Pity poor Larry Stone.

The Democratic candidates for president just won't leave the Santa Clara County assessor alone.

First, a few weeks back, he had to "beg off" presidential candidate Barack Obama, who grabbed his hand at an exclusive fundraiser in Portola Valley, looked him straight in the eye and said, "What will it take to make this deal?"

Then he had to stand with all eyes on him near the back of the Loft restaurant in downtown San Jose when presidential candidate Bill Richardson called out from the podium, "Don't let Larry Stone out of the room until he is signed on!"

And just last week, Hillary Clinton's campaign office called, asking him to drive to Monterey for a private little arm-twisting with her husband. (That would be former President Bill Clinton.)

The tug of war over Stone shows just how far candidates will go to lock up Silicon Valley support in these early, frantic months of the campaign. It also underlines the wrenching decisions that face Bay Area Democrats excited about the prospect that a black or a woman could become president but struggling with which, if any, historic first to back.


But things relaxed, Stone said, as they started talking about the presidential race.

"I've been president, and I know Hillary would do the best job and I know all these people," Stone recalls Clinton saying. "He said he liked Barack and Bill Richardson, but he kept saying three or four times, `I just know who will make the best president, and that's Hillary.'"

Clinton and Stone moved among the book shelves, and Stone helped Clinton pick out a few artsy candles for his wife. That's when Clinton called over one of his people to take a few pictures before he left.

"He's the most persuasive guy in the world - and you can ask world leaders that," Stone said. Nonetheless, "I haven't made up my mind yet. But, certainly, he made a strong case."