Tales from the Trail

CASPER, Wyo. – The reliably Republican and sparsely populated state of Wyoming is unaccustomed to the kind of attention that U.S. presidential candidates lavish on politically fickle states like Ohio and New Hampshire. But every delegate counts in the long nomination battle between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

That means Wyoming, which holds a caucus on Saturday, is suddenly on the radar screens of both Democrats.

With Clinton also in the state on Friday, Obama stopped by Johnny J.’s diner in Casper to meet locals who gave him even more of the rock-star treatment than he usually receives.

“It’s Obama!” Kim Branson, 54, of Green River gushed as she watched the Illinois senator walk through the door. She and other patrons immediately opened their cellphones to call friends and family members to tell who they had just seen.

Branson, a Republican, said she is unlikely to vote for Obama but noted it’s rare for White House contenders, with their entourage of reporters and security officials, to descend on Wyoming.

“Regardless of your political affiliation, this is history,” she said.

But after shaking some hands, signing some baseball caps and ordering a vanilla shake and cheeseburger, Obama seemed for a few seconds to forget where he was.

“It’s really nice in Wisconsin,” he said. “And Wyoming.”

It was a faux pas but it might have also been something of a compliment. Obama has fond memories of Wisconsin, which he won handily last month.