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82-Year-Old Delegate on the Go at Convention
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National Political conventions are known primarily for the prime time speeches but attendees also go to dinners, tourist attractions, fundraisers, and parties. Mary Welling wanted to do all that and more this week in Minneapolis/St. Paul. She's 82 years old and this is her first time being a delegate. Chicago Public Radio's Robert Wildeboer spent the last couple days trying to keep up with her and has this report.
Related:
VIEW PHOTOS from the floor
WATCH VIDEO of Palin taking the stage
Palin Accepts VP Nomination
Follow all the coverage of the RNC on The Election File Blog
Right now you're probably thinking that's hyperbole, right? The part about me not being able to keep up with an eighty-two year old woman. Oh, would that it were so. I first met Mary Welling after the delegation breakfast a couple days ago. She was chatting with two other delegates she just met.
WELLING: Lou Pinnella...
On this day, after breakfast, Welling has some free time so she's decided she wants to conquer one of the largest shopping centers in the country, the Mall of America. After getting some directions in the hotel lobby, she takes off down the street in the rain.
WELLING: I think we have about an eight block walk.
Welling walks fast. I'm 6'3 and a pretty fast walker…she's faster. Soon she's hopping on the train.
WELLING: That was a short walk. We were here before we knew it.
Welling finds a seat and tells me how she ended up at the convention. She's an accidental delegate. She agreed to get signatures for John McCain and dutifully sent them in. Then on the day of the primary election she got a call.
WELLING: One of my friends called said, Mary, you're on the ballot here. Do you want us to vote for you? I says what ballot? I was on the public ballot as a delegate for McCain. Well, I says I don't care.
Welling is a retired school teacher from Rock Island Illinois, near the Illinois/Iowa border. For fourteen years of her career she taught a class that had, mentally handicapped kids, and kids with behavioral problems, and kids with learning disabilities, all in one room at the same time. After a few more stories we get to the mall and Welling makes a bee line for the women's section at Macy's and finds some good deals…
WELLING: Here this one here is nice…or something
She tries on some outfits but nothing fits quite right so she goes back to the hotel for lunch and then heads to a fundraiser featuring Mitt Romney. I meet up with Welling in the evening at the Xcel center where all the speeches are taking place. She splits her time there between listening to the speeches and chatting up famous people.
WELLING: I just got a picture of Karl Rove…
As we talk, she darts off every few minutes.
WELLING: Oh, Greta. Greta van Susteren.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich passes near by, as does Rudy Giuliani and then…
WELLING: Henry Kissinger. Mr. Kissinger.
When Mitt Romney takes the stage, Welling stands up and cheers him on.
WELLING: Yay! Yay!
But when Sarah Palin steps up to the mic, Welling sits quietly, looking up at the large screen on the scoreboard at the top of the arena. Welling liked what she considered Palin's one liners criticizing Barack Obama but she expected to hear more about how Palin would govern as VP.
WELLING: I was listening intently to see what she, what she was going to offer. I really I guess I don't know if there was a lot of substance to it.
Welling says she was too far from Palin to gauge her, but she says she's confident she'll get to meet Palin before the election. Given all the people I've seen her chase down, I don't doubt it at all. In any case, being at the convention has Welling in high spirits. She's more convinced than ever that John McCain is the right choice for president.
WELLING: It just fired me up. Now I got to get going now. Mary we only got so many days, I'm thinking, we only got so many days to the election, I got to get going now.
Welling says the high point of the convention was when the crowd sang the national anthem and she could hear all the men around her joining in. She says she knows the country needs improvement but she's tired of the negativity implicit in Obama's message of change.
WELLING: America, America has to change. We're in trouble here, we're in trouble there. To me, America is still the greatest country.
Even though it's nearly 11 p.m., she's planning to stick around the convention hall for a while and there's a party she's thinking of going to after that.
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