Ticket pool report: Barack Obama visits N.C. BBQ where not all is friendly

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Cape Fear BBQ and Chicken Restaurant. Some powerful and at times ugly interaction today.

12:33 p.m. Sen. Barack Obama entered the barbecue joint where an older and majority white clientele of dozens was eating lunch after church services. At the other end of the restaurant, Diane Fanning, 54, who works at a discount club, began yelling: “Socialist, socialist, socialist -– get out of here!”

There was a lot of noise and excitement and positive reception as well and it was unclear whether Obama heard her.

The gentleman next to Fanning, Lenox Bramble, 76, flashed an angry look at her. “Be civil, be courteous,” he admonished her.  Another woman, Cecilia Hayslip, 61, yelled back at Fanning (per Reuters), “At least he’s not a warmonger!”

Mr. Bramble told Reuters’ pool reporter that he wasn’t voting for Obama because he didn’t think he had enough experience. Bramble’s wife, Kit, 75, said after meeting Obama, “He was very nice” but added she’d been a conservative Republican since Barry Goldwater’s era and she wouldn’t vote for Obama.

Fanning said (after considerable public Colin Powell discussion) that she’d heard Powell had endorsed Obama but...

...that “Colin Powell is a RINO, R-I-N-O, Republican In Name Only. This is my one day off,” she muttered.

Later, Obama came to the long table where Fanning and other members of a local First Presbyterian church were gathered. He held out his hand to her to shake it and asked, “How are you, ma’am?” but she declined to shake.

He spoke at length with many of the other parishioners at the long banquet table, however, and got a much friendlier reception as he spoke about healthcare, taxes and Social Security. Fanning told the pool reporter, “Some of them are just nicer than I am. I know how some of them think.”

But several of her fellow churchgoers said their support was genuine. Betty Waylett, 76, told him, “You’re doing a great job.” She told the pool reporter she is a Republican but will vote for Obama because she likes the way he speaks and his manner.

Waylett, who is white, said Obama’s race was not a factor. “I never thought about it one way or the other.”

Pastor Randal Bremer, also at the table, said Obama told him, “Whether you vote for me or not I’ll need your prayers.” Bremer told the pool reporter, “I’m very impressed by his ability to meet people on a down-to-earth level” and that he would pray from him but that he planned to vote for John McCain, mostly because he prefers smaller government and McCain’s position on the Iraq war.

He thinks there have been important gains in Iraq and “I don’t want to see that damaged by a premature pullout.”

Bloomberg news quotes Mike Long, 33, a furniture salesman who is a first-time voter, said (per Bloomberg) that after talking with Obama about healthcare, he’d gone from less than 50% likely to vote for him to “98%” likely.

Sheila Evans, 39, who is biracial, told Obama, “I’m so proud of you.” She said Obama had chosen a restaurant frequented more by whites, while one a couple of doors down had predominantly African American diners on Sundays.

But some of the other older white diners looked surprised and slightly uncomfortable as Obama stopped at their tables to shake hands. “I’m surprised, but I’m not going to say anything else,” said diner Pat Smith who was joined by her husband.

A group of six retired women said they were mostly Democrats -– but mostly undecided about how to vote. “I have to pray about it, think about what’s best for our country,” said Dorothy Buie, one of the women.

Obama ordered some food to go for himself and aides. They ordered chicken, collard greens, baked beans, cole slaw and wings. The tab was $13.91. The visit lasted about a half hour.

--Margaret Talev, McClatchy Newspapers

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Photo: Alex Brandon / Associated Press

Comments

[Lois]

I think everyone has forgotten that Obama is biracial. His skin color is that of African Americans but he is biracial. Meaning, Senator Obama has experienced racism all his life. That lady shouting was nothing new to him. Besides, who was the bigger person? The lady for shouting or Obama for putting himself in a situation where he knew up front would be confrontational?

[Chapman]

I'll send my thoughts & prayers to all of America. I support Obama & I believe in order to heal the Republican party & those who are adimantly opposed to an Obama Presidency will need our Love & support. I'm pleased to see Obama reaching out to the other side & looking for common ground. It's refreshing after watching the last 8 years of staged events & people being allowed access to our President who agree only. America is a melting pot & we have as many points of view as we have people but one thing we can agree on. We all Love America & want what's best...

