Smart politicians know all about the Kewpee

Now, to the important things when it comes to rehashing John McCain's visit to Lima last week.

Like, how long did McCain talk? Was anyone turned away? Why did they pick the Civic Center to host the event? And, most of all, where did McCain have lunch?

That last question is actually a no-brainer, given this is Lima, Ohio. McCain may call himself a "maverick" politician who will go against the grain, but he's not stupid. When he left Thursday's town hall meeting at the Civic Center, he boarded a bus filled with Kewpee hamburgers and feasted on a burger, a malt and an apple pie (he went back and forth between apple and cherry, I'm told).

Who could blame the man for being hungry?

The Republican presidential nominee entered Thursday's town hall meeting at 12:01 p.m., cracked a few jokes and quickly jumped into the talking points of his campaign. At 12:20 p.m., he turned to the crowd of 1,200 people and fielded questions for the next 40 minutes.

The queries touched on energy issues, the war, immigration, civil rights, veterans benefits, abortion, stem-cell research and the selection of federal judges and Supreme Court justices. Unlike President George Bush's visit four years ago, the people asking questions were not preselected. McCain randomly chose people from the crowd, and at times, disagreed with the premise of their questions.

The venue was perfectly set up for a good back-and-forth. Bleachers and folding chairs along with a huge McCain backdrop kept the crowd boxed in close to the candidate.

"He insisted on a smaller town-hall setting where he would be as close to the people as possible. He wanted to be able to shake hands, to look people in the eye," said Keith Cheney, the Republican chairman of Allen County.

Several hundred people stood.

"I'm told we had to turn a few people away, but it wasn't because of the lack of room. Once McCain entered the hall, the Secret Service secured the doors," Cheney said.

McCain's campaign selected the main hall of the Civic Center over three other options. The Civic Center auditorium was ruled out because people wouldn't be close enough to the candidate. Lima Senior was crossed off because work was being done on the gymnasium floor. The new Allen East School was selected as the backup site.

The Secret Service and McCain's advance team came into Lima several days before the event. The advance team usually takes 16 hours to set up, but only had 12 hours in Lima because a food show occupied the hall until 4 p.m. Wednesday.

On the day of the event, one of the unusual things the Secret Service faced were the number of people trying to enter the building with pocketknives. People had to empty their pockets and walk through a magnetic gate before entering the hall.

"There were a lot of new faces that hadn't attended previous presidential visits. They probably never thought to leave their pocketknives at home. They had to either throw them away or take them back to their cars," Cheney said.

With Ohio again being predicted to be a battleground state in the presidential election, Cheney thinks it's possible another top Republican will visit between now and November.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see a vice presidential candidate visit," Cheney said. "This part of Ohio is very important to Republicans."

Next week: More on the McCain visit, including West Central Ohio's unique election clout.  

ROSES AND THORNS: A few this week.

Rose: To Dr. Chris McCarthy, of Bluffton. She is joining the staff of Allen County Health Partners, giving it a second doctor at the Lima Community Health Center.

Rose: To Dr. Anthony Adams, of Lima. The director of community affairs at Lima Community Health Center is featured in this month's issue of JET Magazine.

Rose: To the staff of Freedom Elementary School in Lima. It is expected to be rated as an "effective" school when state report cards are issued in a few weeks. Only one rating, excellent, is higher. Two years ago, Freedom was in academic emergency, the lowest rating.

Thorn: To Jeff Miller, Kyle Drerup and Fred Drerup. They were using an AK-47 to target shoot near Ottoville, and accidentally shot Jane Horstman, of Fort Jennings, who was walking with her husband along the river.  

Thorn: To Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Harry Berger, whose "pet rattlesnakes" escaped from their cage.

Thorn: To former Lima Senior basketball star Sammy Villegas, who has been indicted in a point-shaving scandal at the University of Toledo.

PARTING SHOT: There's nothing like a little experience to shake up a theory.