(Cross posted at Kos)
Yes, I met McCain years ago.
I remember it well….
The day was overcast but the crowds were bright. People were everywhere cheerful and happy. There was singing and flag waving! There were handmade signs and music! The music was free and joyful and political!
My husband and I walked the streets and laughing people greeted us with friendly smiles.
People we didn’t know offered us drinks and thanked us for being there!
McCain wore gray.
My husband, who knows and remembers every politician’s name and face recognized him from across the street so we walked over to greet him.
My husband is very tall and approached McCain, who was alone and looked like he was going somewhere. He greeted Senator McCain and held out his hand and asked him his opinion of the events unfolding around us and “wasn’t it great?”
No smile.
But he did shake hands.
“Do you live here?”
“No. We are visiting. On Vacation.”
“Where are you from?
“We are from Illinois”
“Oh. I’ve got to go.”
No smile. Not even much of a handshake. You’d think he would’ve been happy someone from a different state recognized him. I guess he was in a hurry. He didn’t even acknowledge me. But, then, I do not look like Cindy.
Prague was beautiful that year. It was the summer of 1990. There was sunlight and beautiful flowers. And Music everywhere.
We also met Paul Simon.(The singer/musician) He was VERY friendly. He had his aide take our picture. He smiled a LOT. I’d vote for him in a minute. He was impressed that we were there and asked us all sorts of questions.
We almost met Clinton and Madeleine Albright in Beijing but the Secret Service would not allow it. We saw Madeleine Albright walk past our dining room in the restaurant.
We’ve met Barack Obama several times. He is always friendly, and cheerful. And he smiles. He even acts like he is glad to see you. When my husband said to him, “Give ’em Hell, Barack!” He replied, “I will tell the truth and they will think it’s Hell!”
What a difference.
7 comments
Skip to comment form
Author
why not? Everything seems to be McVain right now.
(Not a typo)
But are you an heiress to a huge fortune? I think THAT is what gets McCain’s attention. 😉
Thanks for the story. It sounds like the “happy warrior” thing is just a media invention, and connecting one-on-one is a real problem for him.
Thanks for posting it, Temmoku. I will mentally substitute your personal experience of the man for my own tv-based encounters.
Stories matter – share them if you’ve got ’em.
Yeah, I know – I never do that here. But then I’ve never met anybody and am probably not who you think I am. Thanks to you, now I know a bit about who McCain is.