Saturday, March 20, 2010

"Mr. President, We've Got Your Back."

Thanks to my buddy Tobin Van Ostern at C-Prog (that's right y'all, C-Prog), I scored two VIP tickets to President Obama's youth rally at the Patriot Center at GMU in Fairfax.  These tickets afforded me a spectacular view from the floor, roughly 30 feet from where the President was speaking.  The location had special symbolic importance for Mr. Obama; more than three years ago in February of 2007, a mere three weeks after launching his then long-shot presidential campaign, Senator Obama arrived at GMU to kickoff the Students For Barack Obama movement. He spoke to a full crowd about the need for health care reform and student loan reform, two initiatives he is poised to sign into law in the coming days as President of the United States.  When he returned to GMU yesterday he was met with a raucous crowd of diverse supporters ready for some special presidential treatment. Below is his fiery speech in which he declares the time for reform is now; only this time, now may be closer than ever before:

A few notes: Behind and to the upper right of the President is my dad, the brown guy in the gray shirt! Also, pay close attention to the 2:43 mark, as a certain someone fills a pregnant pause in the president's speech with a resounding rallying cry:



A few photos, none of which came out well at all:





After the speech the President shook hands with supporters in the front row. When he approached my side I shouted out a line that I've always thought I'd tell him if ever given the chance.  Among a crowd of college kids, senior citizens, blacks, whites, and browns, I said, "Mr. President, we've got your back."  He looked up at me while grabbing for my hand and said, simply and sincerely, "Thank you."


Pee Ess: To close out the day, I learned that my sister and cousin met Kim Kardashian, Timbaland, and in what was clearly the biggest get for my new celeb status family, Dwayne Wade's brother AND father in Miami. We're fabufamous!


Step into the rain: secondrain.blogspot.com

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