When I arrived, I got introduced to lots of folks intimately involved in party activities. Larry Pogemiller was there, as was R.T. Rybak (MN Senate Majority Leader and Mayor of Minneapolis, respectively). As well, and very much to my great pleasure, Walter Mondale was there. I even got five minutes of Vice President Mondale's undivided time. I was awestruck and humbled by his decency. When I criticized Norm Coleman personally, he drew me up short and said, "I think we can focus on Norm Coleman's public stance without needing to discuss his personal conduct." It was a very clear that Mondale prefers civil discourse and keeping things about policy. I had just seen this man read the Gettysburg address the preceding Sunday at Minnesota's Orchestra Hall. His reading was terrific, and here I was telling him how much I enjoyed it, and when I tried to engage in a discussion of my frustration with Coleman, a man who had personally disparaged him, he defended Coleman's right to privacy.
Another person I met, and spent much of the evening talking to, was a man named Mark Ritchie.
