Elizabeth Kucinich, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, made an appearance at Jose's Restaurant in Jackson Saturday, where she urged gatherers to seriously consider her husband in the upcoming primaries. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch Elizabeth Kucinich spoke to a crowd on the outside patio at Jose's Restaurant in Jackson Saturday. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch

Primary fever touched down in Amador County Saturday night when Elizabeth Kucinich, wife of presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, met a star-struck crowd of Democrats at Jose's Restaurant in Jackson.

Elizabeth stood on the outside patio and told the crowd she hoped they would help push the Kucinich movement in California and not let the 24 news networks dictate who they vote for.

"The media would have you think that Dennis is not a viable candidate," she said in her soft British accent. "But we know that's not true because poll after poll shows he's closer to what Americans believe than any other candidate regarding universal health care, bringing jobs back to America and ending the war in Iraq. He is a viable candidate."

Thus far into the election year, Elizabeth has had her own share of media attention. Her reputation as a young captivating spouse lead to a few of the lighter moments in the Democratic primary race. During a Democratic national debate, former candidate Sen. Joe Biden said, "Dennis, the thing I like most about you is your wife," while comedian Bill Maher declared on his HBO show, "New rule: Whomever wins the presidency, the first lady should have to be Elizabeth Kucinich."

However, during her appearance on Saturday, Elizabeth, who works in international humanitarian aid, struck a rather serious note as she implored the gathering to consider how her husband's stances and congressional voting record set him apart from the other candidates.

Kucinich does have major differences from his rivals. He's the only candidate running on the Democratic side who, in addition to not voting for the war in Iraq, consistently refused to fund it. Along similar lines, he's the only Democratic candidate in Congress who didn't vote for the now-controversial Patriot Act.

In a recent debate, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards sternly criticized the Patriot Act, though both voted for it. When Kucinich was asked in the same debate why he voted against the act, he rolled his eyes at Clinton and Edwards and responded dryly, "Well, I actually read it."

Kucinich also stands out as the race's the most vocal critic of North American Free Trade Agreement, which he blames for the loss of countless American jobs to overseas nations - nations he accuses of human rights violations, as well as having the luxury of not competing on a level economic playing field.

For Cheryl Scott of Volcano, the six-term congressman from Ohio who always carries a copy of the Constitution in his pocket, has her vote for another reason.

"He will not accept money from any conglomerate or big corporation," she said. "That's the reason he's only raised $2 million as opposed to the $26 million Hillary Clinton has raised. It's hard to run like that, but it means he won't be obligated to special interest when it comes to voting on issues. He's not there to make money. He still lives in the home he purchased in 1979 for $20,000. He really is the people's candidate."

Campaign financing was something Elizabeth Kucinich addressed during her Jackson appearance, in which she conceded that a recent decision by her husband's campaign to challenge the New Hampshire primary results had cost them dearly.

"It's not that we thought we won in New Hampshire," Elizabeth told the crowd. "But there was a lot of evidence from the exit polls that (Clinton) was not the real winner and that the voters were not being represented. Unfortunately, the candidate who may have actually won (Barrack Obama) did not step up and demand a recount. Our campaign made a principled decision to pay for a recount to make sure the people of New Hampshire weren't cheated. I was in tears earlier tonight at an event as I explained that, because of that, we had virtually no funds to advertise in tonight's Nevada primary."

Before leaving, Mrs. Kucinich fielded questions from the crowd. She was asked why the main stream media was ignoring her husband's campaign. She speculated that part of the media's cold shoulder could have to do with the fact that General Electric, who owns NBC News and two other networks, has billions of dollars vested in defense contracting and nuclear power - industries that would stand to lose greatly if Kucinich was president.

Mrs. Kucinich was also asked if she had any direct words of encouragement for Amador County's Democrats, who often feel outnumbered and over-matched by the area's much larger Republican base. She responded by pointing that the primary system empowered each party, regardless of whether they lived in a "red" or "blue" area. She also added that she felt her husband wasn't given enough credit for his potential to unite the parties.

"At the moment, Democrats are having this battle within their own party for people to truly stand on the courage of their convictions," she said. "But when we truly have a leader who understands how to bring people together, you'll see the commonality between the parties. Everybody - Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green - everybody wants a job, to educate their children and to have affordable health care. These are things that united the American family. My husband also has many Republican and Libertarian admirers because he really fights to uphold the Constitution."

Yet, for some of Amador's Democrats, it was party differences and not commonalties that had them rallying behind Kucinich, particularly his anti-war platform.

Nora Coryell of Amador Citizens for Peace, which holds monthly candlelight vigils against the Iraq War in Jackson in conjunction with Code Pink: Grandmothers for Peace, watched the Elizabeth Kucinich visit alongside her son, Damian White, a former officer in the U.S. Air Force. She felt the event was a morale booster for her cause.

"I've found there are a lot of progressive people in Amador County who don't want this war," she said quietly. "Much more than people realize. The problem is, they're afraid to speak up. I hope an event like this helps them."

Liz McCulloch, president of the Amador Democratic Club, saw the event in more general terms: "I just think it's really good that a figure like Elizabeth Kucinich, who's famous on the national scene, would come here and speak," she said. "It's great for Amador to be connected like that to the race for president."