Abu Nour, the silver-haired Iraqi manager of the hotel where our Baghdad bureau is located, made a confession over dinner tonight.

Deep down, Abu Nour said, he's an Obama man.

He admires the presidential candidate's temperament, youth and intellectualism, though he conceded that Hillary is mounting a good challenge with her tough exterior and political experience. Still, if Abu Nour were a betting man, his money would be on McCain.

"McCain is kind of rigid, and he's old," Abu Nour, 61, said between swigs of beer topped with cumin, which he swears by as a home remedy for his finicky insides. "But I don't believe that Americans would elect Hillary because she's a woman. And they won't elect Obama because he's, uh, well, because of his African heritage."

"So, the Americans will elect McCain, and that's OK with me because at least that means they'll finish what they started here in Iraq," Abu Nour concluded with a laugh. His two sons, who accuse their father of being too pro-Western, exchanged amused glances. It seemed that, unlike their dad, they favored the candidate who could deliver the speediest end to the 5-year-old U.S. military occupation of their country.

All this political talk was prompted by McCain's surprise visit to Baghdad today. Writing about the candidate's arrival had made us late for the sumptuous dinner Abu Nour had laid out downstairs in the hotel's fancy restaurant, which has been shuttered for at least two years. Before the war, it had been one of the swankiest places in town, Abu Nour recalled, boasting that even foreign diplomats had to call days in advance for reservations. There were wedding parties every week and it was a popular meeting point for senior members of the former regime.

Tonight, the restaurant was open only for this private dinner and it had the feel of an abandoned movie set. The long banquet tables were coated with layers of dust, there was no atmospheric background music and piles of the good silverware sat unused in a corner. Abu Nour said the hotel's wealthy owners had taken the pricey artwork off the walls and stashed it, leaving only a few framed tapestries and some uninspiring still-life paintings.

If the venue was depressing, the spread more than made up for it. Abu Nour had ordered the cook, his 18-year-old nephew, to prepare a smorgasbord of Iraqi grilled fish called mazgouf, tasty kebabs, several kinds of salads and tart Iraqi pickles. Perhaps as a nod to his American guests, Abu Nour also served a platter of fried chicken. As far as I know, there's never been a KFC in Baghdad, yet Iraqi menus always label fried chicken as simply "Kentucky."

As it happens, my colleague Steve Lannen of McClatchy's Lexington, Ky., paper is here on his first Baghdad rotation and joined us for dinner. Abu Nour perked up when he heard where Steve works and asked a question that appeared to have been on his mind for some time.

"So tell me, Steve," Abu Nour said in Arabic, speaking slowly so our Iraqi colleagues could translate. "That old man on the Kentucky Fried Chicken signs. Is his last name Kentucky or is that just where he's from?"