From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate

Sen. Barack Obama’s half-eaten waffle and sausage link are still sitting in a freezer at John Oakes’ home, but their online image has taken on a life of its own, attracting profiteers and inspiring artists.  Mr. Oakes, a loyal customer of the Glider Diner in Scranton, convinced the diner’s owner, Charles LeStrange, to bequeath to him any leftovers of Mr. Obama’s meal when he passed through Monday morning. The Chinchilla man was expecting to get a good laugh out of putting the leftover waffle and sausage link — along with a plate and silverware Mr. Obama used — up for auction Monday on eBay. What Mr. Oakes and the Glider Diner got were a flood of negative comments on the auction Web site and a high bid of $20,100 for the collector’s item, which led Mr. LeStrange to ask him to take the auction down.  [Times-Tribune]

School administrators who suspended two Scranton High School students who skipped class Monday to meet Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama were acting in accordance with district policy, Assistant Superintendent William King said Tuesday. But 18-year-old Colin Saltry claims an administrator also forced him to resign as senior class president. Mr. Saltry and senior Joey Daniel admitted they skipped their gym class Monday after seeing Mr. Obama’s motorcade heading toward the Glider Diner, where he made an impromptu breakfast stop. Mr. Obama signed excuse slips for them to show their teachers when they returned. Instead, both students were called to the office Monday afternoon and suspended for one day because they left school grounds. Mr. Saltry, meanwhile, said he accepted the suspension as a consequence of breaking the rules, and said it was worth it to meet the presidential candidate. But Mr. Saltry said he wasn’t expecting to be told to “start writing his resignation letter” after school administrators suspended him. [Times-Tribune] Editor’s Note: These students should be praised for their interest in politics. Instead, they are punished. Ridiculous.

Senator Barack Obama will hold a town hall meeting in Dunmore on Tuesday.  The meeting will be held at the Dunmore Community Center, 1414 Monroe Ave. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are free and can be obtained at Lackawanna County’s Obama campaign headquarters, 114 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, on Sunday, from 1 to 10 p.m., and on Monday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama’s bus tour will be stopping in Scranton on April Fools’ Day, a city official confirmed.  Tuesday’s visit will come on the fifth day of the Democratic presidential candidate’s six-day tour across the state, which the campaign has dubbed “Road to Change.” He is expected during the tour to discuss the need to create jobs, improve schools and make health care available to every American.  [Times-Tribune]

The Washington Post covers Barack’s speech at the Irish Society of Women dinner.  [Washington Post]

Democratic contenders Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) will participate in MTV’s Choose or Lose campaign via a discussion with young Iraq war veterans on the fifth anniversary of the war.  Clinton and Obama will not appear together. Rather, each candidate will talk to the same eight veterans: Chris Weimer, Ernest Johnson, Ryan Groves, Max Nitze, Wendell Guillermo, Jessica McDermott, Christina Correa and Herold Noel.  Obama’s portion of the event is being taped Monday in Scranton, while Clinton will meet with the veterans Tuesday in Lancaster.  [BroadcastNewsroom]

Last week it was Senator Hillary Clinton, today Senator Barack Obama is in Scranton, making two campaign stops. The first stop after arriving at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport was downtown Scranton and Whistles Pub, where the senator was greeted with a smattering of cheers. He offered a quick wave before walking inside the bar for a scheduled round-table discussion with Iraq war veterans. The event is sponsored by MTV. The senator is also slated to be the keynote speaker at the Society of Irish Women dinner at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station later this evening.

The Huffington Post has a funny article about the many hometowns of Hillary.  [Huffington Post]

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Democratic presidential candidate New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, will campaign in Scranton later today. Ms. Clinton will appear at her mother’s downtown Scranton headquarters, 222 Wyoming Ave. The event is billed as the official grand opening of the headquarters, which has actually been open for more than a week. [The Citizens Voice]