Oct. 2nd, 2014 03:12 pm
POTUS on campus
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muckefuckWe knew something was up when the helicopters starting arriving. Five of them (although many people missed the first, which was smaller and touched down only briefly before taking off again), including two huge black ones that made the building shake. I wasn't there to see it, though; this was Monday and I was showing around my 24-hour hire. But it all took place on the lakefront during lunch hour, so I had a steady stream of coworkers prevented from taking their daily constitutional returning and feeding me details.
The next day, we got confirmation of what we'd all suspected: President Obama was scheduled to give a speech on campus later in the week and that was a dry run. The subject was the economy, so the venue was the Kellogg School of Business. Naturally tickets were in short supply, so simulcasts were set up in various locations around campus.
This morning, the shuttle was diverted two blocks to the west. Every parking lot I passed was closed off and guarded by someone with dark glasses and a walkie-talkie. Now that I knew what to listen for, I went running outside at the first sounds of approaching aircraft. The lagoon was lined with people all craning for a view.
Many of the security detachment were screened from us by the trees, but we spotted a lone black-garbed cop cycling around on the lakefill. The gap at the far side of the trees began to fill up with silhouettes. Suddenly, the motorcade began heading out. We were taken aback by the number of vehicles: at least a dozen, mostly white vans.
I ate my lunch and then headed to a room on the first floor, where I found the President's speech already in progress. Despite his protestations, it was a campaign speech after all, but a good one. I met it with cynicism, but I found myself choked up in a couple places and ready to laugh or cheer in others. About halfway through, I sniffed inwardly Course he won't mention immigration. Ten minutes later, he mentioned immigration. He spoke surprisingly forcefully about increasing the minimum wage. Best of all, he rejected trickle-down theory out of hand, challenging anyone in his audience to produce empirical data of its effectiveness.
Afterwards, I rushed out again to watch the Executive Flight Detachment of Marine Helicopter Squadron One take off again. As the huge black military machines swung overhead, I thought for a moment about the hundreds of thousands of people in this world for whom this sight would be terror-inducing rather than awe-inspiring. Then I joined my colleagues and made jests about going out to search for souvenirs and declaring this "Obama Day" in perpetuity, to be celebrated with doughnuts on the shore of the lagoon.
The next day, we got confirmation of what we'd all suspected: President Obama was scheduled to give a speech on campus later in the week and that was a dry run. The subject was the economy, so the venue was the Kellogg School of Business. Naturally tickets were in short supply, so simulcasts were set up in various locations around campus.
This morning, the shuttle was diverted two blocks to the west. Every parking lot I passed was closed off and guarded by someone with dark glasses and a walkie-talkie. Now that I knew what to listen for, I went running outside at the first sounds of approaching aircraft. The lagoon was lined with people all craning for a view.
Many of the security detachment were screened from us by the trees, but we spotted a lone black-garbed cop cycling around on the lakefill. The gap at the far side of the trees began to fill up with silhouettes. Suddenly, the motorcade began heading out. We were taken aback by the number of vehicles: at least a dozen, mostly white vans.
I ate my lunch and then headed to a room on the first floor, where I found the President's speech already in progress. Despite his protestations, it was a campaign speech after all, but a good one. I met it with cynicism, but I found myself choked up in a couple places and ready to laugh or cheer in others. About halfway through, I sniffed inwardly Course he won't mention immigration. Ten minutes later, he mentioned immigration. He spoke surprisingly forcefully about increasing the minimum wage. Best of all, he rejected trickle-down theory out of hand, challenging anyone in his audience to produce empirical data of its effectiveness.
Afterwards, I rushed out again to watch the Executive Flight Detachment of Marine Helicopter Squadron One take off again. As the huge black military machines swung overhead, I thought for a moment about the hundreds of thousands of people in this world for whom this sight would be terror-inducing rather than awe-inspiring. Then I joined my colleagues and made jests about going out to search for souvenirs and declaring this "Obama Day" in perpetuity, to be celebrated with doughnuts on the shore of the lagoon.
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