Doris Smith went downtown early Monday to see about getting tickets to Barack Obama’s rally. Advance seats were sold out, she said, and the only option was to stand in line for up two hours or more and hope for the best.

Disappointed, she decided instead to go for breakfast _ and walked right into Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign stop.

“Oh, I didn’t want to do this,” Smith said, embarrassed, wearing an Obama T-shirt as Clinton walked into the restaurant. “I didn’t know she was going to be here.”

At Tudor’s Biscuit World, you can get just about anything on a biscuit. The Thundering Herd is a biscuit sandwich with sausage, egg and potatoes. The Peppi comes with pepperoni and cheese. Try the fried apple on a biscuit, the regulars said.

Clinton, however, passed up the biscuit counter. She signed autographs and posed for pictures with the mostly older clientele who gathered for a late Monday morning breakfast.

Smith, who lives in nearby Institute, said she liked Clinton but prefers Obama.

“We’ve got to get the Republicans out of there,” she said.

As Clinton left the building, Smith stepped up to shake her hand. She told the candidate that getting a Democrat in office was her priority.

“It’s been too long since we have,” Clinton agreed, touching Smith’s shoulder gently, and smiling.

___

Compiled by Matt Apuzzo