I had no real interest in seeing the president when he came to town, not because I dislike him personally, but because he made it clear he was in town to speak at a private fundraiser, and since I was out of town the Saturday before his visit, I was unable to obtain tickets for his speech at the University of Texas.
I was driving to downtown Austin on Monday to conduct some research at the Travis County Courthouse. Whenever I travel to the downtown area, I always like to come in on Caesar Chavez, and then turn up Congress Avenue towards the capital - I never tire of that view. As I was traveling east on Caesar Chavez around noon I kept thinking to myself, "where is the security?" As I came closer to the Four Seasons Hotel there were cop cars sitting and waiting on the side of the road, but for the most part, traffic was flowing normal. This made me quite curious because as I was driving, the radio station I was listening to, AM 590, said that the President's motorcade was enroute. I decided to forgo my usual north turn onto Congress and continue east, hoping that I could catch a glimpse of the motorcade.
A quick side note - if you've never seen the presidential motorcade - you MUST. It is a VERY impressive sight regardless of who the president is, and whether or not you voted for them.
I saw thousands of people gathered along the sidewalks as I continued east on Caesar Chavez, and as I approached the IHOP at the I-35 juncture, I decided to pull off and park. I'm glad I did!...
Just moments after I parked, countless APD motorcycle officers began forcing traffic off of all the roads. They completely shut down I-35 north and all of Caesar Chavez east of Congress to the freeway. I got out of my truck and joined nearly the entire staff of IHOP on the sidewalk. This particular area had hardly any people whatsoever, in sharp contrast to areas just a few blocks down. We were able to stand in the streets without any trouble. Several minutes passed, and groups of 10-15 police motorcycles would come by sporadically. Then finally, the presidential limousines passed by. I was a mere ten feet away from the president, and as usual, he was riding in the second limo (there are two identical ones, and most people think he's in the first one, get distracted, and miss seeing him). He waived to the crowds, and it looked as though Rick Perry was sitting next to him, but since my focus was on the president, I could not tell for sure.
This is the second sitting president I have had the privilege of seeing. I had the honor of hearing George W. Bush speak at an inaugural ball in Washington D.C. in January 2005.
I do not agree with many of Obama's decisions since he was elected. Nonetheless, I was truly proud to have seen him. What makes this country so unique is that our Head of State and Head of Government are embodied in the same person. I firmly challenge many of the decisions our Head of Government has made, but I do believe that Obama has made a permanent mark on this country as Head of State.
Obama, simply by being elected, made many people in this country feel as though they finally had a voice. His election truly did bring hope that oppressive sectors of American society would eventually dissolve. This has not been the case, unfortunately, but it is a major step in the right direction.
SO, although I probably will not be voting for Obama in 2012, I was very proud to have seen him as Head of State, and if I had the chance to hear him speak (without camping out overnight to get tickets - which many UT students did), I would most certainly attend.
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