Ann Romney visits Daytona Beach school

24/7 Internet newspaper denied access

Pool photos provided by Daytona Beach News-Journal / Ann Romney reads to unidentified children Thursday morning at Inspirations Learning Center in Daytona Beach. 

DAYTONA BEACH --  Ann Romney visited a beachside school this morning, to the delight of the children and excitement of the personnel there.

Romney visited Inspirations Learning Center,where she met with children and staff there in a brief visit before continuing on to a "Victory Rally" at Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center in St. Augustine and then David's Real Pit BBQ in Gainesville. 

Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan were here with a contingent of Republican Party officials for a rally Friday night at the Bandshell that drew 10,000 people. Romney's visit coincided with Biketoberfest with tens of thousands of bikers in greater Daytona for the four-day rally that ended Sunday.

Headline Surfer was granted full media coverage like the daily newspaper. The 24/7 Internet newspaper was able to report the event on its own terms with no restrictions on reporting what was said. When Headline Surfer appealed to the Romney camp, the senior advisor said there was nothing he could do and hung up.

News-Journal front page has Ann RomneyNews-Journal given exclusive rights to cover Ann Romney visitThe Daytona Beach News-Journal had a story and photos published on its online edition at 11:48 a.m. on Ann Romney's Daytona visit to a beachside school as it had the media pool assiognment and shared information with Headline Surfer. Central Florida News 13 had the video pool and shared its resources with the 24/7 internet newspaper as well.

Editor's Note: Headline Surfer received the following feed from the News-Journal written by Staff Writer Derek Catron.

DAYTONA BEACH -- For about 20 minutes Thursday, the ideological differences of a relentless presidential campaign were forgotten, and Ann Romney asked a room full of children to imagine a better place -- a country not divided by red states and blue states, but an ocean where all fish (and the occasional Zans) could swim together.

She was reading Dr. Seuss' ``One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.'' As one campaign staffer put it, this was Romney's chance to take a break from the campaign trail and ``play grandma.''

Romney's visit to Inspirations Learning Center in Daytona Beach came less than a week after husband Mitt Romney came to the Bandshell for a Republican rally with running mate Paul Ryan. Plenty more Florida visits are being scheduled by both Romney and President Barack Obama's campaigns as they pursue Florida's 29 electoral votes, but it's doubtful any will draw as many laughs as Thursday morning's event.

It was a low-key visit, lasting about 20 minutes, yet that was enough to draw several Obama supporters, who lined Peninsula Drive north of the school and waved signs of support as the Romney bus departed.

The Democrats weren't protesting Ann Romney so much as using her visit as an opportunity to show support for their candidate, said Deborah Converse, a retired teacher from Daytona Beach. She found it ironic Romney chose to visit a preschool, when she fears such programs would face cuts under a Romney presidency.

``We're all supporting the president, so we try to get out and make our presence known,'' Converse said after the bus and most of the Democrats had departed.

In turn, the Democrats' presence brought out a few Republicans. ``We wanted her to know there was support for her,'' said Lynda Kroeger, president of the Republican Club of Daytona Beach.