Pool Report for Obama, Biden Stops at Biodiesel Plant and Ice Cream Shop

POOL REPORT: Obama and Biden Stops at Biodiesel Plant and Ice CreamShop

News: Minimal
Color: Absolutely

Barack and Michelle Obama and Joe and Jill Biden dropped by the Windmill Ice Cream Shop in Aliquippa, Pa. at around 4:15 p.m.

Highlight was getting ice cream. It was great. Obama teased Caren about getting sprinkles on her mint chip cone.

Even better was watching Axelrod eating a 3-inch chocolate-dipped vanilla cone. "This is going to be a mess," he told us.

Athena's TV pool report that Jen sent earlier got pretty much everything I was going to type up - the hard ice cream comments, the kids' sleepover, more Biden praise and him saying it had been a good week - with a few exceptions below.

The usual voter excitement and cell phone photos ensued, several folks said they lived nearby and came over to see the commotion. One woman called her friends to get them down to the shop.

Another woman said she'd played hookie from work and was rewarded with the surprise.

Apparently the new VP nominee likes his ice cream.

Biden said:

"I may have vices but this is my biggest one."
and
"I ran for vice president just so I could get ice cream, that's why I'm here."
and
"I ran for VP just so I could get ice cream."

Biden got two enormous scoops - chocolate on the bottom and vanilla on top, saying, "I'm a vanilla and chocolate guy."

Observation: Obama and Biden are spending a lot of time touching each other - big pats on the back, arms around the other, incredibly friendly.

On the Windmill menu: curly fries, cheese fries, Mexican fries, shrimp boat ($3.99), chicken boat and a 'Wing Ding boat,' which I was told is buffalo wings with fries.

The ice cream shop also had a mini golf course but, sadly, the ticket did not stop for a few rounds.

While there, Obama met Brenda Leone, who lived across the street, and her son Rocco, who was celebrating his sixth birthday.

"I'm going to buy you ice cream for your birthday," Obama announced. Rocco said he wanted a 'cherry slush' instead.

I went over to the mom and son after Obama walked away for a brief interview.

The shy kid was nonplussed about sharing a birthday with Obama's Republican rival, who turned 72 today, but his mom, an Obama supporter, got in a zinger that would make Damien LaVera proud.

"I didn't know that. I just know he's up there in age," she said, laughing.

She was excited to meet Obama, and said she'd picked Rocco up from the bus and headed right to the ice cream shop, telling him: "You are going to be a part of history on your birthday."

The other voters seemed similarly sold on the Democratic ticket.

An older woman who spent several minutes speaking to Biden said she was voting for them: "I love him. And Senator Obama seems like a very very nice man."

"I feel like I know you," one voter gushed to Michelle.

The TV audio also picked up Michelle's conversation with a voter, saying she enjoys having a makeup person for big nights. She quipped she feels like asking the makeup artist: "Can you come with me everywhere I go?"

In the background, Michelle was overheard talking about the "Whole new generation of young people" the campaign has gotten involved in politics. She also delved into a fairly serious discussion of the economy and creating jobs with one voter, but the audio was spotty so I don't have quotes.

Obama made a big deal about everyone in the press pool getting scoops of what they wanted, and then picked up the tab.

Melissa, 17, said the bill was $16.33, which seemed pretty cheap to me given all we ordered. Obama paid with a $20 sticking out of a quite messy-looking wallet and told her to keep the change.

I asked Melissa, too young to vote in November, if she was excited to see a presidential candidate and his running mate.

"It's the first time anything big has happened here," she said.

Here's a bit of color/detail from biodiesel stop earlier today.

The foursome walked into building I'm told was a biodiesel factory. We were ushered upstairs into a lab with beakers of yellow liquid that looked like beer and/or a less appetizing substance.

("Is that chicken fat right there?" Obama asked. Scout says at one point Obama took a sniff.)

They kept saying the word "centrifuge" but your pooler never got an explanation for how the process worked.

I was told ahead of time Obama and Biden would be greeted by Patrick Copple Sr., President; David Richards, CFO; Ed Vescovi, Plant Manager and Patrick Copple Jr., but never got to track down who was who as we were shuffled through.

One of them told Michelle, "See you in the White House."

Both spouses wore fashionable flats with no socks - Jill's are silver - and Michelle towers over Jill, but they seem to be enjoying each other's company, sticking together to chat during most of the stops.

Your pooler had heads up that a shouted question about Palin would be okay, so when Obama was done getting science walk-through that's what I did. He responded he would be doing it in another spot. We were shuffled out downstairs in noisy factory and photogs took pics of the foursome looking down at floor from a window. Biden was rubbing his eyes.

They came in, did more of a tour of big vats with about 6 workers and stuff but we weren't allowed to get close enough to hear because we were getting positioned for what had now turned into a brief statement. Your pooler and wires kneeled for at least 15 minutes on the concrete ground waiting for Obama and Biden to get in place. When they neared, they walked past and nicely arranged semicircle had to be redone in another direction as the tour continued. Finally Obama addressed us with a brief statement on the loveliness and wonderment of biofuel.

Obama said it was "An example of how we can create jobs, new industry, save our environment, recycle products that might otherwise go to waste. It's part of, I think, the revitalization of this section of Pennsylvania that can be duplicated across this country." He added praise for Rendell.

Biden had his say as well: "The chicken fat they use in this plant comes out of my state, the state of Delaware. You all always made fun of my chickens but there's $3 billion worth of chicken on the DelMarVa peninsula. Two big problems, the byproduct of the chicken fat plus the byproduct of chicken manure."

"Down our end we're dealing with biofuel with the chicken manure," he said. "All this fat come up here is an environmental problem unless it's used again, so it has a double hit. This creates jobs in my state, it creates jobs in this state."

Then they talked about Palin per the verbait I filed earlier.