So The Husband and I, having scored a pair of tickets (which were free by the way) to see Barack Obama, set off to Charlotte yesterday to catch him in action. We were very much looking forward to this "town hall" meeting; this was not the usual pep rally but instead a small venue seating less than 3000 people, the idea being that the audience could ask him questions one-on-one. We were curious - would he be the charismatic rock star we had seen on the telly? Or would he be the somber history-maker we had watched the day before as he gave his groundbreaking speech on race relations in the US?
Well, first we had to get in the damn place. I have to say I was extremely impressed with the organization. Even though the line stretched for what seemed like miles, there were Obama people every twenty yards making sure people had their tickets and explaining what we had to do to get through the Secret Service security checks (think airport minus taking off the shoes thank the Lord).
The crowd was a mix of young and old, black, white and latino, male and female and we were all pretty friendly; there was a lot of chatting going on between complete strangers, which was fun. For example, this is Audra (standing next to The Husband). She is a fervent Obama supporter who was playing hooky from work and told her boyfriend that she would "freak out" if she got the chance to shake Obama's hand, which seemed to slightly alarm him. She very graciously bought me an Obama button and insisted I keep it. Which I did.
This lone Hillary Clinton supporter spent at least an hour walking back and forth waving her sign at those of us in the line, which I thought took a lot of guts. I am pleased to report people clapped and cheered for her in good humor as she wandered around.
Amazingly, the crowd was all in the arena before the announced start time. People amused themselves doing The Wave (which I loathe personally and remained stubbornly in my seat with my arms folded firmly) and chanting "Yes, we can" over and over and over as a way to hurry things up and lure him out, I guess.
Thankfully, Senator Obama's arrival was finally announced (three minutes late, not too shabby) and with the deafening roar of the crowd no doubt ringing painfully in his ears, he at last took the stage. He gave about a twenty minute speech and then opened up the floor to questions from the audience. They ranged from questions regarding his positions on Nafta, abortion and sex ed, Darfur, the Iraq war, black on black crime in our communities and yes, The Speech.
I can't tell you exactly what he said, but I can tell you this. The man clearly knows his stuff. He certainly proved without a doubt - to me anyway - that he can be as wonky as any decent politician should be as he answered some lady's very detailed question regarding a Bill that he is currently sponsoring in the Senate. I dunno what it was, as I mentally zoned out to take pictures of Anderson Cooper who was watching from the back of the arena. He's a pretty good looking fella, this picture doesn't do him justice.
But back to Barack! Senator Obama is extremely witty and engaging. He comes across as a very warm and real human being, as someone who is saying exactly what he really thinks and not what he thinks he should say because the opinion polls are up or down. A cynic might say that's what makes him such an excellent politician, I suppose.
But he seemed pretty fearless. For example, in answering a question about education, he pointed out that No Child Left Behind wasn't working as intended (crowd grumbles with agreement, yes it sucks) and that teachers should get more pay (hooray, lots of crowd cheering), while at the same time tasking the teacher's union to stop blocking ways to get useless teachers out of the system (hmm no cheering, not quite crickets and tumbleweed, but close. The teacher's union must be strong in Charlotte).
What impressed me the most was his ability to logically tie together every topic and policy he was asked about into a coherent overall governmental plan and explain how education, poverty, the economy, the environment, the war, ad nauseam, were not stand-alone issues separate from one another but intricately linked to each other and the most important link in all that is us the American people. He did this extemporaneously, on the hoof, no teleprompters, no notes, nothing.
It is true what the pundits say, he is an extremely inspirational speaker and it's very difficult not to get caught up in it all. As he left the stage, he was totally swamped by the ecstatic crowd and stayed there for a good forty-five minutes talking to people.
But underneath all the speechifying it seemed obvious, at least to me, that he has a first class mind that remains pragmatic and realistic about how much hard work it would take to implement all these great ideas. And he freely admits that he's not perfect, that he will make mistakes, and that he will do things that people will disagree with. I find it refreshing to hear a politician admit to all that. Of course, I went into the whole shebang liking him already, so I am clearly biased.
The Husband, on the other hand, is a hard core Republican who has never voted for a Democrat in his entire life (Jesus, he voted for Bush, twice. I try not to think about it for the sake of marital harmony). So what was his opinion? Well, he was completely and utterly converted. He thinks Obama "has the vision this country needs right now before it's too late for us all". He has become one of those fabled "Obamacans" you hear about on the telly all the time. He even bought a Obama '08 t-shirt on the way out! I was - and remain - utterly amazed and gratified at this most unexpected turn of events and that pretty much sums up my feelings for the entire trip.
I can't wait to see how this primary and election will play out.
