Safety Harbor Resident Endures Heckling For Obama Support

A man holding a large "Obama" sign on a main road on Election Day is going to draw some attention.

But Mike Shaw, a Safety Harbor resident and self-proclaimed "American success story," said he will put up with the negative comments and snarky catcalls from passersby in order to show his support for his candidate, President Barack Obama.

"Things were going pretty good until she got here," Shaw said of a woman who was harassing him outside of the Cypress Meadows Community Church precinct on McMullen Booth Road.

"Some people have been thumbs up, some thumbs down. But it's a 50-50 state, so that's to be expected."

Shaw, who parlayed a Pell grant and the support of his single mother into a lucrative career and comfortable life, says he believes he wouldn't be where he is today if not for the current president.

"I think Obama is doing a good job," he admitted. "There's signs the economy is turning around. I'm making more money than I made four years ago, my company has hired 38 new employees this year, and my friends' business is thriving."

While the heckler was telling Shaw that he took handouts from the government to get where he is today, he shrugged that accusation off.

"When people need help, they can get it. But I pay taxes and I've paid all my loans off," said Shaw, who owns an electrical engineering degree, an MBA in marketing and two homes. "I'm a true American success story."