The presidential candidate in seat 21B
Not many folks seemed to notice the other morning as passengers -- vacationers and business people -- clambered on board U.S. Airways Flight 3027, from Washington to Columbia, S.C.
The flight was half an hour late; aren't they all these days? It was cramped in there; aren't they all these days? And there, among everybody else, like anybody else, was a man who would be leader of the free world, a would-be president of the United States, Republican candidate John McCain. He was beginning yet another two-day campaign swing.
McCain drew little notice from his fellow passengers and walked through the Columbia airport virtually unnoticed. He got a warm reception at this month's meeting of the Rotary Club. "This is what elections and politics in America should be all about -- face-to-face meetings," McCain told the crowd, "not who can buy the most media."
McCain is making a virtue out of necessity. He can't afford to buy media. He travels with a lone aide. "I'm going to be the next president of the United States," he says, "because I can out-campaign any of them."
Obama pauses to be a dadCan a presidential candidate actually drop in to the Iowa State Fair -- where countless candidates have let themselves be seen flipping pork chops and licking ice cream cones before extending a sticky handshake to potential caucus voters -- and have any fun?
Or more precisely, can anyone have any fun when surrounded by a Secret Service protective detail, several dozen photographers, TV crews and news reporters? Sen. Barack Obama, arriving after the sun went down one night last week, actually seemed to. He brought the whole family -- wife Michelle, 9-year-old Malia and 5-year-old Sasha.
Obama the politician postponed a radio interview while Obama the dad warily took a ride on Big Ben at the firm insistence of excited Malia, who sat next to him.
Big Ben is a ride for the intrepid. It catapults people straight up into the air fully 125 feet and then dangles them there for a while, contemplating the height and shock of what just happened, before hopefully easing them safely back to earth.
Malia looked delighted throughout. Obama's face during the catapult looked stunned, like "How did I get myself into this?" reports The Times' Peter Nicholas, who is covering the campaign.
Back on the ground, Obama regained his composure. "Did you hear me screaming like a little girl?" he asked. "The things you do for a 9-year-old."
