Bonus Photos: When the Leader of the Free World Speaks... 9/28

Alright everyone. I'm gonna try something a little different with this blog post. I'll write a little bit about each photo before the photo so you can get a sense of what's going on, instead of trying to come up with a crummy title for each. As always, you can get a much much better look at the images by just CLICKING ON THEM! Do it! Its worth it, I promise!


My friend Ibby had a bunch of friends from the radio station show up to stand in line with us, and then more of their friends showed up too. To pass the time we sung theme songs for TV shows and other songs, like "Lean on Me," during which, I definitely sang harmony and bass.

Here's my friend Molly (redhead on the right with the goofy look on her face) watching JDante conduct the singing of any song we knew at least (and generally not more than) one verse of, to pass the time.

After a scary stampede into Library Mall, we all fought for a position where we could best see the President when he spoke.

The stands in the back were empty, but soon filled by a hundred or so students in red, serving as a "Wisconsin" backdrop for the event.

Abraham Lincoln made an appearance. Hey Abe!

This guy was pretty red, but his hat's pins showed him to be pretty blue at heart (politics pun!).

Mama Digdown's Brass Band played some good New Orleans jazz tunes to get the crowd excited. They were pretty awesome.

A view of everyone listening to the music. Quite a few people here! 17,000? Yeah, but 90% of them were behind us.

The National took the stage, playing a few acoustic tunes with some good baritone vocals.

Secret Service's elite Counter Sniper Unit on the roof of Memorial Library, with one of their helicopters in the background circling before the President arrives.

More of the Counter Sniper Unit and the helicopter.

The National. Now with more trombone!

Who's excited to see Ben Harper? That guy!

Ben Harper took to the stage and sang "With My Own Two Hands". Its a great song, so look it up on YouTube or something.

Ben Harper playing a bit more music.

 He was really getting into the music.

And here he gets down with the guitar a little bit more.

Some excitement for someone coming on to stage!

Who could be on stage causing this much excitement?

The President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

 The President spoke for around 45-50 minutes, and it hardly felt like ten. He's that good of a speaker.

The President looking us in the eyes and trying to prove a point.

More of the speech and a lot sign to make sure people Vote 2010.

Heres a little of the crowd behind me.

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.

Day 79

9/27/10

"Presidential Preparations"

Well. There's an important person coming to speak at the University of Wisconsin tomorrow. How big of a deal is it? Well, its the first time in 60 years that a sitting President of the United States has come to speak on our campus. Pictures to come tomorrow!