BY BETH REINHARD
Some say that before Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama sets foot in Florida in a couple of weeks, he needs to make a full-throated call for the national party to count the state's delegates at the nominating convention.
But after watching him boycott the nation's largest battleground state for nine months and dismiss our presidential primary as meaningless, I'm looking for more than lip service.
I want poolside service -- and I like my margaritas on the rocks with salt.
After watching him bowl (badly), play basketball (not quite as badly) and drink beer at a sports bar to show that he's down with voters in Pennsylvania and Indiana, Florida's neglected electorate deserves some presidential pandering of our own.
(Not that spending time in a state necessarily guarantees results. Just ask Rudy Giuliani, who all but set up camp in the Everglades but still got crushed in the Jan. 29 Republican primary.)
Obama's campaign expects him to claim a majority of pledged delegates after the May 20 primaries in Kentucky and Oregon, so what better way to begin his Florida trip the following day than with a celebratory, ``I'm going to Disney World!''
I'd like to see the polished senator in full-on Disney drag, complete with Mickey Mouse ears and a Daffy Duck rain poncho. Extra brownie points if he wears those plastic Disney Crocs where the holes on top are shaped like Mickey heads.
Naturally, a candidate who thinks the United States should be talking to Raúl Castro of Cuba and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran would want a photo op on It's a Small World. He could also swing by the Hall of Presidents to see if there's room for his portrait next to George W. Bush.
Next stop: Calle Ocho in Little Havana.
If Hillary Clinton can knock back a shot of Crown Royal and chase it with a beer to prove she understands blue-collar America, Obama can certainly sip a cafecito out of a tiny paper cup. Again, I expect him to look the part by trading his suit and tie for a guayabera when he makes the pilgrimage to the Versailles coffee window.
Of course, no Democrat can come to South Florida without paying respects to Broward County's politically influential ''condo commandos.'' Picture Obama on the shuffleboard court, in the card room and on the putting green. Other politicians can get away with just bringing bagels and coffee cake, but after all the time he stayed away from Florida, we're expecting lox platters.
For Obama to show he understands the woes of Florida commuters, we offer this choice: a trip from downtown Miami to the Urban Development Boundary at rush hour, or a ride on Tri-Rail after millions of dollars in state budget cuts have wreaked havoc with the train schedule. Nothing says ''The Audacity of Hope'' like navigating the Palmetto Expressway at 5:15 p.m. with a fender bender on the side of the road.
And finally, to soak up Florida's political climate, Obama should make the rounds in the state Capitol in Tallahassee.
He needs to check out the solar panels heating the pool at Gov. Charlie Crist's mansion, sneer at the lobbyists wringing their hands over $5 billion in budget cuts and ponder the value of proposed legislation banning lewd truck accessories.
As a farewell gesture to outgoing House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami, we'll also expect him to thoroughly digest his trademarked 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future.
And yes, there will be a pop quiz.
Beth Reinhard is the political writer for The Miami Herald
