The Democrats' 'Poster Boy'

Max Cleland has just finished speaking at the Veteran's Memorial in downtown Anchorage when the swarm begins, people lining up 14-deep for a chance to meet the former Democratic U.S. senator from Georgia. He looks almost regal, perched on a white pillow as members of the audience stand reverently before him. He greets them one by one—smiling, bantering, posing for snapshots for more than half an hour, or three times the length of his speech to the Saturday crowd. It is a typical Cleland appearance.

By Mark Z. Barabak

July 18, 2004