The rumors had been rife all day: Ironton may gets its second presidential campaign visitor in a week. In the end, opportunity drove right by.

Democratic faithful lined up on the lot of Ohio University Southern in hopes that Democratic vice-presidential candidate would stop and visit as his motorcade passed by on U.S. 52 from Portsmouth to Huntington, W.Va.

The crowd of supporters waited in the rain for more than two hours, holding signs and watching for any sign of Edwards' motorcade. Just before 5 p.m., the motorcade passed on U.S. 52, and the bus driver honked as he passed.

Kelly Greco, of Ironton, said she saw Edwards at his Portsmouth rally and heard he might stop in Ironton. The staunch Kerry-Edwards supporter was ready to shake his hand again. What was the appeal?

"Can I say he's good looking?" she said with a grin. But when talk turned to serious matters, Greco had other reasons why she wants a change in national leadership. One of them was health care.

"There are people who don't have health insurance," she said. "And I think it is important to get our surplus back. When Clinton left office we had a surplus."

Her friend, Pattie Patrick, of South Point, agreed with Greco's opinions on health care and the national debt and added that she likes the Democratic stance on women's issues, such as abortion and equal pay for equal work. They both agreed also that the Democratic party would be more likely to stem the flow of jobs overseas.

"We need jobs here, desperately," Patrick said. "We are educating our children only to have them leave the area because they can't find jobs. I really get upset about this."