, Jessica and I were waiting outside this morning for members and as we were there I didn't see just one or two.

I saw three, four, five, six - SEVEN mullets. I tried to take pics, but you can't see them very well in the background. Either way, they were very nice. A skullet, a Pat Benetar Mullet, a Michael Bolton Mullet, and a baby mullet. Oh, Mullet Hunters would be proud.

But beyond that...

We finally entered the gym to see that Megan, Judy, Rob, and other staff members had gotten prime seats right behind where Edwards was going to be. Niiice.

And we sat down stage left, I guess, and we were about seventy-five feet away from where the action was to be. Standing there were the high school cheerleaders. As they got into their cheer:

(clap clap) "Edwards!" (clap clap) "Edwards!" (clap clap) "Edwards!"

I turned to Jess and commented, "It doesn't really matter where you go, cheerleaders are the same no matter where."

So it felt like twenty minutes pass and the cheerleaders are still there and between cheers, they would huddle for five minutes or so and then turn around, do a different set up...

and then do the same exact cheer they just did.

Um.

So we took the liberty of making jibes. C'mon. Even our lost timer, Cindy, had some suggestions for them. Sheesh. My favorite one was where they did a different set and one of them was lifted and she stood there with her arms in a "v" over her head and just stood there until they finished the same cheer and she dropped down. Yes, different, I guess. Of course, if you're gonna be on national TV, you might want to think of some different cheers.

So then finally, the program started. And Edwards comes out, the crowd is electrified, on their feet, and he's got little Jack and Emma Claire with him. We heart him.

So then he launches into his rally stump. Pretty good speech, if you ask me. He's great live. And yes, he is that good looking in person.

I snapped something like thirty pictures. I'll upload them into my photobook soon.

But then after he was done, he opened the floor to questions.

The guy behind us, whom Jess and I made friends with, known as "Johnny Guitar" asked a question. So when he was done, Edwards goes to answer him, and since he was sitting directly behind me, this is one of the pics I got:



But then he was asked a question about the VA and veterans and the troops over in Iraq. Turns out one of our members asked a question:



She's wearing the AFSCME green shirt.

Everything he said just rang true. Know what I mean? I'm convinced that this country would be far far far far better off with him and John Kerry - and today, he really sold it.

But the best moment of the rally was this cutie patootie little girl that was sitting in the seats in front of us. She was adorable, had on a little Kerry/Edwards shirt, and was trying to wave to him all throughout the rally. Finally, her mother, whomever, got her to the edge of the crowd where she raised her hand.

Edwards called on her. He asked her name. I can't remember it, but she told him.

Then she told him, "I'm really nervous."

And he answered, "It's okay, just talk here, talk to me."

And she asked, "Are you John Edwards?"

And he said, "Yes I am."

And she looked up at him and said, "Can I have a hug?"

After we all laughed, he scooped her up and gave her a big hug and a peck on the cheek and I managed to get this picture before everyone in the audience was on their feet:



Adorable.

Great start of the day, really. And then it was back to the office to do phone calling all day for the next two events this week.

Sounds corny, but it's always events like these that makes you feel really good about the things you are doing. It's as good as swinging a voter's mind towards your candidate or registering someone to vote. Gives you hope. And in a job like this, as much fun as it can be, and as crazy as it can be, you sometimes need days like these to keep you going until we win it.