DENVER -- Tennie McCarty of Buffalo Gap has rubbed elbows with Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea in their box at the Pepsi Center and has eaten dinner with celebrity Jamie Foxx at the CNN Grill nearby.

Only those with coveted passes can get into the restaurant during the Democratic National Convention this week.

The 65-year-old businesswoman credits her adopted granddaughter with her entrée into a series of events and parties.

"If it wasn't for Ashley Judd I wouldn't be getting into the places I've been getting into," McCarty said.

Judd, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood, has designated Tennie and her husband, R.L. McCarty, as her adoptive grandparents.

Tennie said that she talks to Judd every day by phone and that the actress visits Buffalo Gap, a town of about 400 just south of Abilene, every so often. The Texan also travels with the celebrity.

"Both of us come out of the same dysfunctional family background, and that's why we have bonded," Tennie, owner and founder of several businesses, said.

She declined to elaborate on Judd's background, saying she'd let Judd tell that story.

But Tennie discussed her own upbringing.

"I come from a family where I was the parent," she said. "My mother was a severe alcoholic."

Her father was dysfunctional and violent, Tennie said. Both she and Judd have had to deal with abandonment issues.

"I made a decision when I was a kid that I wasn't going to live the way I was raised," Tennie said. "Right now is the moment of power. We can't blame our parents for everything."

Tennie said she is responsible for her own life.

She seemed very happy with her life and has four children and three stepchildren.

Tennie had warm words to say about Judd.

"The thing about Ashley is she is one of the most intelligent women I have ever known," Tennie said. "I am supporting her, probably in about 10 years, to run for political office."

Judd gets down in the trenches to work with the poor and others.

"She is a lot more than a pretty face," Tennie said.

Tennie met President Clinton when he came to Abilene to campaign for his wife, Hillary.

"He's very warm, a gentleman's gentleman," Tennie said.

Being at the DNC has been bittersweet, she said.

She's had to come to terms with Sen. Clinton not getting the presidential nomination.

"We may have a chance to have a woman president in my lifetime," Tennie said.

Tennie's days have consisted of going to the DNC, eating at the CNN Grill and attending parties.

"That has been such a whirlwind going to different parties," Tennie said.

Washington regional correspondent Trish Choate can be reached at (202) 408-2709 or choatet@shns.com.