On the Fence and in the Spotlight

On May 6, Mizeur called Etheridge back at her California home.

"When [the campaign] asked me to call you," she recalled Etheridge saying, "I said, 'I can't call a superdelegate. What am I going to say to a superdelegate?' They gave me some talking points and your bio, and after I read through your biography, I said, 'Aha! They want the gay one to call the gay one.' "

The two hit it off, talking for 40 minutes about Etheridge's deep ties to the Clintons -- she came out as a lesbian during Bill Clinton's 1993 inaugural ball -- and why she picked Obama over Clinton.

Etheridge invited the Mizeurs to be her guests when she performs in Washington this summer.

Three days later, Mizeur met Kerry for lunch in Boston. The two talked about their desire to change politics, and Kerry put on the hard sell for Obama.

Mizeur was leaning toward endorsing Obama. But on May 14, she changed her mind again, after a private meeting with Clinton.

Clinton had swept Obama in West Virginia the night before, but as Heather and Deborah Mizeur arrived for the 7 p.m. meeting, news broke that Edwards was endorsing Obama. They were ushered into a conference room. There Clinton was. The room was empty, except for a staffer working in the corner.

Clinton poured them glasses of water and put them at ease. She asked Heather Mizeur about her bills in the Maryland legislature. Then they talked health care.

"All three of us just wonked out for a bit," Mizeur said. "We're all health policy geeks.

"There was no doubt in my mind as I sat there that this woman would be an amazing president. But that's not to say Barack Obama wouldn't be."

A Decision Must Be Made

Throughout May, as Obama's lead over Clinton grew, Mizeur thought about endorsing him. She was impressed by his potential to change the electoral math in the general election and his ability to expand the party's donor base.

But she found herself getting emotional. Clinton had showed a resilience that Mizeur found inspiring.