Biden in Wellston

ST. LOUIS — Vice President Joe Biden’s stop here Thursday wasn’t as memorable as last year’s vice-presidential debate at Washington University, or intense as his April visit, which provided fodder for a 60 Minutes piece.

But it did have its moments. Here are a few:

• Mayor Francis Slay was not at Biden’s appearance at the county cops training center in Wellston, or the vice-president’s later appearance at a Robin Carnahan fundraiser near Forest Park. But Biden did say that on the way into town, he called Slay — “an old friend” — from Air Force Two to talk stimulus. Slay has criticized the state-level allocation of recovery funds, which he says have not been invested enough in urban areas.
• Sitting in the front row at Biden’s Wellston appearance was St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley; St. Louis city Dem chairman Brian Wahby; and Jennifer Haro, who worked for the Obama campaign here.
• State Auditor Susan Montee was among those who heard Biden at Carnahan’s fundraiser near Forest Park. The last time Montee was in Forest Park for a political event, she had her car broken into. This time: There was valet parking.
• The doting hosts of the fundraiser were Alan and Annette Mandel. He’s an attorney; she’s former mayor of Creve Coeur. The couple have hosted a number of political events at their Lindell Boulevard manse over the last several years, including a fundraiser for Dick Gephardt’s presidential bid where guests included Al Franken — then just a comedian who, doggone it, thought he was good enough and smart enough to one day run for senator.
• Speaking of Minnesota — how does it feel? Carnahan’s new campaign press secretary, Linden Zakula, is from Hibbing, Minn., the same Lake State burg as songmaster Bob Dylan. Previously, he worked for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Capitol Hill. (Hibbing, as it turns out, is in St. Louis County, Minnesota.)
• Still, Carnahan supporters were provided no shelter from the storm. The backyard fundraiser was muddy from the earlier rain, leading Biden to advise his audience to sit down — carefully — after he was introduced.
• The event was catered by Russo’s in Overland.
• Biden prefaced a well-worn story about a long ago conversation he had with former Mississippi senator — and vocal segregationist — Jim Eastland as a “true story, ” an absolutely true story, he emphasized. So what’s the other stuff — Joltin’ Joe’s Scranton Scrapbook of Bidenisms?