General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Have you ever met a presidential candidate? (A place to share your story) [View all]indigovalley
(189 posts)He was campaigning in Lacrosse, Wisconsin at a huge outdoor event. Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Hillary were all there. I got within about four feet of them when they started to shake hands with the crowd but there were too many people so I couldn't get close enough. I manage to tape it all with an old school VHS camcorder though.
When I was in high school in the mid 1970s I saw Gerald Ford in Lacrosse. I didn't care that he was a Republican--I just wanted to see a sitting president in person. It was in a civic center and he looked right up at me in the balcony as he left and I waved at him.
Hubert Humphrey also came to my high school one time and spoke in the auditorium but I was sick that day and didn't get to see him.
One time Jimmy Carter rode a boat down the Mississippi River near the town where I live. I didn't get to see him in person as he didn't leave the boat but he spoke to the crowd via a loudspeaker.
My mom had a favorite story of seeing FDR when she was a child. He was riding in an open car through our town and he looked right at her and waved.