White House hopeful Barack Obama brought his motorcade to a halt Friday to dash out and buy a dozen white roses on his 16th wedding anniversary prior to a "romantic dinner" with wife Michelle.
Following a campaign rally, the lengthy convoy of police outriders, Secret Service cars, staff vans and press buses ground to a stop behind Obama's black-tinted SUV outside "Penny's Flowers."
The Democrat spent 20 minutes inside, chatting with shop employees, picking out the roses and making a short declaration to accompanying reporters welcoming the adoption in Congress of a financial rescue package.
"These are beautiful, I like the arrangement and everything, it looks nice," he told employee Mary Darcy after she handed him the roses arranged with baby's breath and wrapped in cellophane.
The 47-year-old presidential candidate planned to present the flowers to his wife ahead of their anniversary meal in Chicago Friday evening.
Outside the florists, Obama delighted onlookers waiting behind yellow police tape by stopping to shake hands before getting back in his Chevrolet Suburban.
But barely two minutes later, the motorcade had halted again with Obama unable to resist getting out to meet a crowd of young schoolchildren lined up at the roadside, screaming in delight at the candidate's unexpected arrival.
In Michigan on Thursday, the Illinois senator told supporters that he had "a gift all picked out" for his wife of 16 years.
He said he was looking forward to a "romantic dinner" -- although the attendant Secret Service agents, press pool and inevitable crowd of onlookers might spoil the intimacy.

上周五，美国（民主党）总统候选人巴拉克•奥巴马在忙碌的拉票途中抽出身来，在当地一家花店买了一束白玫瑰。当天正值奥巴马与妻子米歇尔16周年结婚纪念日，奥巴马打算在两人共进“浪漫晚餐”之前给妻子献上这束花。
在一场竞选造势活动结束后，奥巴马的黑色SUV率领着警车、特工车、竞选团队车和媒体大巴组成的车队停在“佩妮花屋”门前。
奥巴马在店里待了20分钟，他与店员小聊了几句，挑了束玫瑰，并向随行记者发表了一个简短声明，对国会众议院通过金融救助计划表示欢迎。
店员玛丽•达茜将一束点缀着满天星、用玻璃纸包好的白玫瑰交给奥巴马时，他说：“这束花太漂亮了，我喜欢它的设计和包装，看起来真不错。”
这位47岁的总统候选人打算当晚在芝加哥的结婚纪念晚餐前把这束花送给妻子。
走出花店后，奥巴马还与等候在黄色警戒线外的围观群众们亲切握手，之后便钻进了他的“雪佛兰巨无霸”。
但车队刚走了两分钟，又停了下来。因为奥巴马看到一群小学生排着队站在路边，正为他的意外到来开心地叫喊着，这让他不由地再次下车与孩子们见面。
上周四，这位伊利诺斯州议员在密歇根对支持者们说，他为妻子准备了“一份精心挑选的结婚纪念礼物”。
他说，他很期待与妻子共进“浪漫晚餐”——尽管现场会有特工、媒体和围观人群这么多的“灯泡”。