Obama Visits Southern Oregon

Well, hallelujah! I was one of the lucky few to get tickets to see Obama in Medford this morning. Thanks to the diligence of my lovely wife, Annie, scads of luck, and possibly some divine intervention, I was able to get a ticket about five minutes before they stopped distributing them. In fact, by the time I e-mailed the link to all y'all, they were already gone.

Obama was slated to speak at 9:30 a.m. and the doors of the venue opened at 7:30. William Machado and I decided to carpool and he, having learned that volunteers were being asked to arrive at 6 a.m., suggested we leave before six. Fearing the very real possibility of not getting in to the main room (which we were warned was a distinct possibility), I agreed. Fully prepared to park half a mile or more away, we left Ashland at 5:50 a.m. After a quick coffee stop at Human Bean, we hit the highway.

As it turned out, though, the parking situation wasn't that bad. We managed to find a spot a mere block away from the auditorium. A volunteer guided us around the outside of the building to the end of the line. There were already a few hundred people there, split into two lines: one for those of us with tix, one for those without. 

The already-ticketed line had only 200 or so people in it before we joined it, so we did alright. It was bone-chillingly cold out, but both of us were layered and the only part of me that felt the cold at all was my feet. Time passed surprisingly quickly as we talked to each other and fellow Obama fans. 

The feeling of the crowd was a muted excitement. Muted because it was goddamn early and fucking cold. A volunteer used his bull horn in an attempt to fire us up with campaign slogans (Fired Up? Ready To Go!), but most of us were only half-hearted in our replying chants. Again, not because anyone wasn't into it (to the contrary), but merely because it was so damn early and so damn cold. 

At about 7:45 or so the line began moving. It was slow, but steady movement, really well organized. We had to pass through metal detectors and gauntlets of security teams to enter the building. Think the airport but without having to take off your shoes and more agents. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been so happy to see so many cops, sheriffs, TSA, and Secret Service because, let's face it, there are still plenty of crazies out there who'd love to take out a black presidential candidate. (I'd heard that security was pretty lax in Dallas earlier this month and damn near hit the roof. This is not the time to be fucking around.)

Anyway, the energy was much higher once everyone was inside and warm. By the time Obama finally came out, we were all fairly amped. There was a surge of electricity in the room as he entered. The guy's definitely got charisma. I've never had the experience of actually feeling drawn to push through a crowd to shake a celebrity's hand or be closer to them, but today I felt it. (I didn't push through, of course, it would have been a futile effort.) 

After thanking the local pols and asking a retired general who's traveling with him to speak briefly, he got into the speech, which was his standard stump speech, one I've seen online, oh about 75 times now. But then, his standard stump speech is 100x better than the average one, so I didn't mind. Upon finishing the speech, he spent roughly 45 minutes answering questions from the audience. Then he ran out of time, thanked us and ended, shaking hands on his way out. 

Though there were another several hundred people outside the arena, leaving was nearly as easy as getting in. We had to go a bit out of our way to get to the car since the fastest route was blocked off for his motorcade, but it was no big deal. Then it was an easy couple of blocks to the main drag and back to the highway. (Thanks for driving, William!)  

All in all a fucking brilliant way to spend the morning. I just witnessed a piece of history up close and personal.

I'm now sitting at the Rogue Valley Roasting Company processing the experience. I've just finished cropping and editing some photos that I took. Here they are:

Shockingly, no one noticed that David Crosby was in the crowd—or is that Wilfred Brimley? (See arrow.)

Update: Click here for more on Obama in Medford. The page has great links to pics, vids, stories, and a local interview.