Wanda Klaben was one of the poor working mothers John Edwards talked about in his speech to thousands of people who gathered today at the Lawrence Riverfront Plaza.

When there was no more room for people in the donated nightclub space indoors, the overflow crowd built outside on the lawn of City Hall and in the parking lot of the mall.

Edwards spoke for almost an hour to the crowd indoors, then climbed a set of wooden box steps to speak briefly to the throng outside.

“I loved the speech,” Klaben said moments after Edwards addressed the crowd of 720 people inside Abe & Jakes Landing, her eyes wet with emotion. “I’ve worked two jobs all my life to support two kids.”

Klaben, of Lawrence, was accompanied by her 19-year-old son, T.J. Bross. Klaben said she and her son were both attending Kansas City Community College in hopes of improving their lives.

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“We can’t afford KU, but we’re working on it,” she said.

Edwards’ speech, among other things, promised tuition assistance for those who need it.

Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, flanked by wife Elizabeth and their three children, told the crowd that John Kerry’s election in November would put an end to “two Americas,” one for the rich and privileged and the other for people who work hard but still remain in poverty because of low wages.

Edwards began his speech indoors making light of Friday night’s train trip in which he and Kerry had been expected to stop in Lawrence, but rolled right through. More than 1,000 people turned out for that event.

“About the other night,” he said to chuckles. “You may not have seen us, but we could see you and you looked beautiful.”

Sunday’s rally was an apology, of sorts, for that roll-through.

“Y’all called this rally,” said Elizabeth Edwards. “And we’re proud to be here with you.”

Despite a steady rain, scores of people at noon were streaming into the parking lot of Riverfront Plaza in anticipation of seeing Edwards.

Beneath multicolored umbrellas, a line of people extended from the door of Abe & Jakes Landing, the venue at the west end of the mall where the candidate will speak, the length of the parking lot and past SpringHill Suites at the mall’s east end. The line also extended east on Sixth Street.

The speech was first scheduled for Buford Watson Park, but rain pushed it indoors. By the time Edwards and his retinue exited Abe & Jakes, the sun was shining brightly and there was barely a cloud left in the sky.

By noon, the dance floor of Abe & Jake’s was filling. At 12:33 p.m., throngs of people still waiting to enter and more still arriving began being turned away as officials decreed the venue’s capacity had been reached.

Edwards’ motorcade rolled into Douglas County from Shawnee County about 12:20 p.m., enroute to the 1 p.m. event.

At 1:10 p.m., Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates announced there were about 1,000 people outside. The speech was delayed until audio from the stage could be piped out to the crowd in the parking lot.

Inside, seated in a prime spot near the stage was Georgina Webb of Topeka. She was a delegate for Bill Clinton to the 1992 Democratic National Convention, and was at the party’s recent convention in Boston. She said she had heard Edwards speak many times.

“I feel his empathy for people is genuine,” Webb said.

She is the mother of Anthony Hensley, Democratic minority leader of the Kansas Senate, who was working crowd control at the event.

In an interview, Gates said Edwards’ revisit to Lawrence showed the campaign cares about the state.

“It reflects on the decency of” the John Kerry-John Edwards campaign, he said.

Early Saturday morning, hundreds of supporters of the ticket were disappointed when the Kerry campaign train rumbled through Lawrence without stopping.

Gates said Edwards’ decision to come back and speak in the city would strengthen the Democratic Party in Kansas, which suffers a great disadvantage in the number of registered voters.

Plus, Gates said, the rightward direction of the GOP was turning off moderate Republicans. “Their party has left them,” he said.

The crowd was admitted to Abe & Jake’s by Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers and Lawrence Police officers in SWAT gear.

As the crowd entered, the stage and a platform for the media still was being set up, as the event had been hastily moved from a downtown park because of rain.

A large U.S. flag served as a backdrop for the stage, which was flanked by Kerry-Edwards banners.

— Those contributing to this story included Ric Brack, Journal-World managing editor; Mike Shield, J-W city editor, and J-W reporters Joel Mathis and Scott Rothschild.