Minutes before Davenport, Iowa, Mayor-Elect Bill Gluba took the podium to introduce candidate Barack Obama to 585 potential Iowa caucus goers, the campaign informed the press corps that the senator’s plane would not actually land in Davenport due to a heavy fog in the area that has also grounded most commercial flights.”It is my great honor to both introduce and endorse a man who’s destined to become the 44th president of the United States,” Gluba said to loud applause. He spoke about Obama’s character and what he would bring to the office of the presidency. About four minutes into the “introduction,” Gluba said, “Unfortunately I have good news this morning and bad news.”

The good news - a recent poll shows Obama will do better in a general election match-up than any other Democrat. “The bad news that I have to give you this morning, is because of the weather, Barack Obama won’t be able to make it here today,” he said as the crowd groaned. “The fog just makes it too dangerous for him to land,” he explained.

The voters I spoke with were mostly understanding. Davenport resident Bernie Leach had waited for Obama for more than two hours and explained, “I was very disappointed, but I’d rather have him safe.” Leach came with her 9-year-old granddaughter, Makala, who had spent an hour and a half making a sign that read, “I’d vote for Obama if I were 18.” Makala said she was excited to hear Obama “talk about how he’s going to help the world to make it a better place.” When she heard the bad news, her reaction was, “Oh, no!”

Obama took off from New Hampshire this morning to try to make the Davenport event, but was rerouted to Chicago. Both Davenport and the next event featuring undecided voters in Coralville, have been cancelled, and the senator will attempt to drive from Chicago to Washington, Iowa, where the last event of the day is being held. The campaign does intend on returning to Davenport before the caucuses next month.