Obama Buys Cake For North Carolina Voters

DURHAM, N.C. — Barack Obama dropped in on a busy coffee shop in downtown Durham, N.C., on Monday and bought 15 slices of cake, announcing to those crowding around him, "I'm treating you."

The bill for 15 slices _ six of vanilla pound cake, seven of lemon pound cake and two red velvet _ came to $26.95. "Oh, I can handle that," he said, "You guys are a cheap date." The Democratic presidential candidate handed out plates to patrons and several reporters after paying the bill with cash. He stuffed a $10 bill in the tip cup.

"Can I sit down and have my cake?" he asked, then sat at a table in the Blue Coffee Cafe, munching on a piece of pound cake and chatting with others he'd invited to join him. He ate about half the slice before giving it up to sign autographs full time.

One admirer praised Obama's basketball skills.

"I'm all right," said the Illinois senator, adding with a grin, "We're going to build a basketball court in the White House."

____

By Tom Raum

Comments

[ohmercy]

11:06 AM on 05/06/2008

Perfect!
"LET THEM EAT CAKE!"

it doesn't get any more clear than that.
no gas relief, cake.

Yikes.

[axt113]

02:28 PM on 05/06/2008

Buying cake=Economic good

Gas Tax Holiday=Economic Bad

[olderdem]

12:42 AM on 05/06/2008

I understand that after Hillary loses to Obama in June, she will challenge McCain for the Republican nomination. With all the conservatives now supporting her, its a better than 50-50 chance she will be heading up the Rep ticket in Nov.

[nellie]

12:51 AM on 05/06/2008

lol! I wouldn't be surprised.

[ohmercy]

11:04 AM on 05/06/2008

what does thaqt have to do with this thread?

Isn't ANYONE able to talk about Obama other than in relation to how much they hate Clinton?
bizarro Barackites.

[Testtubebaby]

12:28 AM on 05/06/2008

Lawd, why did he say that, you know middle class working people only like guns, they don't play no basketball.

[live]

12:01 AM on 05/06/2008

i heard that at the victory party for pennsylvania hillary charged five dollars for soda
a fundraiser in disguise

[axt113]

02:29 PM on 05/06/2008

She needs the money, after throwing all the economists under the bus she's broke

[live]

11:57 PM on 05/05/2008

and made 32 propagana videos for the vietnamese

[live]

12:02 AM on 05/06/2008

ignore this it got plugged into the wrong section

[ElliotNC]

11:51 PM on 05/05/2008

I get it... "LET THEM EAT CAKE!"

[margoharris]

11:55 PM on 05/05/2008

What is the situation on the ground in NC? What do you think

[ElliotNC]

12:05 AM on 05/06/2008

Obama has had a strong lead here for months (20 points or more) that has eroded over the past few weeks. He will pull out a victory, but it is likely to be tighter than most people expect. In most of the recent primaries, the late breaking voters have gone towards Clinton, so the margin may shrink to five percent.

I'm in the Triangle, but the state is very diverse.

[jplass]

11:38 PM on 05/05/2008

i wonder if anyone ate that cake. I'd have it autographed and sell it on ebay

[ElliotNC]

12:40 AM on 05/06/2008

Portnoy would have come up with something more creative to do with the cake.

And from the infatuated babblings coming from many of the Obama-smitten, I'm certain that Portnoy would not be alone.

[TrueIndy08]

11:12 PM on 05/05/2008

Did anyone watch Senator Obama tonight on CSPAN???? Remarkable!!!

I was thrilled to be watching the next President of the United States...
one that can actually speak!!!

[Illinoissuburbanvoter]

12:18 AM on 05/06/2008

Yes, I saw it on CNN live online. It was great! The crowd was huge, looks like over 30,000 or so.

Unfortunately, I don't think he'll win IN. I live in the suburb of IL, about 20 minutes away from IN and I can tell you it is VERY rural. It's made up a lot like PA and OH.

I have realatives in NC and he'll win, but by 7-11 points they say.

[MrKINOKO]

09:32 PM on 05/05/2008

I find it pretty interesting that I see Obama, young, intellectual, and strong...dancing on stage with Ellen, Bowling ( kind of ), and playing several games of basketball, while all I've ever seen Hillary do is hoist up a beer mug. Distastefully at that, like she just couldn't wait to get away from those beer-swilling Barbarians. And McCain can barely lift his arms up...or even shuffle across the stage. Obama wants to build a basketball court in the White House...cool beans. McCain would build a shuffleboard court...or maybe a horseshoe pit. Hillary would probably just build a room full of mirrors, so she can watch herself age ungracefully. Maybe she could build it right next to the room full of money.

[Ramirez]

10:34 PM on 05/05/2008

McCain flew jets. Top that.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

10:37 PM on 05/05/2008

He destroyed five, was shot down and captured.

[debwarot]

11:21 PM on 05/05/2008

I agree that it is great to see Obama out and about introducing himself to the public.

However, comments about McCain being barely able to lift his arms up are both cruel and totally uncalled for. His limited range of motion was caused by injuries he received under torture as a prisoner of war. Please - refrain from these cheap and nasty shots in the future. They reflect poorly on you and, when you speak well of Obama in the same comment, they reflect poorly on his candidacy and the rest of his supporters.

[MrKINOKO]

10:57 AM on 05/06/2008

Point well taken, and I agree. I will refrain from McCain bashing. It's not in itself a derogatory remark, simply a testament to the poor state of health attributable to someone running for POTUS...a position that seems to age you faster than being in a foxhole under mortar fire. But I do agree with you, and will try to be more temperate in the future. i apologize.

[MrKINOKO]

09:27 PM on 05/05/2008

How can you not love this man? He's everything Americans could ever dream about in a politician, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unlike the Clinton/McCain ticket.....where you have to try to navigate the nonsense, and extract the small grains of truth from the lies and the malfeasance. How can America prolong this horrific race and goad this Monster on?

[FedUp247]

10:44 PM on 05/05/2008

Could not have said it better. THANK YOU SENATOR OBAMA - from all of us in the midwest who get it! He finally got me during a debate when he pulled the chair out for her. A gentleman - smart, savvy and a critical thinker. I am so tired of political b?*%*^^$!!

[vintagejulie]

09:07 PM on 05/05/2008

Mmmmm, Pound Cake.
I love Pound Cake.

BTW, the most important thing here, besides the fact that he paid for it out of his pocket?
That $10 tip.
You can tell a lot about a person by how they tip.
Just saying.....

[GeoLee]

09:45 PM on 05/05/2008

Yeah. The higher the tip the more likely running for office of something?

[cathye]

12:35 AM on 05/06/2008

Clinton is notorious for stiffing the diners she ate at for tips.

[TrueIndy08]

09:03 PM on 05/05/2008

forget the guy you would like to have a beer with... (not much of a beer drinker anyway)... I want the guy I can sit down and have cake with...

Obama gets my vote!

[cathye]

12:36 AM on 05/06/2008

I'll drink an elitist beer.

Craft brew only! Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, the gold winner for craft ales the very first year it was introduced.

mmmm it is delicious

[erykah]

09:03 PM on 05/05/2008

Yes indeed, a basketball court in the white house!

[SicPlurisPoenaPrestantia]

09:02 PM on 05/05/2008

Gotta plug Blue Coffee Cafe, here. I helped set up the cafe a few years back when I ran a small local coffee roastery, and it was one of the nicest start-ups ever. It has changed hands a few times, but it still retains its charm as part of the historic Parish Street district of Downtown Durham, once home to "the Black Wall Street". Blue has become the unofficial center of the Durham grass-roots campaign. They now serve Larry's Beans, an outstanding local all-Fair Trade roastery, out of Raleigh. It's good stuff! And the cake is delish!

I'm thrilled that Obama came there.

[missjabez]

08:38 PM on 05/05/2008

Well, guess not.