Obama eBay auction hits a snag

Has Obama-mania reached a new high - or low?

After Barack Obama breakfasted at the Glider Diner in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a loyal customer of the diner asked owner Charles LeStrange if he could have the Senator's Obama's half-eaten waffle and sausage.

He then put the leftovers, complete with cutlery and plate up for auction on eBay with the note that money raised from the sale of Senator Obama's breakfast would "go to Hillary for President!!!! Haha.", according to a blog on the Scranton Times-Tribune website.

By 2.45pm Tuesday (US eastern time) the half-eaten meal, which was wrapped in plastic and frozen soon after Senator Obama finished with it, had reached $US20,100 after 36 bids.

When the Glider Diner began receiving negative calls, Mr LeStrange asked Mr Oakes to take the food auction down from the auction website .

"It had nothing to do with him (M. LeStrange), but everyone was blaming him. So we took it down," Mr Oakes told the Scranton.

"We put it up there because we figured people are nuts and they might go crazy with it. And guess what? They did," Mr. Oakes said.

But he said the funds would not have gone to just Senator Clinton's campaign.

The auction money would have been donated to either the Democratic Party or be split between both the Clinton and Obama campaigns.

Mr Oakes said he isn't sure what he will do with the leftovers now.

- © Fairfax NZ News