Live Presidents

On Saturday Hayden and I went to a campaign rally for Obama in Bristow, VA. With just 3 days til the 2012 presidential election, I was excited to finally have a chance to see president Obama speak in person. As a bonus, Bill Clinton introduced him. Also there was Tim Kaine, former governor and current senate candidate and slightly oddly, Dave Matthews.

Dave sang a few songs which were forgettable save his incredible voice. Tim came out and if I were being honest he cast a bit of a "they made me run" vibe.

Then Bill. Oh Bill! He was hoarse as hell from trotting across the country campaigning like crazy. Even without a voice, the man could talk. In hindsight and reflecting on both men's styles, Clinton speaks like you are sitting next to him at a picnic, both of you munching on BBQ ribs shooting the shit. In a hoarse but pronounced southern draw he declared "when I was a little boy my grandmother  told me not to get caught with my hands in the cookie jar. Mitt Romney not only gets caught (pause to chuckle to himself) with his hand in the cookie jar, but he digs it in farther desperately seeking more cookies." Woo hoo! He had the crowd in his palm. All of us in the freezing cold Virginia night loved Bill Clinton.

Then the big moment...even though people say Clinton is a tough act to follow, actually waiting for a glimpse of Obama was bigger. He literally sprinted onto the stage and everyone went nuts. He had an uncharacteristically frenzied and infectious bound to him as he approached the mic. Maybe I was inadvertently swept into the moment because he entered to U2's song "City of Blinding Lights." 

He gave a speech that was at once different and complementary to Clinton's. To Clinton's folksiness, Obama offered the unmistakable air of a sitting president. He preached to us like he understood his job is to tend to us in the thousands. It was not intimate, but it was awesome. He boomed his familiar campaign speech across the outdoor amphitheater. Though familiar it felt invigorated. Perhaps it was the final days of the campaign. He used a new talking point about being merely a prop in this great campaign that he said was up to us. He reiterated the promise to work for all and that it was an American imperative to support each other. My God, how could the other side not agree with this?! He captivated us with his preaching. We were truly his lambs.

We had to drive an hour outside of DC. We then had to wait in a line for two hours that snaked through a seemingly endless parking lot where the temperature dipped into the low 40s. At one stage in the line I joked to Hayden that Obama was losing votes with such inhumane conditions.

All was forgotten as the sense of history superseded petty complaints. It was Obama's history, on the eve of a victory that seemed impossible to halt (indeed he was victorious). And it was my history too, because I knew standing in the cold, in my platform boots, leaning on Hayden for warmth that I would remember this moment for the rest of my life. This was the moment I finally heard Obama speak and Clinton too. And it was awesome.