Ms Proffitt described herself as a former Republican, now a Democratic “convert” when she met Elizabeth Edwards, wife of John Edwards, Democrat candidate John Kerry’s running mate.

At a stopover in Phoenix yesterday, Ms Edwards addressed an invited audience of about 75 women – Democrats, Republican swing voters and some undecideds – at Portland’s restaurant and then took in a downtown fund-raiser at the Cheuvront restaurant and a hand-shaking event at Poncho’s Mexican Food & Cantina, the same south Phoenix cafe where Bill Clinton once downed a platter of Mexican food.

Barbara Yost wrote in The Arizona Republic that in response to a question from Kathryn Proffitt of Fountain Hills, US ambassador to Malta from 1997 to 2001, Ms Edwards also promised that the United States’ global reputation would be restored.

Ms Proffitt complimented Ms Edwards on her ability to relate to the women in the audience. “I felt she connected with everyone in the room,” she said. “It’s like sitting down and having a chat with a friend.”