Tea and Pancakes

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Mitt Romney is following up yesterday’s Tea Party rally – which got him a favorable Boston Herald front page – with a free pancake breakfast at the Derryfield country club. Hundreds of Republicans lined up for a short stack, a smattering of fresh fruit, and a moment with Mitt and/or Ann.
It was classic Romney. When Chris Gandia and his sons got to the pancake tray, Romney guessed their ages: “You’re about 10?” he asked David Gandia. Correct. “So, you’re about 9 years old?” he asked Justin. Close: Justin is 8. Standing nearby, an 89-year-old retiree Lucille Lagasse was beaming. “That’s how they brought up all those kids!” she said. “Feeding them, just like this!” (She skipped breakfast, having eaten, as usual, at 6:30 a.m.)
Romney was set to speak outside after the pancakes were served, and I took a seat next to Lloyd and Loretta Wurtz, aged 90 and 88. Loretta was solid for Romney; Lloyd was shopping around, liking what he heard from Ron Paul, not finding too much wrong with Jon Huntsman. Anyone but Obama, he said. “He may have his origins here, geographically,” he said, “but his influence is communistic. Look at who he associated with over the years.” I even ran into some people who’d boosted Romney at yesterday’s Tea Party, which gives me an excuse to post these photos. The Romney supporters staged at the rally.
It’s as Rick Santorum warned us. The view from around the stage when the rally began. (Photos by David Weigel.)