Candidate packs in calories in hopes of votes for dessert

The presidential candidate known for his eloquence on the stump was savoring a huge cheesesteak here when he looked up at the battery of photographers surrounding his table and reported: “I’m working through this sucker pretty good.”

Not the most poetic line from Barack Obama, but it captured the campaign’s central activity in the walk-up to this week’s Pennsylvania primary: Eating.

Eager to showcase his regular-guy credentials, the Democrat sampled everything put in front of him. Waffles in Scranton. Pancakes in Pittsburgh. Cheesesteak in Philly.

Campaigning by Obama’s side, his wife, Michelle, gamely sank her fork into each high-calorie offering, though by the time the votes were coming in Tuesday she looked ready to swear off food for good.

“I’m stuffed,” she said, standing outside Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philadelphia, having polished off a cheesesteak a few minutes before.

A presidential campaign is an exercise in endurance. How much can the candidate withstand? There’s the lost sleep, the draining schedule, the vocal cords strained to the breaking point by hundreds of speeches.

And the food.

Candidates don’t have the luxury of eating what they want, when they want.

In that tearful moment before the New Hampshire primary three months ago, in which Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton may have revived her political fortunes, one of the campaign rigors she complained about was having to eat pizza all the time.

Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, described the physical toll in an e-mail to The Times.

“No matter how old you are or what kind of shape you’re in, the campaign trail is exhausting,” Kerry wrote. “There’s no break. You eat on the run, you sleep where you can and you have late nights and early mornings. You have to fight to preserve exercise time to clear your head. There’s no such thing as having a sick day or slowing down.

“I remember on the bus in Iowa, my staff thought I’d broken a rib from coughing because my walking pneumonia was so bad.”

Yet campaign food has undeniable political utility. In Scranton this week, Obama was at a diner when he got a question from a reporter about foreign policy. Not wanting to answer, the candidate invoked his breakfast.

“Why can’t I just eat my waffle?” he said.

Later, the scraps from Obama’s waffle were briefly put up for sale on EBay. A spokeswoman for the auction site said Friday that the seller pulled the item before a sale was completed.

Relishing the local fare can reap dividends. At Pamela’s P&G; Diner in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning, Obama made a great show of devouring his pancakes (thin like a crepe, crispy at the edges).

He split a stack of three with Michelle, poured on some syrup and ate every bit. Co-owner Gail Klingensmith estimated that there are 375 calories in a stack. “He chowed down on that,” she said. “He didn’t seem like a fussy eater to me. He seemed like someone who likes to eat what tastes good.”

Only hours later, Obama faced another calorie-laden challenge on the other end of the state, at Pat’s in Philadelphia. Bill and Chelsea Clinton had stopped there the day before. “Chelsea said they were the best cheese fries she’d had in her life,” said restaurant general manager Tom Francano.

With TV cameras literally at his elbow, Obama sat down for a juicy cheesesteak with onions while talking with three people at his outdoor table -- a difficult task even for the most seasoned candidate. Would he get splattered? No, Obama managed to emerge with his white shirt still clean.

Before posing for a picture at his table with a 16-year-old girl, Ariel McDermott, he turned to Michelle: “Do I have Cheez Whiz in my teeth?”

All clear, she said.

“That was a tasty sandwich, guys. Solid.”

“Best sandwich in Philadelphia,” said Ariel’s father, Charles McDermott.

Obama: “Right here.”

After the candidate left, McDermott, who runs an Arby’s restaurant in the city, said he was impressed by what he’d seen. Asked whom he planned to vote for, McDermott declined to name names. But, he said, “I’ll give you a hint. He had lunch with us today.”

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peter.nicholas@latimes.com