In brief

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<b>First Posted:</b> 3/18/2008<br><br>By Sheena Delazio sdelazio@www.timesleader.comStaff Writer 
SCRANTON &amp;ndash; Hundreds lined the sidewalk outside the Radisson Hotel in  in a competition of sorts to see which group could shout their presidential candidate&amp;rsquo;s name louder.

And, at times, it seemed as if those supporters &amp;ndash; of both New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen.  &amp;ndash; just might engage in a verbal confrontation. Police officers nearby were quick to give a warning in the event anything escalated.
&amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;re trying to show (Obama supporters) that we&amp;rsquo;ll get everything fixed if Hillary is in office,&amp;rdquo; said Joseph Howell, of Lake Ariel, who held a huge sign with Clinton&amp;rsquo;s name on it. &amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s time for a change, it&amp;rsquo;s time to get a woman in office.&amp;rdquo;
It wasn&amp;rsquo;t Hillary Clinton who drew the crowd Monday night in Scranton. It was Barack Obama, who spoke at the Society of Irish Women dinner. 
&amp;ldquo;I came out to show my support for someone who can make a difference,&amp;rdquo; said Dr. Marcus Oxley, of Scranton, who held an &amp;ldquo;Obama for President&amp;rdquo; sign outside the hotel. &amp;ldquo;He values what is important to me and my kids. He&amp;rsquo;s a sincere candidate.&amp;rdquo;
The chants became louder and louder. Pat Frost, of Lake Ariel, a volunteer for the Obama campaign, said she came out to support Obama because he unites people. &amp;ldquo;I think he is a really great candidate for president,&amp;rdquo; Frost said.
Supporters of Clinton chanted phrases such as &amp;ldquo;No more promises; we want proof,&amp;rdquo; while Obama supporters replied with &amp;ldquo;Ready to go, fire it up, time for a change.&amp;rdquo;
But the scene was different just a few hours before and a couple blocks down the street at Whistles Pub and Eatery, on Franklin Avenue.
A smaller crowd of about a few dozen Obama supporters lined the sidewalk in front of the tavern, where Obama was to appear on an MTV News special.
&amp;ldquo;We need a change in Washington,&amp;rdquo; said Ted Bochak of Scranton. &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t see why he can&amp;rsquo;t be president. I hope he brings home all our troops (overseas).&amp;rdquo; Bochak said he wasn&amp;rsquo;t upset that he wouldn&amp;rsquo;t get a chance to see the senator speak, because he knew Obama would visit the area again in the near future.
&amp;ldquo;I hope he&amp;rsquo;ll hold a town meeting in a local school, to show people he&amp;rsquo;s for real,&amp;rdquo; Bochak said.
John Disanferdinand of West Pittston said he believes Obama is the one for the job. &amp;ldquo;&amp;hellip; He&amp;rsquo;s the one to lead us. I respect Hillary&amp;rsquo;s views, but (Obama) is a tremendous candidate.&amp;rdquo;
Disanferdinand said that a few months ago his vote might have gone to the New York senator, but after hearing of some &amp;ldquo;mudslinging&amp;rdquo; Clinton did in her campaign, he&amp;rsquo;s made a new decision. &amp;ldquo;He&amp;rsquo;s solid on his issues. I think he would be a magnificent president. He seems like he&amp;rsquo;s genuine.&amp;rdquo;
Eileen Jones, a Scranton business owner who lives outside of Harleysville, wasn&amp;rsquo;t outside the Franklin Avenue restaurant to support Obama. She was there to let his supporters know just how she felt.
&amp;ldquo;I feel so strongly about talking about comments (made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright) because I&amp;rsquo;m so close to it,&amp;rdquo; Jones said, while holding a sign that read, &amp;ldquo;God Bless Americans, not Rev. Wright&amp;rsquo;s God Damn Americans.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;ldquo;He was talking about our kids, families and parents,&amp;rdquo; Jones said. &amp;ldquo;I don&amp;rsquo;t think a presidential candidate (such as Obama) should be hanging around with people who say these things,&amp;rdquo; Jones said of comments made by Wright. &amp;ldquo;This is a very important election, this is the greatest country in the world.&amp;rdquo;
Jones, who said her family is an acquaintance of the Rodhams, said her relationship with the family had only a small influence on her decision to carry the sign. &amp;ldquo;My mind changed when I heard (Wright) support Obama. That made me think, is that how (Obama) feels, too?&amp;rdquo;
Other Obama supporters said they supported the senator because &amp;ldquo;his whole campaign is constant,&amp;rdquo; said Jonathan Earley of Scranton. &amp;ldquo;The country is in an economic turmoil. We can&amp;rsquo;t trust politicians anymore. He&amp;rsquo;s the best choice. He&amp;rsquo;s got my vote.&amp;rdquo;
Supporters yelled &amp;ldquo;Just wave to us, we just want a wave&amp;rdquo; as they stood outside the restaurant hoping to sneak a glance at their favorite presidential candidate.
&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m not upset about not getting to see him,&amp;rdquo; said Jesse Salazar of Dalton. &amp;ldquo;I know he will come again. There&amp;rsquo;s six weeks left until the primary.&amp;rdquo;
Salazar said he knew the event would be closed-door, so he just showed up to support his favorite candidate. &amp;ldquo;A lot of other people (knew that too) and came to catch a glimpse,&amp;rdquo; Salazar said. &amp;ldquo;The enthusiasm is tremendous. This is history.&amp;rdquo;
Basu Chattopadhyay of Clarks Summit brought her family to Franklin Avenue and began chanting &amp;ldquo;Barack &amp;hellip; Obama&amp;rdquo; with nearby supporters. &amp;ldquo;He is a man with a vision, and has many ideas,&amp;rdquo; Chattopadhyay said, as she held an October 2006 edition of Time magazine with Obama&amp;rsquo;s picture on it, hoping to get an autograph.
Terry McDonald of Tunkhannock was luckier on this St. Patrick&amp;rsquo;s Day.
McDonald, a volunteer for the Obama campaign, made it inside the restaurant with a small group of volunteers and was able to shake hands with and meet Obama.
&amp;ldquo;He was very sincere and everything I thought he was,&amp;rdquo; McDonald said. &amp;ldquo;He went to each individual person and shook hands and spoke with them &amp;hellip; never in a million years did I think I would meet him.&amp;rdquo;
McDonald said she hopes to see Obama in the area in the future so that she can get a chance to hear him speak. &amp;ldquo;I know he&amp;rsquo;ll make more stops and speak to groups. He might even surprise us.&amp;rdquo;
Those who purchased tickets to the Society of Irish Women&amp;rsquo;s Dinner were eager to hear what the Illinois senator had to say.
&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m very excited to hear a potential president speak,&amp;rdquo; said Barbara O&amp;rsquo;Malley of Scranton. &amp;ldquo;Obama is terrific. I was thrilled to hear he would be here.&amp;rdquo;

    

Sheena Delazio, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7235.

Supporters duel for attention