Today I changed my socks... tomorrow too!

(And the crowd goes wild!!)

by John McCormick

DALLAS – It's probably safe to say that you have arrived as a politician when your audience applauds when you blow your nose. Yes, just a day before a debate in Texas, Sen. Barack Obama has a head cold.

And about a half-hour into a speech here, the Illinois Democrat announced that he had to take a quick break. "Gotta blow my nose here for a second," Obama said.

Out came a Kleenex (or perhaps it was a hankie), and he wiped his nose. The near-capacity audience at the Reunion Arena, which his campaign said totaled 17,000, broke out in a slightly awkward applause.