If we include shaking hands, Geraldine Ferraro the day before the 1984 election. I told her oh, I know you've heard this a lot since the debate, but kick their ass! She gave a kind oh, but in retrospect obviously forced, laugh and said oh we will. Very brave of her since she knew what the numbers were.
Gary Hart during his incipient 1988 presidential campaign when he visited the rainbow kitchen, a famous Food Bank, serving Pittsburgh.
Bill Clinton a few weeks before the 1992 election. While shaking his hand I told him that he had inspired me to use my law degree once I graduate to help Society. And I swear to God he gave the stereotypical Darrell Hammond impression of a thumbs up plus nodding his head while sticking his tongue out and biting it. He really does that!
I met Dennis kucinich when he was running for president in 2008, when he came to host our small rural Ohio County Democratic Jefferson Jackson Day breakfast. Oh my goodness he is Tiny. And yes, his wife is that gorgeous.
I met then Governor Ted Strickland when he came to our County Democratic dinner. Oh, and another year I similarly met then candidate for attorney general Richard cordray.
Briefly met one-on-one then State AG, now Governor Mike dewine, at the small County prosecutor's office I was working at at the time. When he asked where I'd gone to undergraduate, I told him oh, and he shared that one of his daughters had attended that's small liberal arts colleges well. When I asked what she was doing with herself nowadays his face grew quite grim and he told me she had died. I could have shrunk into a hole at that point.
Most of mine are pretty boring photo lines at conferences/fundraisers and the like. The only really cool story was with Rick Santorum. I met him in college when we hosted him on campus. This was during the 2016 primaries, right after Cruz had trounced Trump in Wisconsin. The College Republicans executive board went out to dinner with Santorum before the event. Someone asked him what he thought should happen in the event no one got to 1237 delegates to secure the nomination (which was something that was being very widely discussed at the time). Without flinching, he said that they should give it to "the guy who came in second last time".
A couple others on the list, I've had brief conversations with apart from a handshake, and Mark Green randomly commented on a Facebook post of mine once, but the only story at all like Badger's was my Santorum one.
