Pop Star on the Sidelines for Kerry

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — As usual, John F. Kerry drew a crowd as he visited a local deli, chatting up diners while a dozen Secret Service agents waited outside by his motorcade. A knot of spectators gathered on the sidewalk, straining to see the man causing all the commotion.

But one Kerry supporter, sporting sunglasses and an amused smile, watched the scene from several paces away. For boy-band member Chris Kirkpatrick of NSync fame, who blended into the background for a change, the gathering didn't compare to the hordes of hyperventilating preteens his pop group attracted worldwide.

But Kirkpatrick wasn't there to be in the spotlight. The Orlando native was hanging out with Kerry for the day, looking for ways to get more young people interested in politics.

Kirkpatrick first met the Massachusetts senator in December, when a friend who worked for the Kerry campaign invited him to swing by the Florida Democratic Convention in Orlando. Kirkpatrick liked what Kerry had to say, and the fact that he was a Vietnam veteran.

Then Kerry's campaign took off.

"My friends were calling me saying, 'Hey, that guy you met, he's the guy!' " Kirkpatrick recalled with a laugh.

Now he's brainstorming ways to bring together friends in the music industry to do something on Kerry's behalf.

Political activism is newfound for the 32-year-old, who thinks he's a registered Democrat but isn't sure. He didn't vote in 2000, when the presidential campaign ended in a long recount battle in his state — he was on tour in Europe.

-- OrlandoSentinel.com