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The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

The Obama campaign reached out to Vanessa Crum by e-mail shortly after he announced his candidacy. She examined his platform, read up on his background, listened to debates. Now she’s working the phones on his behalf.

“I think he’s brilliant. I think he’d make an excellent president,” said Crum, of Providence, who works for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. “I think he comes from a regular background. He’s not from a privileged family or a political dynasty … he can relate to what regular people go through.”

But Nick Chanonis of Charlestown said he wants Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York to win.

“I think she has the experience,” Chanonis said. As for the other Democrat in the race, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, “I think he is like the Music Man. He goes and tries to sell the band.”

Chanonis, Crum and Crum’s fellow DOT worker O.J. Silas were among a number of Rhode Islanders (and one Massachusetts couple) asked yesterday to share their thoughts on the race for president.

Many said they’re watching debates, reading the newspapers, and attending rallies. On Tuesday, Rhode Island joins Texas, Ohio and Vermont in holding its presidential primary.

For many voters, it’s the issues: health care, economy, the Iraq war, immigration. For some, demeanor weighs heavily. Clinton is “too polarizing,” whereas Obama is “personable” and better able to connect with people. Some cited Clinton’s political experience; others cited Obama’s life experience.

One man supports Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona; his wife supports Obama. One daughter supports Clinton; their son supports McCain.

Many cited the palpable excitement in this campaign — one they see as historic — as stirring the electorate to a height not seen in decades.

Crum and Silas spoke while having lunch at Bea’s Kitchen — purveyor of meat pies and goat stew — on Manton Avenue in Providence.

Silas said Obama and his wife, Michelle, “as a couple, can relate to people who have come up from the ranks.”

She added, “I admire him for stepping out of the box and saying, ‘I don’t have to wait 25 years to be eligible to run this country.’ … There are things in his life that he’s dealt with and worked through,” and drawing on those experiences “will help us all.”

Beatrice Adegbesan, owner of Bea’s Kitchen, said she’s for Clinton. In part, she said, “with [Clinton’s] husband there to advise her,” it’s a two-for-one deal. But Adegbesan said she’d like to see Obama as Clinton’s running mate.

“I think Obama is very smart. I think he has some good ideas, but we need someone who has experience,” said Adegbesan, who came here from Nigeria in 1984 and became a citizen about 15 years ago. If Clinton wins the nomination “and she picks Obama as vice president,” she said, “that would be the perfect ticket.”

Bob and Jackie Kenneally of Rehoboth, Mass., are the odd couple of politics. Bob always votes Republican; Jackie votes Democratic. And yet, they have maintained a healthy marriage for 40 years and 10 presidential elections.

“We have one foot on each side of the fence,” said Bob as the couple took a break from shopping at Garden City in Cranston. “I’m for McCain and she’s for Obama.”

The two agree on one point, however: they both think national security and the Iraq war are the most important issues in this campaign.

Jackie loves the way that Obama has inspired political involvement among young people. And she’s taken with his inspirational message.

“Obama has no experience,” her husband muttered.

“This is my turn now,” Jackie said.

Their children are all over the map. One daughter is voting for Clinton, one son is voting for McCain and the other is apolitical.

Ellen Compton, 73, of East Greenwich, supports McCain because she thinks that he is very patriotic. She cites the economy and immigration as top issues — the latter being a point of disagreement with McCain. She prefers a tougher stance on illegal immigration.

At The Gentleman Farmer Diner in Charlestown, several people who were interviewed vowed support for Clinton.

Tom Green, of Wakefield, said he often votes Republican. While he won’t be voting in the primary — he remains unaffiliated — he said he plans to vote Democratic in November.

For him, it comes down to the candidates’ positions on the war and the economy, he said.

Richard Gill said he prefers Clinton because “she is more experienced than Barack Obama.” He added, “Although I admire McCain, I wouldn’t vote for him. I don’t think he’ll get us out of Iraq and I don’t think he’d help the middle-class families either.”

Candace Coleman, a medical student from Providence, and her sister, Melanie Reuling, of Seattle, are both for Obama.

Interviewed at Seven Stars bakery on Broadway in Providence, Reuling said she tried to attend an Obama rally. “There was a mile-long line. There were thousands of people turned away.” She believes Obama “has a lot of good ideas to take the country in a new direction.” And “he’s a little more personable. People can connect with him better.”

Coleman said she had supported former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards because he was “the most specific” on health care. Now that he’s out of the race, “I like Obama. I’d like a black man to be elected, and if it doesn’t happen now it won’t happen until 20 or 30 years.” And, she said, an Obama presidency would bring in new faces to the Cabinet, “almost an atonement for the last few years of the Bush administration.”

Hugo Gonzalez, a bilingual social worker in the Providence schools, has permanent resident status, and as such, he cannot vote.

The excitement of this election may change that. He wants to pursue his citizenship so he can make his voice heard at the ballot box.

“Definitely, definitely,” he said. “I wanted to do this [become a citizen], but I needed a push.”

With staff reports from Linda Borg and Maria Armental

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kziner@projo.com