Van Duzer, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta, later told reporters he had voted for Obama in 2008 and planned to do so again in November, despite being registered with the president's rival Republican Party.
"I don't vote party line, I vote who I feel comfortable with, and I do feel extremely comfortable with him," Van Duzer said, adding he had been "just overcome with excitement," and hoisted the president aloft.
Obama said he had stopped his black armored bus at the pizza shop as Van Duzer had mobilized a huge community blood donors operation, receiving commendations from the White House and the US surgeon general.
The owner of a Florida pizza shop says people are boycotting his business because he bear-hugged President Barack Obama on Sunday.
“People are saying a lot of bad things and boycotting my restaurant,” Scott Van Duzer, 46, told POLITICO. “There’s no middle line anymore, and that’s exactly what’s wrong with our country right now.”
I would agree with that statement. But I have to wonder, does he feel the same way about the boycott of the businesses which advertise during the Rush Limbaugh Show? Did he say the same thing about the boycott of Chick-Fil-A? Did anyone ask him? Inquiring minds want to know . . . . . .
Call me cynical, but I am thinking that this buff dude already cleared his actions with the President and the Secret Service before attempting the presidential power lift. Would only be prudent.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
I disagree, after watching the video and the way they interacted in the seconds before. Besides, if he had asked "Can I pick up the president?" they would have told him no. It was spontaneous.
Raees wrote: Are you equating bear hugging the president with spouting hate and homophobia?
I reject the premise of the statement Raees, so that is the extent to which I am able to comment on it. Would you like to try and frame the question without the demagogic content? I might be able to answer the query under different circumstances.