CHARLOTTE, N.C. â€" If you are into celebrity-spotting â€" and who isn't? - trolling the halls of political conventions can be rewarding, as long as your standards are not too high. Think less George Clooney and more Andrea Mitchell or Chuck Schumer.
But Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary?
Perhaps it is a measure of the fact that not all the big names have landed here in Charlotte yet. Or that this is a crowd that watches a lot of Sunday morning television. Nonetheless, Mr. Gibbs, who is now an outside adviser to Mr. Obama, was mobbed â€" mobbed! â€" when he walked through the convention hall on Tuesday.
“Can I get a picture?†one man asked, as Mr. Gibbs, ever obliging, stopped to pose for one group after another for smiling grip-and-grin photographs. Mr. Gibbs clearly showed he had learned something from his years in politics (before Mr. Obama, Mr. Gibbs worked for the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts), patiently accommodating each request.
“Oh you're from Alabama?†said Mr. Gibbs, who is from Alabama, engaging in a bit of small talk.
An aide frantically gestured at his wrist to indicate that the celebrity was late for something, a television reporter, microphone in hand, swooped in for an interview, and Mr. Gibbs was happy to oblige.
We will head back to the hall shortly to see if Mr. Gibbs is still there.
