Here’s hoping Barack Obama didn’t give me cooties last night.
A last night’s town hall meeting at the State Fairgrounds, I was fortunate enough to sit on the front row to watch the presumptive nominee in total command of the all-important town hall format. About midway through the event, Obama sneezes three times. He explained that his two adorable little germ vector daughters gave him a slight cold during his Hawaii vacation. “Just remember that when you on the front row try to shake my hand tonight,’ he warned jokingly.
I forgot.
A few random observations about the town hall meeting:
- The questions were fantastic. I was especially pleased that the first question had to do with disability issues. Obama showed a good grasp of these issues, citing the need for more federal funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and better enforcement of the ADA. The knowledge seems to be paying political dividends for him.
There were other good questions as well. The most poignant was from a homeless veteran who says there are roughly 100 other homeless vets living in the Raleigh shelter. It’s amazing that folks have made those kinds of sacrifice and can’t even get a job, much less a home.
- I saw our perfectly coiffed former Governor Jim Hunt and his wife Carolyn at the event. I had a brief chance to speak with Mrs. Hunt, who let it slip that today, August 20th, is their 50th wedding anniversary. As someone who has a hard time dating the same woman for 50 days, I’m just in awe. Congratulations to the Hunts!
- A special shoutout to Rep. Grier Martin. Instead of sitting if the VIP section with fellow lawmakers & dignitaries, Grier chose to sit anonymously with his fellow veterans on the back side wall. He even had on a baseball cap, and probably thought folks didn’t notice his presence. His solidarity with fellow veterans spoke volumes about his priorities and character. Well played, Rep. Martin.
1 Comment
August 24, 2008 at 12:46 am
Obviously Obama is spreading… wait for it… germs of change!