Those left outside do own debating

Forrest Darby was hot, but not from the bright November sun.

He had just been told by CNN staffers outside the Cox Pavilion that the John Edwards for President T-shirt stretched across his huge pot belly was not proper attire for the Democratic presidential debate.

"In a land of free speech, I can't wear something inside the debate that says who I support," Darby muttered Thursday afternoon, walking the half mile back to his car to get another shirt.

As the 64-year-old electrician put on a long-sleeved shirt that identified him as a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Darby kept wondering if Americans were losing their freedom even as they moved closer to electing another president.

"I went to see George Bush's ranch in Texas, and security wouldn't let me take a picture if the front gate was in it," he said. "What is America coming to?"

Consider 70-year-old Scotty Sweeney. She got off a city bus near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, and then walked through chanting throngs of candidate supporters to reach the Cox Pavilion, where seven Democrats would engage in discourse each hoped would move him or her one step closer to the White House.

When horns honked at those carrying signs, Sweeney jumped.

It had taken her three buses to get to UNLV from her trailer home on East Sahara Avenue. The trip took more than two hours.

Proudly wearing a red, white and blue leather jacket with "USA" emblazoned on the sleeves, she walked directly to the arena entrance from the bus stop more than a quarter of a mile away.

"I came for the debate," she told the ticket taker.

"You have to have a ticket," the woman said.

"Oh," Sweeney said.

Nearly in tears as she prepared for a two-hour ride back home on the bus, Sweeney said she just wanted to ask the candidates how they were going to rid the nation of debt.

"I'm not mad that I didn't get in," she said. "There have to be rules. I didn't read enough or watch the TV closely enough. It's my fault."

Twenty-year-old Jessica Vigil wasn't unhappy about being kept outside the main event.

It was 3 p.m., still two hours before the start of the debate, and she had been walking with a throng of Sen. Barack Obama supporters since 10:30 a.m. While others continued to chant and walk with placards near Tropicana and Swenson avenues, Vigil stood to the side, looked at her feet and grimaced.

"I have flat feet and flat shoes, and my feet are killing me," the College of Southern Nevada student said. "But it feels so good to stand up for someone who's going to change your country for the better."

Joe Pepitone, who appeared almost nude as he carried a sign that said he had been bilked out of $500,000 by a casino, said he really wasn't interested in the debate or in supporting any candidate. All he wanted was to catch the attention of the presidential candidates in hopes one of them would help him get money he claimed he rightfully won 10 years ago.

Upon closer inspection, Pepitone was wearing shorts under a barrel that hung from his shoulders and covered his midsection, just as he had done during the recent O.J. Simpson court appearance in Las Vegas.

"I've got to catch the attention of the right person so I can get my money," the butcher said as passers-by laughed at his getup. "Let's face it: A good president would help me out."

Barbie Badger and daughters Gabi and Sami, both Las Vegas Academy students, just seemed proud to be campaigning for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

"We're making history," said Sami, 17. "We're helping elect the first female president of the United States."

In dorms and at the student union, UNLV students watched the debate on television.

As she stood inside the Dayton Residence Hall, freshman Alyssa Yam, 17, allowed that she felt "a certain pride" in the fact that Obama came from her native state of Hawaii.

"He went to a private school there like I did," she said.

Not all students knew there was a debate going on.

"I just heard Hillary Clinton was giving a speech on campus," said Diana Larios, an 18-year-old freshman. "I think that's great."

As the debate began, darkness enveloped the campus. The crowd outside the pavilion had dwindled to a handful of supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican.

Travis Peifer was a supporter of Obama until campaign workers asked him to leave, he said.

"They didn't like the fact that I came over with a Hillary Clinton sign and wrote 'Police State' on it," he said. "They thought it would be bad PR, that I would hurt Obama."

So when Peifer saw Mike Cunningham and Dan Kempf carrying signs for Paul up the street, he angrily left his Democratic roots behind.

"These people wanted me in their campaign," Peifer said. "I'm going to work for Ron Paul now. That's what America is about -- the freedom to change to something you really believe in."

Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2908.