Jazzed Up

In another example of the contrast between the Obama and McCain presidential campaigns — the former history-minded and well-oiled, the latter locked in combat with the media and prone to sliding off the rails — Michelle Obama led a rally for her husband at 18th Street and Vine on the same day that Sen. John McCain made a short, sober appearance at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. On the bright, cool first day of October — a few days before the Obamas' 16th wedding anniversary, which Sen. Barack Obama said he hoped to celebrate quietly with his wife — Michelle Obama urged an estimated 3,000 supporters to make voter registration a priority. Complementing the giant American flag behind her were plenty of colorful homegrown T-shirt designs, stickers and buttons boosting the Democratic nominee. The candidate's wife said she'd taken "the 30-second tour" of the Negro Leagues and American Jazz museums at 18th and Vine before the rally. One way the couple might spend their next anniversary? A longer look at the historic district and a couple of plates of KC grub.