On Friday, May 9th, Clay Aiken spoke to a packed house at Smedes-Emory Parlor at St. Mary’s School in Raleigh, North Carolina. From all the reports, the visit by Clay to St. Mary’s School was a big success.  A fews weeks ago, Clay was asked to talk to the students about what it is like to run for public office and answer questions.  The event was held after school and besides the students, parents, teachers, and friends were invited to hear Clay speak!

The St. Mary’s School Facebook wrote the following about the event:

Congressional Candidate Clay Aiken visits Saint Mary’s

 In a forum that drew a packed house in Smedes-Emory Parlor, Friday, May 9, Clay Aiken, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina’s second district, got a warm Saint Mary’s welcome. Mr. Aiken spoke with the crowd of students, faculty, staff, parents, alumnae and friends about the political process, his reasons for running for Congress and his concerns for our state and nation. He encouraged everyone to pay attention to the issues and elections, and commended the Saint Mary’s students for their interest in our government. In a spirit of non-partisanship, the event was co-sponsored by Saint Mary’s Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs. The clubs plan to co-host a major Republican candidate or government official in the fall.

Besides this nice review from the school,  Craig Jarvis, from news observer.com wrote a nice article about Clay and his visit to the school.

Waiting for election tally on public stage feels familiar to Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken on Friday compared his current situation – waiting for votes to be counted to see whether he’s the 2nd Congressional District’s Democratic candidate – to his days as a contestant on “American Idol.”

“I’ve put myself in several situations on national TV where I had to wait for some results,” Aiken told a group of students in Raleigh. “Worrying about how that could turn out never changes it, amazingly. So I don’t stress out too much.”

Aiken made the analogy during a noncampaign stop at Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh, where about 100 students peppered him with questions at the event, which was sponsored by the campus Young Democrats and Young Republicans.

His visit, which had been scheduled for some time, was a natural for the former special education teacher and camp counselor. He had the students laughing, clapping and clamoring for photographs. Too bad most of them can’t vote…

…

…The Democratic and Republican clubs prepared a number of questions ahead of time, and then opened it up to the student audience. Girls asked him:

• What is a day on the campaign trail like? (Unpredictable.)

• What motivated him to run? (Speaking up for the voiceless.)

• How did it feel to vote for himself? (Surreal.)

• Will he run for higher office? (No.)

• Does he take offense at the news media? (He’s “challenged” by them.)

Aiken congratulated the students for taking an interest in politics at a young age. He encouraged them to pay attention.

“There are things being done today in Raleigh and Washington and the capital of whatever state you’re from that will affect you,” he told them. “You need to be ready as soon as you turn 18.”

If you want to read the entire article, you can find it at news observer

The girls at St. Mary’s shared lots of pictures on Twitter and Facebook.  It looks like they all had a great time.  The following pictures are from The St. Mary’s Facebook Page.

Looks like they are excited to chat with Clay

Lining up for a “selfie”.

A group of happy people!

SMILE!!

Having A Fun Time

Wishing They Could Vote!

This was Clay’s first public appearance since his comments on election night.  It certainly looks like everyone had a great time.  Remember, if you want to see the pictures in their original size, just click on the picture.  I like that we can do that!

As always, if we get any news today, I will post it here…

BUT…I am attending a swim meet in the morning so it will have to wait until I get home (the twins are very excited to participate).