Kerry and Edwards: The Buddy Picture

Kerry is laughing freely, his bearing loose and unburdened, as you'd expect of someone who's just made a huge decision (which has played to generally good reviews). He makes faces at the Edwardses' adorable 4-year-old son, Jack, the day's show-stealer along with adorable 6-year-old Emma Claire. They giggle, dance and jump around the stage, like Dan Quayle in '88. Kerry's terrific with kids, perhaps more at ease than with adults. After the families finished their photo-op in Pittsburgh, Kerry scooped Jack up and ran several feet, while the boy giggled.

Teresa Heinz Kerry speaks first. She greets her "neighbors" from Cleveland and reminds them that she is from Pittsburgh. This draws boos.

Big rivalry between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, it turns out. Browns-Steelers thing. Not the best way to warm up a rally of 10,000 people.

"Don't get sore, don't get sore" Heinz Kerry says, her auburn hair flying in her face.

"C'mon, don't get sore," she says.

More boos. All in good fun. Maybe.

John Kerry starts his speech by declaring that the only one who had a better weekend than he and John Edwards was Spider-Man. To which two people in the crowd yell, "Michael Moore!"

"Michael Moore," Kerry says, shrugging, grimacing slightly, shaking his hands back and forth in the maybe, maybe-not gesture. Put him down as undecided on the "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker.

Then he marvels at Jack and Emma Claire's antics in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. They were in the pool within five minutes, he says. "And Jack does a mean cannonball, lemme tell you." He tells this story:

After Kerry called Edwards in Washington to offer him the running-mate job, Emma Claire got on the phone to Elizabeth Edwards, who was in North Carolina, and said, "Mommy, Senator Kerry picked Daddy." Jack grabbed the phone and said, "Mommy, Mommy, I can swim with my head out of the water."