Obama crashes Democrats' party

Our next president surprises crowds at the annual dinner in Asheville.

Barack Obama surprised more than 700 N.C. Democrats on Saturday night with an unscheduled appearance at the party's annual Vance-Aycock dinner.

“I hope you don't mind me crashing the party,” the Democratic presidential candidate told an enthusiastic crowd in a ballroom at the Grove Park Inn. He was greeted with a prolonged ovation and shouts of “Yes, we can!” Some people stood on chairs for a better view.

Obama arrived in Asheville for a rally this afternoon and two days of quiet preparation for Tuesday's debate against Republican John McCain. It's Obama's third visit to the state in two weeks.

He alluded to his success in the state's May primary, when he soundly defeated Hillary Clinton.

“People said, ‘What's he doing spending so much time in North Carolina?'” Obama said. “It turns out, the people of North Carolina decided they were going to lift up the Obama campaign.… Maybe we should just keep on coming to North Carolina.”

In remarks that lasted about 10 minutes, he gave a truncated version of the stump speech he delivered recently in Charlotte and Greensboro. He criticized the “failed policies” of the Bush administration, including a foreign policy he described as “talking tough but acting dumb.”

He promised to pull Americans together.

Joining Obama on the dais were Gov. Mike Easley and candidates for U.S. Senate, governor and other offices.

Introducing Obama, Easley took a veiled shot at McCain.

“It's one thing to be a maverick,” Easley said. “It's another to be a stubborn old mule.”

Obama is expected to stay in Asheville until Tuesday. Other than today's rally, he has no scheduled public events.