OOOPS Right State, Wrong Town for Obama
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WAPELLO, Iowa, Nov. 7 — As presidential hopefuls go, Senator Barack Obama is generally one of the more punctual politicians of the election season.
So the other night, it was all the more curious when Mr. Obama kept several hundred Iowans waiting for nearly an hour at a dinnertime rally — absent the dinner — in Cedar Rapids. A local Democratic official apologized and implored the audience to be patient, saying, “He will be here soon.”
What the crowd gathered inside the gymnasium at Kirkland Community College did not know, however, was that Mr. Obama had already buzzed over Cedar Rapids and had landed at the airport in Des Moines.
When Mr. Obama and his aides glanced out the windows of their chartered G-2 jet, they realized something was wrong.
“We just seemed to overshoot the runway by about 150 miles,” Mr. Obama explained to reporters here on Wednesday, grinning at the mishap. “Usually, the Secret Service pulls their cars up real quickly. We looked around, and no one was there.”
After a few frantic phone calls were made, pilots fired up the plane and set off for Cedar Rapids. Back at the rally, supporters were growing restless.
Tom and Kay Lammers were among those heading for the doors. As they did, a young campaign worker approached them, saying: “We would love for you to stick around for five more minutes. He’s on his way!”
Despite the panicked look on the faces of some Obama aides, the vast majority of people waited. As for the Lammers, will the delay influence their decision at the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3?
“Oh, no,” Mrs. Lammers said. “I really think he’s one of the few people who can actually turn this country around.”
About 15 minutes after the Lammers left, Mr. Obama appeared on stage and apologized. On Wednesday, he traded his plane for a black motor coach. As he chugged along southeastern Iowa, there were no reports of getting lost.
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