By STEVE EIGHINGER

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Barack Obama may not have won any additional votes, but the Democratic presidential candidate earned both admiration and respect for his unscheduled, hands-on appearance Saturday afternoon in Quincy.

The Illinois senator "blew up his original schedule," according to a source close to the Obama campaign, so he could come to Quincy and survey the damage already done and get a better grip on what is waiting to arrive in the coming days.

Mayor John Spring confirmed that Obama "had scrapped his plans" to make a special trip to Quincy. Obama also has visited the devastation in Iowa that he referred to as an "unimaginable disaster."

"This flood has no partisanship. This is everybody," Spring said. "(Obama) has been to Quincy seven times, and he knows this area. He loves Quincy, and he knows this is a major disaster waiting to happen. I can't tell you how impressed I am that he came -- he wanted to know what is going on."

Dave Ripper, a local Republican precinct committeeman, also said this is a time when politics are put aside.

"I may get in trouble with my fellow Republicans, but I respect (Obama) for taking the time to come to Quincy at a time like this," Ripper said.

The Rev. James Hailey III of Bethel AME Church had a chance to shake Obama's hand and have a short conversation with him.

"As a citizen of Quincy, this meant a lot for someone like him to be here before the disaster strikes," Hailey said. "I count him being here as a blessing."

Obama made a plea in front of national and local television cameras for volunteers to come out and help fight the flood.

'"Age is no barrier to volunteer," he said.

Obama said he was devastated by what he had seen in Iowa cities that have been ravaged by the flooding.

"It is imperative to get recovery efforts ready to hit the ground once the (weather) subsides," he said. "We cannot have another New Orleans."

Paul Luhn of the Salvation Army served food to volunteers inside the Oakley-Lindsay Center as Obama met and talked with Quincyans only a few yards away.

"We are here to try and meet human needs in God's name, and that is what we are trying to do," said Luhn, while serving a group of Menonites who had come from Clark, Mo., to assist the effort. The group had been in Wisconsin last week helping a flood recovery effort there.

Numerous local merchants are helping with supplying sandbagging volunteers with ice, water, food and various supplies.

Among those making major contributions have been Niemann Foods, Hy-Vee, Kohl's Wholesale, Burger King, Refreshments Services Pepsi, Premium Water, Ilmo Propane, Home Depot, Big Lots, Dollar General, Prairie Farms and the Rinella Company.

More than 40,000 sandbags were filled Friday by volunteers at the OLC, with another 80,000 filled Saturday, according to Rob Ebbing, executive director of the center.

"We filled 3 million used during the flood of 1993," he said. "So we have a ways to go."

-- seighinger@whig.com/221-3377