COLUMBUS, Ohio — At a time when the campaign events seem tired and the speeches all sound the same, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney pulled a trick out of his sleeve at his last Ohio rally at Landmark Aviation in Columbus. The former governor had his plane driven right into the middle of the event.
At the first deafening notes of “Fanfare for the Common Man,” the crowd began to cheer. The decibel level rose even higher when the hangar doors opened and the audience could see the Romney plane pulling into the rally.
When the Romneys stepped out of the plane the music switched to Romney’s campaign anthem, Kid Rock’s “Born Free.”
While it is not new for Romney to hold campaign rallies at or near airports across the country — or to pull his plane up to the doors of an event for effect — this arrival held the unique flair to be expected of Romney’s final Ohio event. Ann Romney got choked up as she began her talk, saying it was moving to receive such a rousing welcome from Ohio.
Throughout the rally the crowd of approximately 10,000 people was unusually vocal, loudly cheering after nearly every line of Romney’s stump speech — and loudly booing at any reference of President Barack Obama.
The Romney campaign estimated another 2,000 people were turned away from the packed event.
The entire event felt electric, perhaps signaling good things for Romney in Ohio tomorrow.
