(I couldn't post this earlier, because of that one diary per day rule, and since I posted around this time last night, I have to wait until now to post.)
Today I set off into the city to take pictures down in SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown (I do photography as a hobby, and since I only live and hour north of NYC by train, I hopped on Metro North and got down to Grand Central.)
I spent all day taking pictures of cast-irons, street vendors, and various parts of Little Italy and Chinatown (unfortunately with CT I didn't have many pictures left that I could take since I was running out of space on my disposable digital camera.)
I decided to head home after taking from more shots in SoHo and spending my time browsing a Chinese-themed store in some cast-iron (I think it was at Greene St.) As I set out for the subway station so I could get back to Grand Central, I saw two people talking in front of a store. The side profile of Warner's face looked familiar, but for a second I couldn't figure out (or believe that it was him) until I saw him (or maybe it was his aide) with a few papers indicating something about his PAC. Warner's aide said something like "yes it's him" after I gave an indication that he looked familiar. I only got to talk with Warner for a few minutes, but one question I remember was that when I asked him if he's running for President, he said that he was considering it. No bullshit about "I'm not a candidate" or some vague gesture that a lot of pols make when they're playing coy. He said straight-forward that he's considering running. I told him that he would make a great candidate and that I hated Bush, and that I can't believe that I randomly saw him when I was walking by. He gave me his business card for his PAC, and then his aide said that they were busy and had to go soon (of course, I too also had to get going.)
What interested me in meeting him was that he and his friend/aide were justing standing around, without any sort of crowds that you would see in front of Presidential candidates. I also didn't see any entourage of Secret Service, which Warner can only get if he becomes a candidate (or is it if he gets the Democratic nomination?...I can't remember which one.)
In a way, this is like meeting a candidate "unspoiled" by the general process of going through an election an appearing as a larger than life figure as a result. He just looked like an ordinary guy. My experience meeting Warner would be akin to someone meeting Jimmy Carter in 1974, or Bill CLinton in 1990. Like them, Warner is not yet known, but he will be in just two years. BTW, in case any of you still remember that New York Times Magazine article that emphasized his smile and teeth, he does have a broad smile, so I don't think that that article was exagerating it.