The Flyover View, Cheeseburger In Paradise
A regular Hotline On Call feature highlighting local coverage of the presidential candidates on the stump.
EVENT: Change We Need Rally
Knology Park, Dunedin, FL
Sept. 24, 2008 - 1 p.m.
On The Dais: Barack Obama
A a town best known for hosting the Toronto Blue Jays for spring training , Dunedin got a "surprise visit" from Obama 9/24, the The St. Petersburg Times reports. The issue of race in the presidential contest found its way to the small town as well: "protestors clashed across the street" from Knology Park "several hours" before Obama showed up to speak. Mike Freese of St. Petersburg, "who is white," stood across the street wearing "a camouflage hat with a rebel flag stitched on it and the message 'Git-R-Done.' He carried a sign with a black-and-white duck referring to the fact that Obama is biracial."
Freese, who "said he is not a racist," had a "contentious verbal exchange" over race with Waleed McFarland, "an African-American man from Tampa" in the lead-up to the event. When Freese "tried to tell" him that "the country is not racist," McFarland replied: "This is the most racist country in the world, and that is a fact. What about segregation?"
McFarland, to the Times: "I've been following [Obama] since the 2004 Democratic convention. To me he represents the 80s, 90s and now. We've got reality TV, but we're further from reality than we've ever been."
At the event, local resident Rachel Gause told WFLA-TV she "pulled her third grader out of school" to witness Obama's speech in Dunedin. Gause said that she was there because Obama represents change. Gause, on Obama: "Don't you want to hug him? Don't you just feel that way about him?"
Not all Dunedin residents are so sure. Retired social worker Peggy Roche, to the Times: "I swing back and forth. But I do want [the candidates] to stop slandering one another and tell me what they can do for the country because we are in one, big mess."
Mark Myrik, 37, of Oldsmar told the Times that "the part of Obama's speech that dealt with the economy resonated most." Myrik: "If we keep going the way we are,'' Myrik said, "we'll be worse off than a Third World country."
At O'Keefe's Restaurant, the Tampa Bay Beacon reported that, "with 15 minutes notice, the mid-day lunch staff...suddenly found themselves hosting Obama, along with his legion if Secret Service protectors and lots of media." Manager Danielle duQuesenay, on the visit: "His personality came out. He was really friendly and spent time with each person, asking them their name and what they do. He didn't talk about politics at all."
After spending an hour at the restaurant, the paper reported Obama ordered a "'Cheeseburger in Paradise' to go with no mayo and no onions."
NOTE: John McCain was not on the stump today but in New York where he was scheduled to meet with several world leaders and U2's Bono.
(EVAN McMORRIS-SANTORO)
Here's something from flyoverland. Obama having to charge for yard signs.
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/09/change-they-need-for-obama-sign-its-8/