Monterey CA - Feb 13, 2012
As Rick Santorum surged in the polls, and with voters in recent primaries, there was a curious conjunction of stellar Republican dignitaries here on the Monterey Peninsula. The area was busy with the recent Pro-Am Golf tournament at Pebble Beach, where former president George Bush (Jr) was seen in attendance and at local area restaurants. Curiously, Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was also in town, though on no official business. The candidate's itinerary had "no scheduled events" for Feb 11 or 12, yet he flew here to Monterey and over-nighted Sunday evening...And Bush was in town... Humm...
Romney reportedly stayed at the swank Portola Plaza in the Fisherman's Wharf area of Monterey and was up early to get to the airport for a flight to Phoenix scheduled to leave at 6:00 am. His schedule for February 13 showed one event, hosting a rally at Mesa Amphitheater in Arizona. So one is understandably curious as to why Romney was in town here on Sunday?
Even more curious was the sudden emergency at the hotel at 7:30 am on Monday morning when employees began to get sick. Apparently, the hotel was threatened by a "chlorine like gas," and over 200 guests were immediately evacuated, with 30 hospitalized.
Romney left just hours before the gas outbreak, which was attributed to hotel employees mixing two common household cleaning chemicals together. Was this a first for these employees? They would have been using these products for years, right? Why today, early in the morning, on a night when Romney was known to be in the hotel, would this mishap mysteriously occur?
And just why was Romney in town in the first place? The Pro-Am Golf tournament was over Sunday afternoon. When asked about this the "a hotel spokesperson declined to say why Romney was in Monterey." A casual observer might say...Gee...Romney makes an unscheduled stop in Monterey, where former President Bush happens to be vacationing. I wonder why? Might he have been courting an endorsement? A Bush endorsement in 2002 was instrumental in Romney's early political career, though candidates have not openly courted him this year...for obvious reasons. There was no confirmation as to whether the two men met.
