I’ve been following the election closely, so imagine my surprise when I came to school this morning and learned Obama would be speaking at Fifth Third Field. But it just so happened that I had worked ahead on this week’s computer lesson, so it would only take me an hour to finish my class assignment.
I’d never been to a political rally, and I wasn’t able to see Obama when he’d been in town twice before. But this was a historical election, and if I had the chance it would be good to say that I just didn’t see history being made entirely from my television. At the very least, I’d have some sort of anecdote to share. “Ah, yes, I remember that chilly October morning when I saw Barack Obama speak at Fifth Third Field…”
However, I wondered if I would still be able to get there in time and get a good seat, or even get into the stadium. News reports have talked about the huge turnouts at Obama rallies, and there was some buzz at school about people standing in line overnight.
But Fifth Third Field was on the way home, and while driving through downtown it seemed that the event parking lots were still pretty empty, so I swung by the house to get my camera and returned downtown.
The field and lower level seats were reserved. I guess for campaign volunteers and donors and their family members. But I’d arrived early enough to find a good space between the upper level seats with a good view of the podium.
So I waited. And waited.
At one point the attendees in the upper level started doing the wave to pass the time. A woman nearby held up a sign that read: PALIN IS AN INSULT TO MY PITBULL. I spoke with a woman from Springfield and her husband. He worked at a factory I had worked at eight years ago. She was an Obama supporter from the beginning and he eventually came around.
The news channels harp about Obama’s difficulties reaching the older and working class whites. However, it was a very diverse audience, with a great many older whites in attendance. Instead of an Obamaniac rock concert or church revival atmosphere, there was more of a polite anticipation, which is to be expected from a concerned early morning crowd from an area facing an uncertain economic future.
Actually, if the media wanted to do a story about the differences between white and black voters at Obama rallies, they could focus on who buys the most Obama merchandise. I noticed many more black audience members wearing all sorts of Obama shirts compared to white audience members.
I didn’t realize how many speakers there are at these rallies even before the main speaker appears. The mayor and governor were among five speakers that spoke briefly and stressed the importance of getting out to vote this election. Then for twenty minutes or so campaign workers handed out stacks of CHANGE WE NEED signs to the people around the stage so there was a significant amount of blue surrounding the podium. I’d never thought of it before, but even if the rally were televised for only a few moments on CNN or MSNBC and later on the local news, a candidate surrounded by a crowd holding up several signs with his campaign message does carry visual impact.
Finally, about forty or so minutes later than he was scheduled to speak, Obama came out on stage to music and applause. There was a lot of echo at the beginning of the speech, and it was hard to hear him in the upper levels, but eventually the sound guys corrected the problem.
It was a good speech. When he talked about the current financial mess and people’s 401ks, someone yelled it was more like a 101K now. I particularly liked the part about bringing green technology to the area and incorporating existing facilities and businesses into a greener future.
After the speech, the lower levels emptied quickly, so I was able to walk down to the first row by the exit. I couldn’t spot him from a distance. However, his progress through the crowd was easy to follow just by watching the sudden clusters of raised cameras that would sprout up as well as the many outstretched arms holding out books and other pieces of paper for autographs. Or the babies that might be held or kissed.
One person had their little baby dressed in a cute pumpkin outfit. Maybe the costume was a deliberate way to get Obama’s attention, but it seemed to work because Obama held her when he came by. But, heck, I and other people around me cheered, “Hooray, the lucky pumpkin baby got to meet Obama.”
I wouldn’t be able to get a handshake or autograph, but I just wanted to get one good picture of him when he came nearby. However, the closer he got the more people squeezed in around me. At one point I just held up my camera like a submarine periscope and started clicking away. I have so many pictures that would have been good if someone’s hand or head didn’t just happen to be right front of Obama’s face.
A group of women around me had a plan to get him to look their way. “At the count of three, we’re going to yell, ‘We love you, Obama!’ to get him to look in our direction, okay?” Uh, no thanks, I thought.
Eventually, as he neared the exit, I did get one halfway decent picture.
And the group of women yelled, “Mr. President! Mr. President!”
And then when he was fifteen feet away, he looked in my and the group of women’s direction. I was fifteen feet away from this man who is making history.
And then he was gone. It was then that I wished I hadn’t been behind my camera so much trying to capture a memory or evidence of the event and just experienced what was going on around me. Maybe it would have been more significant. Or made my future anecdote more interesting.
Outside the stadium, there were still a large crowd though. The vendors were still going strong. “Obama t-shirts! Obama t-shirts!” one vendor yelled to the crowd. “Guaranteed to last eight years!”
