Today I met Dennis Kucinich. Well, I shook his hand and say hello. I followed him and his small entourage as they toured Free Geek. I was at first hesitant to go to Free Geek, thinking my nice, calm, apolitical home had been run over by the media, poltical types and the SS. I decided that I really couldn't miss such a brush with history and greatness, so I headed out to Free Geek, and managed to corral Brian Smith, candidate for city council, into going with me along the way.
Mr. Kucinich showed up on time, bringing with him only a small entourage and one single Secret Service agent, who didn't look anywhere near as menacing as I imagined. In fact, the secret service agent didn't even accompany Rep. Kucinich on the tour. Maybe someone corralled him into breaking apart floppy disks.
Anyway, I was very impressed with Rep. Kucinich, for the reason that he didn't even seem to be campaigning, perhaps because at this point in the game he is in the campaign for moral reasons and doesn't have to turn the campaign mode on. This is one of the few times I have not been asked to give a tour, I followed behind a short distance and heard him discuss the different aspects of Free Geek's operation. What surprised me the most is he seemed genuinly curious about the different aspects of the operations, asking several technical questions that I hadn't even thought about. I hope that the technical discussions of Free Geek's infrastructure didn't bore him too greatly.
Although I won't endorse any of his political beliefs or stands, I would say that a politician that is curious and wants to learn about different aspects of technique is a rare commodity.