Day 80

9/28/10

"When the Leader of the Free World Speaks..."

I had what could be described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear the President of the United States give a speech on what is, most succinctly put as the UW-Madison's "quad", Library Mall. Sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, President Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of over 17,000 (with 26,500 total that tried to attend) on eliminating the "enthusiasm gap" for midterm elections. Prior to his speech, the bands, Mama Digdown's Brass Band (a New Orleans-style jazz band from Madison with amazing amazing horns), The National (an indie rock band that was on their way through on tour), and Ben Harper (acoustic musician with a reggae lean) took the stage, as well as politicians Tammy Baldwin, Russ Feingold, and Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett. Though obviously a rally to stir up votes for democrats this coming November, the speech was nonetheless amazing. President Obama is one of the greatest orators of our time, and you can't help but get chills when you hear him speak.

Click for a larger photo.

Note: I will upload more photos in the near future of the event. Though I was one of the first 50 in line for the speech, a large and dangerous rush for the entrance did occur and I was not nearly as close as many of my friends. However, I did get a good number of photos, so I hope these will impress someone.