Michelle Obama Visits Campus
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008She came, they cheered, she left for UPenn and Stephen Colbert.
This appearance came together over the weekend, a “rally/community gathering” for the faithful and the curious. Yesterday brought several well-organized campaign advance people, all of them young (e.g. under 40), caucusing with our Facilities people to ensure that the Field House will be configured just-so. Hoping to be helpful, I ask Jeff, one of the head guys, whether he’d like me to call him on my cell so he’s got the number if he needs anything. “Don’t bother – I get so many calls it’ll get blown out of the cache by dinner.” I note that the window on his Blackberry is shattered (”takes a licking and keeps on…functioning properly”).
The campaign office in Wynnewood gave away a thousand tickets, and a thousand more were distributed here at HC/BMC.Step one:
Mark off the entrance to Ryan Gym, through which she’ll walk to the Field House. The fanbase starts arriving at around 1 pm.
Secret Service “sweep” of media gear at 2:30. This involves bomb sniffing dogs, in this case provided by several Delaware County law enforcement agencies. When John Edwards stopped by four years ago, one of the dogs freaked out about a particular tumbling mat. “Decaying nitrites in the plastic foam set him off,” noted HC Director of Security Tom King. Speaking of whom:
Tom King and his Secret Service-issue lapel pin: “E” means “unarmed”…8 is the code for this event…black ink means “Tuesday.”
For the volunteers, this is a chance to get up close and personal, a payback for their tireless commitment. It’s also a chance to recruit more volunteers.
Getting ready.
Bico a cappella gets in place to sing the national anthem.
Applause:
And in she comes.
Video and real photos from a real photog soon…check out the homepage for links to news coverage and maybe…just maybe…details of another presidential primary visit, later this week….
-CM
