At least one enthusiastic Republican on the Campaign trail. Apparently there’s been criticism of the Secret Service, but seeing this footage I don’t know how they could intervene.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7421142n
Not sure that this is the right forum for this topic, but eh, whatever.
I saw a pic of Obama’s bear hug earlier yesterday and I thought that it was downright awesome; seeing the video makes it even better. Criticizing the Secret Service is silly in this case, because, at the end of the day, it’s just great being able to see someone so enthusiastic about the POTUS in a genuinely nice way.
I’m honestly shocked the guy didn’t get shot by the secret service. And I do criticize them: if they’re not there to keep the president from being manhandled by someone acting unpredictably like that, why do they bother going with him on the campaign trail?
Seriously? Secret Service is pretty good at doing risk assessments on the fly, and in this case, this guy was probably already fully vetted. He was obviously pleasant and cordial, if a bit excited, but he was obviously no threat. This is a non-event that Obama comes out looking good from, if agents had rushed in and did something… not so much.
Did you even see the video? Those two guys were all smiles and jokes. I actually laughed when I watched it. Why would the Secret Service shoot someone the boss was joking around with?
I think the whole episode was great.
I agree, that was cool. I was smiling, for sure…
And that was absolute a “virtually no danger” situation for the president. Is the SS had shot, sheesh, what a shit-storm that would have been.
Cool. Maybe we can get those, “Obama’s secretly gay” rumors going again.
Gawker says the guy asked permission before the hug.
I did think it looked quasi-staged. Like Obama for several seconds (starting with "you are the biggest…) seemed to be waiting for something.
Anyone who can find fault with that video is seriously desperate. It was clearly a planned walk through (notice how all the cameras/video were already there when he walked in?) and I’m sure the businesses were vetted and coordinated with in advance so that they didn’t disrupt them or make their patrons feel shoved out of the way.
Good Lord, who ever is complaining about this (or the Secret Service) needs to get a life. Even Ms Obama got picked up by an athlete at the Olympics… maybe he’s just a huggable world leader. Now, we need to get him and Putin in an arm wrestling match to see which country produces the best alcohol. We can put up the White House beer against Putin’s best vodka.
On one of the news programs they said that the guy approached the Secret Service afterward and asked if he was going to get shot but they just smiled and assured him it was always OK.
So what do you think they should have done? I assume you don’t actually think they should have shot the guy. Physical contact is part of campaigning – the whole “shaking hands and kissing babies” thing. Should the Secret Service tackle anyone who tries to give the President a hug?
The guy was vetted for close contact with the President before any of this happened. Staged? or Allowed?, doesn’t matter, Obama was in no danger. I was with Obama (briefly) on Saturday and the secret service are doing a stellar job.
If he stopped smiling or squeezed a second too long, he would have been on the floor. They’re not stupid and they have great reflexes.
Because they’re not stupid they let a perfect campaign moment happen. Can anyone in America imagine this happening to Romney? Or the look on his face if someone tried?
It’s rationally ridiculous that a hug should affect anything in a campaign. Doesn’t matter. People are not purely rational. There will be an aura of memory around this that puts a fuzzy halo of “I like” around Obama’s name in peoples’ cerebral cortexes. They probably won’t even be able to remember why it’s there. A fuzzy association of likability is stronger than a rational argument. One tiny bit of fuzz won’t trip any votes, but a pattern of them will. Listen to people explain why they voted for a candidate when they’re not deeply embedded in a party. It’s all about like.
Well sure, you think so… the folks around you were probably going “Can you believe they let that Lanzy guy get this close?” 
BBC TV News has been playing the video. It looks great! I am a little surprised but pleased that the Secret Service did not tackle the guy. No doubt they were carefully watching, especially the guys hands – always watch the hands is what I’ve personally learned over the years. They interviewed him by phone, and he said he just got caught up in the moment. But it looked abolutely great. I can’t imagine anyone giving Romney a big ol’ bear hug.
I’m no Obama fan, but this was a nice thing to see and watch. Good for the both of them.
Yes. I totally agree about the “like” factor, it’s that intangible thing, it’s that “yeah, I could sit down and have a beer with Obama” vibe, that’s non threatening and just the right amount of "folksy"to be credible.
Scott the Pizza shop owner in Florida was thoroughly vetted, and it was a great photo op, if perhaps a little spontenous on the lift, the secret service were doing their job and everyone is happy.
Except the Freepers, who’ve been harrassing him at his business and posting malicious false downgrades on sites like Yelp! for his pizza shop.
Freepers? Like Geepers Creepers?