Watching Citizen Obama

Thursday, Oct 10, I watched President Barack Obama speak in Pittsburgh PA in Kamala Harris’ campaign for President.

The Presidents message was interesting.  But I found myself finding a different kind of context for the President, which I’d like to share at. this point in history.

Two days later, Saturday, I was in a Democrat conversation group, and two at the table were Freshman and Junior in High School.  In introducing myself, I commented that when I was a senior in high school (1957-58) Sputnik was launched (Oct. 4).  That was 67 years ago:  that’s ancient history, even for a number of adults at the table.  We have to place ourself in context with others…and it isn’t easy, or an option.  Those high school kids, neither old enough to vote in November, are the ones who will bear the long-term effects of this years election.  People like myself won’t be as affected….  But our choice is a very real part of the inheritance we leave behind.

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Nov. 5, 2024, if I’m still alive (I have no personal plans for departing) I will be almost exactly mid-way in my 85th year on the planet (my medical chart would say “84”, but when you’re born, you’re in your first year, etc). Whatever….

I got to thinking about Presidents and Vice-Presidents I have actually seen in person at some point in my life; how I saw them; where I was at in my own life at the time.  And out of that first impression, some thinking about what they accomplished, their dilemmas, etc.

The list turned out to be surprisingly long, and I won’t go into much detail.  But to the point of origin of this little essay:

I first saw Barack Obama in person a few days before the Minnesota precinct caucuses in February, 2008.  I was in a packed house at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, and he was there to make his pitch (at caucus I marked my preference for Hillary Clinton).  Mr. Obama was very impressive.  I simply thought Hillary had more relevant experience at the time.

photos Dick Bernard Jan 19, 2008

You know the results. Later Hillary became Secretary of State in the Obama administration. They made an excellent team.

When I saw Barack in 2008, I was 67 years old; he was 47.  I saw him one more time during his presidency – at the University of Minnesota – but for this essay that’s irrelevant.

When I saw President Obama on television a couple of days ago, he was a youthful looking 63, veteran of eight years as President of the United States; whose Vice-President for those eight years was the current President, Joe Biden.  In those 16 years, President Obama has become an honored elder, with accompanying wisdom, and it showed in both his performance and in his reception.

He paid his dues.

His wife, Michelle, First Lady, I saw in person one time, at Macalester College in St. Paul in October, 2008, before the election.  She was 44 at the time.  She was introduced by the daughter of close friends of mine.  I can remember her request to the students in attendance: “cell phones up!”.  She was an immensely impressive woman, and it showed later.

The U.S. is a better place for their having served and continuing to serve.  The past impacts the present, and the future, for good or ill.

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Without going into much detail, here are a few other personal examples.  What are yours.

Dwight Eisenhower was 62 and new President of the United States in 1953 when I saw him in an open car in a motorcade in Minot ND.  I was 13.  I think he was assessing the new Air Force Base at Minot, and the coming missile silos in the Cold War.  But I was just witnessing the event as a kid.  He was famed as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe in WWII.  The war ended when he was 54.

Nelson Rockefeller was 52 when I saw him in Valley City ND in 1960.  He was vying for nomination for President that summer. Richard Nixon won the nomination, and John F. Kennedy won the election.  Rockefeller had several terms as Governor of New York, and later was Vice President(1975-77) in Gerald Ford’s presidency.

I first saw Jimmy Carter in October, 1978, in Minneapolis.  He was President, and 54 years of age.  (He recently turned 100.)  I recall that his visit was protested, I believe related to the then-proposed Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and an additional issue relating to Iranians protesting the Shah of Iran.

Gerald Ford was President when I saw him in Bloomington MN in 1976.  He was 63.

Al Gore, then vice-president, was running for President when I saw him in Eagan MN in 2000.  He was 52.

I first saw Kamala Harris in person as vice-president in 2022.  She was 57.

Tim Walz was running for his first term in office in 2006 when I saw him at a fundraiser.  He was 41.

There are others I could add, but let these suffice.  I had hoped to see George W Bush at least in motorcade, but he escaped us all, both supporters and opponents.  This was about 2006.

Granted, all of these are just sightings.  But such sightings do have an impact.

I particularly note at how young these government officials were.  I also note that they were all men, except for Kamala Harris.

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