I decided that Thomas and I needed to see him, so we bundled up and headed out. As you can see, we made sure that his stroller provided an appropriate welcome (Thomas is, after all, a proud American, even if he doesn't know it). Note that although he is slumped to one side, he did not sleep through the event (one of my fears).
At best we expected to get a brief glimpse of the POTUS since no public events had been scheduled. We saw his motorcade arrive and might have seen him exit and wave, but to be honest I can't say that I managed to pick him out of the crowd. As a historical note, Obama attracted a smaller crowd than George Bush did (approximately 3,000, compared to 10,000). That being said, the 10,000 that showed up for President Bush's visit were protesters. The 3,000 that were there for Obama could easily have been compared to teenage girls at a Beatles concert. Incidentally, Obama did make an unexpected stop at a local market to buy a "Beaver Tail" (a flat oval of fried dough with sugar and cinnamon on it), which the local press can't stop talking about (and I must admit that I too am kind of tickled that he chose to deviate a bit from the formal itinerary).
2 comments:
I thought you might go to see him. The US press said that he stopped to shop at a local market to purchase gifts for his family "much to the delight of the crowd." Poor guy is having a rough start with his cabinet appointments and the economy tanking. We old Obama campaign volunteers are still rooting and praying for him (yes, Obama volunteers do pray.)
Good for you Andre and Thomas! Glad you were able to welcome our President. Though I was hoping you were going to say that Mr. Obama came up to you, and Thomas said "this is my dad Andre, Canada's climate change czar."
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