THEY CAME TO SEE, HEAR FOR THEMSELVES

JACKSON -- Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp didn't say anything that the crowd of 800 or so who gathered across the street from the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse didn't expect to hear.

But that's not why they came here Friday.

"I came to see Jack Kemp," said Lillian Schneider of Jackson. "He is, after all, the next vice president of the United States."

Others, many of whom were wearing Dole-Kemp shirts and waving signs, said similar things. But not everyone at the gathering was there for the same reason.

Heather Turnbow and Scarlett Cook, both 15, of Jackson, were at the back of the throng holding up hand-painted Clinton-Gore signs. They said they were at the rally in polite support of the opposition.

"I saw on television this rally that President Clinton was at and there were some Dole people chanting and yelling, and it made me mad," Turnbow said. "So we thought we'd come by to quietly show we support Clinton."

"We're not going to be rude," Cook said.

Even with the splattering of Bill Clinton and Ross Perot supporters, the streets of Jackson belonged to Kemp. He led a group of high-profile Republican leaders in boisterous support of Bob Dole's efforts to gain the White House.

While the rally was enthusiastic, one member of the crowd has viewed this political year as somewhat less than that.

"This election has been really boring," Richard Wayne of Bollinger County said. "I came here to see what actually takes place at one of these things."

Wayne said there is more to this election than has been reported in the news.

"It's sad when the American people lose confidence in the press, in what they see and read and hear," he said. "People should be truly interested in what is happening in this country, but they don't investigate further than a 30-second sound bite or a headline."

Wayne said he wanted to be at the rally so he could view the candidate himself and form his own opinions.

Kim Meystedt of Fruitland brought her 4-year-old son Kyle to the rally so he could be exposed to opinions and issues, even though he is too young to understand them.

"I think it's important to get kids involved at a young age so they realize they can make a difference," she said.

Meystedt said she would have taken Kyle to Clinton's rally in Cape Girardeau in August even though she supports Dole. She also thought it was significant that Kemp chose to visit Jackson instead of Cape Girardeau.

Melody Anderson of Jackson said trips like this through the small towns of Missouri will sway the undecided to vote Republican.

"There's only a few days left but this will help, especially with those people who aren't sure of who to vote for," Anderson said. Despite the polls, this race is not over, she said.

Lucas Bollinger, 16, of Jackson said the moral issues swayed his opinion, and it was noteworthy that Kemp chose Jackson for the rally, "especially with the election being so close."

"I'm here to hear the vice president speak," Bollinger said.