[weary]

I voted yesterday! And everyone in line that I talked to voted for Barack. Oh did I mention I'm in North Carolina!

I did see a shirt Rednecks for Obama!

[Hotshortie]

I don't understand how someone who just came from church can be so non christian.
What a horrible person. Do these people know that the Bush Administration has created the largest government of all time!!! McCain is following in his foot steps.
How sick is this. Republicans are caging/blocking votes.
Republicans are lying about who Barack Obama is and McCain is running a mean, nasty and horrible campaign.

If that woman believed in the word of God, she would have shaken his hand showed him her christan heart.

[Di]

Allessandro:

You compare Obama's visist to the restaurant with McCain's MLK speech and suggest that McCain was the braver of the two and that the Black people were rude, too. What you're forgetting is that McCain had took legislative action that was offensive and damaging to Black people. Obama hasn't done anything to hurt white people. It's just not comparable.

[pmb]

To think these people have such vile thoughts and actions after attending church is frightening.

Sounds like a few of these folks might have been late to their clan meetings. These are McCain voters and he must be proud.

It just shows how uninformed (Dumb) these voters are to say Obama lacks experience but will happily vote for ticket with Palin on it. Once again a perfect example of people voting against their own best interests

[SweetThang]

I really think that Ms. Fanning was really acting "special" towards Senator Obama when he visited the restaurant. Even if she didn't agree with his political views, that was no reason to be rude and hostile towards him. She acted like Obama had done something to her personally.

When I say "special". I mean in a retarded, remedial classes sort of way.

[ron powell]

Posts like the one from Steve Rodriguez says all you need to know about why McCain is in trouble. Obama just tries to do what every candidate does, a quick meet and great in a local place. A member of the group is rude (and uniformed if she thinks Obama is a "socialist") and people like Rodriguez blame OBAMA for bringing up "race." What an Alice in Wonderland world these people live in when the person who is attacked verbally is the instigator and his campaign is blamed for the fact that this out of control woman happened to be white. Of course, the McCain/Palin campaign and their allies like Rush Limbaugh have been calling Obama names, accusing him of being a "socialist" and "palling around with terrorists" so is it any wonder that some older, uninformed woman would get worked up and make a fool out of herself by shouting stupid slogans at a presidential candidate?

[Gil]

North Carolinian all my life and proud of it....not proud of ignorance no matter where I've traveled in this world. Please folks, realize ignorance and intolerance is the common denominator of all the world's problems.....I've done all I can but honestly, race is an issue for these people, I'll say it, I've seen it and it is real.....but, there is HOPE, always.

[david spight]

I find it particularly telling that the pastor supports Mcains position on the war. These hypocritical christians who support war in general and the Iraq warin particular that was based on lies and deception and has resulted in the death of over 4000 americans, Over 30,000 wounded and 1 million Iraqi civilian related deaths and appx 5 million displaced. When the ministers are hypocrites the sheep they lead are right behind them.

[Uzoma Peter Lane]

Before anyone else screams socialism, consider this: America's free public school system is technically a tenet of socialism is it not? And the US Postal Service, and the libraries, and Social Security, and Medicare and Medicaid, food assistance programs, etc. All these things work well to varying degrees. If McCain wants to decry any government assistance as socialism then he has to tell Americans to get along without all the above programs and more

[A.G. in Florida]

Ok, you have to be an idiot to be moved by McCain's throwing out "socialism" and "redistribution of wealth" as a scare tactic.

I want to see more reporting about how the large cities in the blue states subsidize the traditional "red" states.

Red States Make a Mockery of Self Reliance
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19566-2005Jan18.html

From the Wash Post:
"We now have a new red-state political majority comprising voters who, while professing distrust of government and disdain for the values of the blue-state minority, are only too happy to rely on Washington and blue-state wealth to keep them in the style to which they have become accustomed.
This rank hypocrisy might be laughable but for the fact that the fleecing of the blue states has increased markedly over the past decade as Republicans tightened their hold on Washington."

