By Laura Ziegler
Kansas City, Mo. – Unless you're a political junkie of the tallest order, you probably haven't heard of this organization. There are some 2000 members, according to the head of the group,and about 200 of them were in town for the meeting this week. But Ken Rudin, political editor for NPR, was in town covering the convention. A 40-year political button collector himself, he says the hobby is refreshingly bipartisan, with an intrinsic excitement: RUDIN: YOU COULD BE A RIGHT WINGER WHO LOVES MCGOVERN OR A LEFT WINGER WHO LOVES WALLACE STUFF,IT'S THE COLLECTING THAT'S THE PART OF IT,IT'S LIKE IF YOU'RE A LITTLE KID WHO LOVES BASEBALL AND COLLECTS BASEBALL CARDS IT'S THE PERSONIFICATION OF WHAT YOU LIKE ,SO IF YOU LOVE POLITICS AND I LOVE POLITICS ,IN FACT I WANT YOU TO READ MY POLITICAL JUNKIE COLUMN ON NPR DOT ORG, REALLY IT'S THE PERSONIFICIATION OF WHAT WE COLLECT. In two years the National Convention for Political Item Collectors will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada.