Obama Gets a Lift from Campaigning

[photo credit:  Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP]

While campaigning in South Florida, President Barack Obama (D-IL) made an unannounced stop at Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida.  Mr. Obama was enthusiastically greeted by owner Scott Van Duzer, who lifts the candidate off the ground with his bear hug.

The story was supposed to be about a small business owner who did not vote for Mr Obama in 2008 who now supports him, but this awkward optic overwhelms the intended message.  The scene certainly conveys a warm greeting, but it may not convey the commanding presence of the President of the United States.

It seems that the Obama2012 Advance Team dropped the ball and let star struck citizens get carried away.  Fortunately, Van Druzer did not drop the candidate.