Early signs show that it will get worse under McCain.

My husband and I make more than $200,000 a year, and we pay more in taxes than that dumb woman in the diner in South Carolina to help subsidize her state.

A huge portion of our budget is military spending, which includes the pay and services for military workers and support for their families. The big bases, with a couple of exception, tend to be in red states.

[Pablo]

"Obama ordered some food to go for himself and aides. They ordered chicken, collard greens, baked beans, cole slaw and wings. The tab was $13.91."

What!? 13.91? That's paradise!
That's it, I'm leaving town.

[dd]

I guarantee you this woman has no ideal what socialist or socialism means. If you asked her to define the term and relate it to current times she would not be able to give you an answer yet she is yelling the word at him. Sad.

[Benjamin]

Paul is dead on right... I'm from this great state of California, a state that has consistantly paid more in federal taxes than we receive in federal money, and I too am sick of hearing from people in those dependent red states that they want lower taxes. How about along with their lower taxes, we implement a law that states that a state can not receive more in federal funds than it pays in taxes? Those "fiscal conservative", non-socialist people should be okay with that. Then they can vote to lower their tax rate to nothing and I'd be fine with it, as long as they also get nothing in return from the federal government. Then we can let the prosperous states, the real drivers of the American economy, use their tax moneys for themselves.

Something tells me that the people in red states who are supposedly against sharing the wealth, won't be backing this idea anytime soon. They just love sharing in our wealth too much, all while pretending like we steal from them. Phonies.

[Sarah]

As usual, Obama was cool, polite and focused on the issues, and the bigots acted like they usually do - rude and stupid. Fanning sounds like a typical Republican bigot.

[FRV]

Perfect example of ignorance speaking with a loud voice.... and the truth just extending it's hand and smiling.

[betty ann]

What an ugle way for Christians to behave toward another fellow human being....a great example for everyone. I'm embarrassed.

[1armywife]

Hey CEEMIX, looking for that government handout? Get your head out of the sand and look no further than Fort Bragg- the biggest employer in your bitty burg.

My husband just returned from Iraq, and the only two words that make him quake in his combat boots are "President Palin."

[Very concern]

Senator Obama is impressive in rising to inappropriate attacks on his character....with grace and respect.

[ray]

I have an idea. Let's have a grand social experiment. Let the red states stay as they are after Obama wins. They can keep their health care the way they want. They can send their sons to Iraq. They can bailout Wall St. and keep their same tax structure, or better, let them have McCain's plan. Let them maintain every thing the GOP has given them, or not, and what McCain has put on his website.
At the end of four years we can tally up the results and see which states are thriving. We'll see which families are doing well. If they like what they get they can keep it. We'll just go along going our merry way.
Oh, did I mention that the red states won't get more than there share of their tax money to run government?

[Tlynn]

I agree about not shaking Obama's hand — some of those elderly white folks didn't wanna get any "black" on their hands.

Hearts just as "black" as the night, but they love to go to church, every Sunday and deceive themselves into thinking that they're "Good Christians". Bunch of "traditionalists", and "religious folk", who have not truly been converted by The Gospel. What a sorry, dreadful state of being.

[Nora]

It's fine if you don't like his policies or think he is inexperienced. It's NOT fine to be a rude, disrespectful neanderthal in the presence of someone who is trying to shake your hand. I have never in my life seen a presidential candidate treated so poorly. Shame on this woman.

[Vixter]

That pastor didn't seem to do all that much to calm the woman down. I can't believe they just came from church....
I love it that it is the older white folks at the table who are saying to be considerate. That is one of the many things that America has lost - its civility to all, whether they agree with us or not.

[Roofin Reality, Houston, Tx.]

I thank GOD that His son, Jesus, didn't refuse to take my hand after I sinned.
In fact, as he was being crucified, FOR MY SINS, he said of the ones who had tortured Him, "Father, forgive them."

For this lady, maybe one day she'll come to understand this. And for her, let's hope she does it before she dies. Otherwise, she'll see her pastor and a lot of her friends down there. You know, where it's a little hot in the fall, as well as winter and spring. Oops, did I forget to mention it's hot in the summer time?