Neasties Not Sold On This ‘Barack Obama’

Amazingly, the editors of the Daily News decided to run the greatest story yet written this year in Saturday’s edition (official motto: “Nearly 2 cents per page!”). Dave Davies followed around Joe Biden in Northeast Philly, and the laughs didn’t stop ’til he left the Dining Car.

But first, Davies chatted with Mike McAleer, the Democratic ward leader in the 66th ward, home of one Daniel Hall McQuade for the first 17 or so years of his life. What’s the problem with getting people there to vote for Obama?

“The Dunkin’ Donut crowd tells me that we’ve got everything going for us but Obama,” McAleer said. “They can’t give me a direct answer. Do I have them right now in the 66th ward? No. But I got 60 days to get them.”

Asked what the problem is with Obama, McAleer paused and said: “It’s his color… I tell them he’s half white and half black. He’s got a better perspective for everything in this country.”

Oh, to be a fly on the wall during a conversation between McAleer and one of those 66th-ward Democrats he’s talking about. But perhaps the vice presidential nominee will have a better shot than the ward leader. Let’s go to the Dining Car!

In a corner booth, Biden sat down and, after a moment’s conversation, planted a kiss on the forehead of Carolyn Bauer, age 89. Bauer explained afterward it wasn’t such a friendly encounter.

“I told him I’m not going to vote for him,” Bauer said. “Anybody who runs with a guy with a name like that is not going to get my vote. It’d be disgusting to get a man named Barack Obama as president of the United States. No way. I mean it… I’m going to vote for McCain and the lady.”

“[Obama's] a Muslim,” Bauer added. “He pretends to be a Christian, and he isn’t, he’s a Muslim.”

McCain/the lady ‘08, apparently! Hope you enjoy your 71-year-old president, America.

Biden gets mixed welcome in Northeast [Daily News]