Opinion: Obama, talking tougher these days, pauses to be a dad

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It may seem to those of us not enjoying the blanketing August humidity of Iowa, which is good for the corn and mosquitoes but not for human comfort, that the state fair there goes on all summer.

We’ve seen so, so many candidates flipping pork chops and pouring iced tea and licking ice cream as an excuse to be there to shake sticky hands with hundreds of other fair-goers, most of whom will not bother to vote in the Iowa caucuses in January. But you never know who might. And, anyway, the candidates get TV footage (and blog items) out of it. Free media, it’s called.

The question for Sen. Barack Obama was this: Can a presidential candidate dropping into that same state fair after all the others actually have any fun?

Or more precisely, can anyone have any fun when surrounded by a keen-eyed Secret Service protective detail, several dozen photographers, TV crews and news reporters -- including The Times’ Peter Nicholas -- vendors offering sugary samples of lemonade and throngs of eager Iowans angling to get a picture with him or persuade the candidate to support the flat tax. Some day off.

He walked amid the food stands in a short-sleeve shirt last night (smart scheduler, go after the ...

... afternoon sun, even if you do miss the 6 p.m. news). Obama seemed well aware that he was the main spectacle. But he brought his whole family, wife Michelle, 9-year-old Malia and 5-year-old Sasha. And he actually did find a few moments that passed for actual fun. Imagine that!

There was, for instance, ‘Big Ben.’ Now that’s a ride for the intrepid. Big Ben catapults people straight up into the air fully 125 feet and then dangles them there for a while, contemplating the height and shock of what just happened, before hopefully easing them safely back to earth.

Obama, the politician, postponed a radio interview while Obama, the dad, warily took the ride at the firm insistence of excited Malia, who sat next to him. Does that make him naive? Or irresponsible?

Malia looked delighted throughout. Obama’s face during the catapult looked stunned, like ‘how did I get myself into this?’ reports Nicholas, who due to his professional dedication to fully covering the event could not possibly find the time to take the same terrifying ride.

Back on the ground, Obama regained his composure. ‘Did you hear me screaming like a little girl?’ he asked. ‘The things you do for a 9-year-old.’’

The bumper cars were a real chance to work through some aggression. Maybe they should become a part of every presidential debate? With his youngest, Sasha, riding shotgun, Obama dutifully obliged the other riders who wanted a head-on collision with possibly the next leader of the free world. How many times do you get that chance?

Passing his wife, piloting a separate car, Obama caught her eye and broke into a wide smile that seemed to say: ‘Is this the silliest thing ever?’’

Other moments looked more like work. After a pork-chop dinner at the Iowa Pork Tent -- boom mikes arching overhead to pick up his every chewing sound -- Obama grabbed pitchers of iced tea and water and went from table to table like countless candidates before him.

‘Who wants a refill?’’ he said.

The things you do for votes.

-- Andrew Malcolm