Beer but no bumper cars as Obama magic slips in Iowa

[clearvision]

Chicago Tribune:

The crowds are smaller and his motorcade is larger than when he beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa and took a huge step toward becoming his party's nominee.

 

The economy in Iowa is rougher now and even the weather is worse in the drought-hit state.

 

Enthusiasm for Obama -- still high among Democrats -- is wavering among the independents and Republicans who formed part of the coalition that got him first elected.

 

Obama's three-day swing through Iowa was his longest campaign trip in one state so far this year. He spoke wistfully about how his life had changed since he was a comparably unknown candidate seeking the highest office in the land.

 

"The last time I went to the State Fair, Secret Service let me do the bumper cars. ... I wasn't president yet, so I could do that," he said to laughter at a campaign event in Council Bluffs on Monday. "But not this time."

 

When he made it to the fair in Des Moines later that day, he wasn't allowed to get anywhere near the rides, though he did make a beeline for the Bud Light stand, where he bought beer for himself and a few bystanders.

 

Beer was a common theme throughout the tour. Much to the delight of the crowds, he told nearly every group he addressed that he had had a beer and pork chops at the fair.

 

"He's a real person. His whole family -- everybody can relate to him," said Jan Bilsten, 57, a Democrat from Cedar Falls.

 

"I like to drink beer. Everybody likes to relax with a glass of wine or drink a beer," she said.

 

Obama's mentions of alcohol consumption could have been a subtle attempt to contrast himself with Romney, a Mormon, who does not drink.

 

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Did he drink a lot on the last campaign tour 4 years ago?

 

[Pepper]

@clearvision

 

"Now his events remain strictly stage-managed.

 

He waves from the podium and shakes hands on the "rope line," but his words come primarily from the text on his TelePrompter."

 

 

 

Heheh. Obama's handlers do not want another "you didn't build this" foul up.