When Lewiston’s Elaine Makas watched Barack Obama of Illinois rock the house Tuesday night, she didn’t have to look at the overhead screen. She could see him clearly.

Maine delegates attending the National Democratic Convention have good seats – right on the floor and mere feet from the stage.

“This is the third convention I’ve been to, and these are the best seats,” Maine Gov. John Baldacci said Wednesday.

For a small state with only four electoral votes to cast for the next commander-in-chief, Maine is getting presidential treatment at the Boston convention. In addition to prime seats:

• Film star and director Rob Reiner (“All in the Family”) walked in to speak to the Maine delegation at its breakfast meeting Wednesday morning. Actor John Cusack (“High Fidelity,” “Say Anything”) did the same on Monday. “I met Ben Affleck, too,” Baldacci said.

• Mainers have made their way to the convention’s big stage. On Tuesday, Baldacci gave a three-minute speech about Maine’s environmental and health care programs. It wasn’t prime-time, but it was carried by cable network C-Span. On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen spoke from the stage. Today, before John Kerry makes his acceptance speech, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m.

• Mainers are giving plenty of interviews from Boston. “Our delegates are like rock stars now,” Maine Democratic Party spokesman Chris Harris mused Wednesday. “Now, standing in front of a camera is second-nature to them.” Auburn’s Ed Desgrosseilliers was especially popular because he’s a veteran, Harris said.

Maine Democrats said they’re delighted with their seats.

“When Teresa Kerry was speaking last night, I started watching the monitor, then realized I don’t have to, she’s right in front of us,” Makas said. “Florida is sitting behind us, New Mexico is in front of us. It feels really good being right on the floor in the middle of things.”

Why all the attention?

Maine’s a battleground state, a swing state. With the national polls so close between George Bush and John Kerry, Maine’s a player this year, said Michael Broderick of Bethel, one of the Maine convention delegates.

“We’re small, but we’re critical,” Broderick said Wednesday during a phone interview from Boston. “We’re an Eastern state, so on Election Day Maine will have a significant effect despite only having four electorate votes. If Maine comes in strong for Kerry, it will be reported early and could set up a wave across the country.”

That’s translating into attention, he said. “We’re definitely players. This is just an amazing experience.”

Jesse Derris, spokesman for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Maine, said Maine is “very influential” in the campaign. “There’s only a handful of states where it will come down to the wire. Maine is one of them.” After the convention the Kerry campaign wants the Maine delegates “to get out there in communities and talk to their neighbors,” Derris said. “These votes are not being taking for granted.”

If that means personal encounters with movie stars or choice seats, that’s OK with Mainers. When Harris saw Reiner stroll in the room, “I thought, My gosh, there’s Rob Reiner. That’s kind of cool.'”

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Where Maine’s sitting at the DNC

The floor seats for the Maine Democrats are on the floor across from the host state of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, in back of North Carolina and New Mexico, in front of Florida and California. Because Maine is near the front, it may be easy to see the Maine sign during television coverage.

“It’s like the intimacy of a state convention on a national level,” said Chris Harris, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Maine. “You don’t need the 40-foot screen to see the person speaking.” Other states with choice seats include Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

While the Maine delegates are close to the stage, Texas, Arkansas and Utah have nosebleed seats, far from the podium and the action.