Obama at the Loaf & Ladle
I got a call yesterday to join five other seacoast residents at the Loaf & Ladle in Exeter to be part of a roundtable talk with Barack Obama. It sounded simple enough, until the third call confirming the details: "There will be a lot of press and television - is that okay?" How bad could it be? The restaurant isn't that big... I had yet to hear Obama in person, and this seemed way too good an opportunity to miss.
My daughter came along- home from college and this will be her first election. Since we already saw Hillary Clinton at the Loaf & Ladle, why not Obama? We arrived at 11:30am and the place was already buzzing with customers, press, sercret service and staffers. Obama's staff showed my daughter into the "press area" so she could watch. The rest of us received our seating and roundtable instructions, and waited for Obama to arrive. No notes allowed, just be ourselves! His topic address would be on government reform but we could ask him anything. Phew.
With a blast of cold air and snow, Obama entered the side door of the restaurant and Meredith, the owner was the first to greet him. An enthusiastic throng jockeyed to introduce themselves and shake his hand. Us roundtable people were led into a small hallway, and Obama followed and gave us a pep talk on how these are his favorite forums, ignore the cameras, and ask any question you want...
Each of us took a turn asking a key question - and I was pleased the topics varied. We were all "undeclared" independent voters, some had alreeady committed to Obama- others like me were still narrowing the list. It was hard to ignore the press, there was indeed a lot of them. But the conversation was interesting enough to stay focused.
I was pleased to hear that Obama would choose the best members for his cabinet, regardless of party affiliation. His commitment to campaign reform and ending the power of lobbyists was important. A priority for his administration would be energy conservation and sustainable alternatives, acknowledging that we as citizens will all have to make changes in our lives to support that.
What struck me the most was, I felt that I was speaking with a man who, as president, I would not be ashamed of or disappointed in. On the contrary, I'd be proud - and that would be the first time since I first vote when I was 18 - twenty eight years ago.