Surprise! Hillary Clinton is much warmer and friendlier than voters expected and she can even be funny.

That was the reaction among a group of about 1,000 Democratic supporters who packed into a theater in Charlottesville, Va. for a fundraiser with the New York senator and the best-selling novelist John Grisham.

“She was able to connect with the crowd,” said Dick Reppucci. “She personalized it. I thought she did incredibly well. That’s why I came to see what she was like in person. And she’s good.”

However his wife, Chris, said she was still debating whether to vote for Clinton or Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nominee. She said Clinton was “better than she had thought”.

Clinton had the crowd laughing and clapping as she talked about the trials of being a fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which hasn’t won the World Series in nearly a century.

Sitting on the stage in a comfortable chair with Grisham answering his questions, Clinton spent several minutes discussing the Cubs woes and her decision to also become a Yankees fan in hopes of finally supporting a winning team.

She said her decision to support the Yankees as a young girl in addition to the Cubs, who have a history of being “lovable losers”, gives “great psychological insight into me.”

Grisham and Clinton bantered for about 45 minutes on stage, also discussing whether he would become a U.S. ambassador in a Clinton presidency as well as more serious subjects like the Iraq war and health care.

Several audience members said they were surprised at how relaxed and funny Clinton was in contrast to how she appears in debates or at formal speeches.

“She’s not this stern image that you get,” said Lynne Goldman, who brought her 86-year-old mother to the event. “She’s very sincere. Her energy is amazing.”

– Photo credit: Hans Deryk