need to add title here

Obama greeted with bear hug by pizza parlor owner

September 9, 2012 2:30 PM

Stopping by the Big Apple Pizza & Pasta Italian Restaurant in Ft. Pierce, Fla., Sunday, President Obama got an unexpected lift from Scott Van Duzer, whom the president observed as the "biggest pizza parlor owner I've ever seen."

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by obamazing September 14, 2012 10:18 PM EDT
Have you seen HugObama.com? This is what started it all...
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by rotcoddam77 September 11, 2012 5:40 PM EDT
As with everything about Obama this is so contrived and phony its laughable. Just trying to make him look like a regular guy. Van Duzer must be the only republican who only vote democrat since I saw him on the corner of 25th st and Virginia ave. holding a sign for Chris Craft, another democtrat. Maybe all of you blind Obama supporters should wonder why he went to Big Apple pizza instead of a small restaurant in Fort Peirce owned by a minority? I guess that wouldn't have been a good enough photo op, but then again you never see him with the people that make up his main support group. He doesn't care about you.
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by JWalker2012 September 11, 2012 11:25 AM EDT
The President doesn't just "stop by" anywhere. I saw this first hand at the state fair. Hours of security sweeps by secret service, patrons that will meet Obama first hand are hand selected. The people in the restaurant weren't there by chance. Then when the President arrives, notice in the front door window, the bus is parked right up to the door, and Secret Service Suburbans are moving around next to the bus and blocking anyones view to the store front. Obama basically steps off the bus, takes a few steps and he's inside the store. I guarantee you when he leaves, it's straight to the bus...just as it was at the state fair this summer...completely choreographed and staged.
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by ksmit2 September 10, 2012 8:33 PM EDT
This is probably a pretty good guy, but he was making me a little nervous lifting the president like that. The secret service had to be waiting to breathe. I guess you never quite know what you're going to walk into on these trips. The president handled it well. Gratefully, neither guy had gas that day.
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by jqw2 September 10, 2012 6:23 PM EDT
FilmGuy,

I don't know why you think that companies holding cash makes for "good bottom lines". In fact, holding cash does not make the company more profitable, especially at T-Bill 3 mo. interest rates of 0.10% and LIBOR rates less than 1%. The main reason for companies holding higher cash assets is the result of the lack of confidence in the economic outlook.

I don't know how you think Stock Averages are related to job growth, but all of these issues are not as simple as you seem to think.

I know that it is popular these days to blame someone else, but we are all to blame for not paying attention too long to the way our government is run. We were content to believe that our policies would allow us to spend without regard to the risks of the economic cycles. We trusted our representatives too much, and we are paying the price for it now.

The reality is that stock market is still in the tank by more than 50%, which increases the risk of business expansion. That affects corporate investment as well as private and institutional investors, who have invested for their retirement funds and their own businesses.

If we continue on the same course, I doubt that the economy will recover any time soon because of the uncertainty in sustainable growth. We must get our economic house in order. You can not continue to spend more that you take in and borrow your way out of debt.

There is the very real risk that a combination of drought, European economic failures and/or bad financial decisions to raise taxes without major reductions in spending will spiral us down into a worse depression than you have ever seen, and kill any chance of a substantial recovery for years to come.

The risks to our Ship of State are high, and I believe that we need a leader with knowledge and experience to captain it, not someone who thinks "the private sector is doing fine", and expanding the federal government is the solution.
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by nanc12 September 10, 2012 10:56 AM EDT
by ROCKYI941 September 10, 2012 8:56 AM EDT
Obama is just trying to hide his abismal record with nonsense-----very distinguished way for a president to act---what is he after----the thug vote.
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A small business owner is now a thug? Glad we cleared up how you repubs really feel.
(btw - vote for increased funds for schools. Maybe your kids will learn how to spell abysmal.)
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by bbglow September 10, 2012 10:45 AM EDT
Trickle-down is a con job staged by the greedy ...
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by a3arar68 September 10, 2012 10:44 AM EDT
That is unconditional love in action. The President, which is the father the brother and the son of this nation, especially Obama, gets the welcome of a son, a brother, and a father. From that clip you can tell Van Duzer could not contain his excitement and the only way to show it is the American way. God bless Obama for his spirit and acceptance. I would do the same :)
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by Pauliebaby September 10, 2012 9:20 AM EDT
Where is the Secret Service??? Obviously scripted. Nice little show though. Anything to distract people from the REAL issues such as chronic high unemployment and rising gas prices.
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by GQ22 September 10, 2012 9:03 AM EDT
Staged or not, this photo will be the campaign photo that re-elects Obama. There are a few defining moments in every campaign - good and bad - that accurately predict the outcome of the race. This is one of them.
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