JANESVILLE, Wis. — Democrats have made a fair amount of noise about allegations that Republicans are not allowing Kerry supporters into their rallies. But Friday, President Bush became the first sitting commander in chief to visit this mid-sized Wisconsin city since another laudable wartime leader, Harry S Truman, and Bush did so with a Kerry supporter at his side.

Jessica Palmer was one of three distinguished individuals asked to interact with Mr. Bush onstage, and she happily took her place alongside the head of her school, Blackhawk Technical College, and the president of a local company, Freedom Plastics.

A 19-year-old graduate of Craig High School with aspirations of becoming a registered nurse, Ms. Palmer recalls her impression of appearing with the president, “He’s an awesome guy.”

Nibbling on eggs and potatoes at a local breakfast diner, she continues, “It was so scary, I was so nervous,” but Mr. Bush “had a calming effect… [he] made me so much more comfortable.”

These are strange words from someone who admits to being part of the electorate that would practically vote for “anybody but Bush.” Yet the comments offer some modicum of insight into the vast polarization of voters that brings America increasingly closer to Election Day with fewer and fewer citizens for Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry to woo successfully.

After all, Ms. Palmer’s story seems to render all but moot the old political theory that a hand shaken is a voter won. If the opportunity to appear on stage with the president, be wowed backstage by his charisma and take in the full complexities of his platform during a stump speech isn’t enough to convert a supporter of the Massachusetts senator, one must wonder just what is.

Then again, Mr. Bush’s speech here Friday provides plenty of fodder for as-yet undecided voters.

The president’s message is about people who can’t afford a higher education for their children. Indeed, this blue-collar city is full of hard-working folks who can only stretch their paychecks so far. Mr. Bush’s tax cuts, as detailed in the Friday forum, have helped small-business owners like Steve Scaccia, the aforementioned president of Freedom Plastics, offer quality educational opportunities to the children of dedicated employees.

Mr. Kerry has promised to repeal the tax cuts on upper-bracket filers, and while this sounds like a simple and equitable way to pay for new programs, the reality is that many of those in the top tax brackets aren’t pompous elitists enjoying the John Kerry lifestyle of $35 million jets and $1,000 haircuts, but rather small businesses filing income taxes as individuals.

Indeed, the economic and educational plans outlined by Mr. Bush here Friday — a continuation of his tax relief — appear to be the finest tool for securing the nation’s economy and advancing a generation through college, even in states like Wisconsin where Governor Jim Doyle has successfully ballooned the cost of public education to unprecedented levels.

Ms. Palmer is an amazing individual — a full-time student with a part-time job who has excelled academically to a point that she has been asked to represent the face of education on stage with the president. She comes from a divided political lineage, with a left-leaning mother and Republican father, yet takes the time to study the issues intensely enough to arrive at her own conclusions — conclusions so firm as not to be moved even by a personal visit from the president. Indeed, her intellectual prowess — much as this writer may take issue with her ideologies — is the personification of a good education at work. And that makes it simple to see why Mr. Bush fit so well on stage with a supporter of his opponent: She is the ideal end-result of the programs for which he is fighting.

Mac VerStandig ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in rhetoric.