On Wednesday, January 21, 2009, Jen and I called a taxi to pick us up at our friends’ home. We waited over an hour for the taxi to take us to the Metro station. We wanted to arrive at the Obama for America Staff Ball earlier than we did, but we still managed to arrive before the main festivities began. This Ball was held at the D.C. Armory, and was mercifully close to a Metro station, so we did not have to endure the frigid winter night for long. We passed through an identical security screening as we had the night before, giving us more confidence to our suspicions that President Obama would be attending. When we arrived the whole Armory was full of campaign staffers and their guests.
(Here are a few pictures of the Staff Ball.) The food that was served was really good – much better than even the Western Ball. There was quite a bit of variety – brisket, noodles, stir-fry, cookies, mini cupcakes and much more. Throughout the night more and more food was brought out as well. Drinks were free and plentiful too, though the lines were long. The atmosphere was very festive. After walking around for a while, I eventually met up with people that I had worked with on the campaign in Newark, Ohio and Toledo, Ohio. Many of my former co-workers and fellow fellows were in attendance. With so many people crowded into the building, I was lucky to have met up them at all. With much excitement, Vice President Biden’s sister introduced her brother. He gave a very warm speech talking about how much he had respected we Obama campaigners, first as an opponent and then as part of the team. Jen and I moved up higher to have a better view after the Vice President spoke. Actor Kal Penn spoke for a few moments, before introducing David Plouffe who had managed the campaign. He then introduced a very happy President Obama. The President was quite relaxed and one did definitely have the sense that he wanted to stay with us. His remarks were very gracious and humbling. For the President and Vice President, the same introductory and exit music that had been played during the campaign was played. We all knew this would be the last time that would happen, so we were quite literally witness to the very last campaign event of the 2008 election.
(Some videos of the speeches at the OFA Staff Ball.) I was very lucky to stumble upon Jeremy Bird, who had headed the campaign’s efforts in Ohio. I was glad to have the opportunity to thank him for his leadership and tell him what an honor it had been to work with him. Bird is now the Deputy Director of Organizing for America aka Obama 2.0. After the speeches, Jay-Z began to perform. I felt old.
(Some of Jay-Z’s performance.) Jen and I had a very nice time and were thrilled that we had the opportunity to attend this amazing gathering. It was truly a moving experience.
Though we had already had spent many hours in the “Purple Tunnel of Doom”, Jen and I still had more to do on 01-20-09. After eating some food and resting for a couple hours, Jen and I donned our formal attire and headed off to the local Metro station.
(Here we are dressed for the occasion.)The Metro was busy but was not nearly as crowded as it had been earlier in the day. We passed by hundreds of others in the Metro stations, most of whom were also dressed in formal attire. An ATF team passed though our train and one of the officers asked Jen and I if we were coming from our wedding. We told him no, that we were in fact going to one of the official Inaugural Balls. He smiled and said that a lot of people were attending balls that night and told us to have a nice evening. Everyone was upbeat and a general feeling of happiness and upbeat optimism pervaded the whole area.
We had read many negative accounts of Inaugural Balls and were prepared for the worst. We were presently surprised by what we found. We were attended the Western States Inaugural Ball – because we live in California. There were different balls for different areas of the country. The Western Ball was held in the Washington Convention Center, a massive complex that was actually holding several official balls. We walked quickly through the cold from the Metro stop and arrived at the entrance to which we had been directed. The many police officers and workers at the Ball were extremely friendly and helpful and around in great numbers. This was in marked contrast to earlier in the day. We went through a through security screening where one guard was really excited to recognize the University of Toledo Rockets - which were on Jen’s gloves. We entered the enormous convention center and there were thousands of people inside. We found our way to the Western Ball entrance. The space for the ball was enormous and we could tell that it was designed to handle thousands of people. We arrived rather early and while hundreds of people were already there, it felt a bit empty with all the space.
(Pictues from Early in the evening.) Contrary to the horror stories I had read about previous Inaugural Balls – where one had to pay exorbitant prices for cheese and crackers, food was provided for free. We had rather large helpings of tortellini, rolls, and stuffed chicken. The quality was really good – not as good as Italy but certainly better than most food we’ve had at catered events. A band was playing on one stage at the back of the hall and another stage was set up at the front of the space. Drinks were available for purchase via tickets. Jen and I lived it up with some Cokes and Sprites. One man offered to take our picture. I gladly accepted and handed him our new digital camera. He asked how it worked and I told him just to point and push the button. Jen and I posed and nothing happened. I went back and checked the camera – everything was ready. We tried it again and again and again. After four attempts – the man kept saying it wasn’t working – I thanked him and told him it was ok. I then proceeded to take several pictures in a row – with no problems.
(See, my pictures of Jen) I suppose he just wasn’t pressing hard enough – but luckily this was probably the biggest annoyance of the evening. Jen and I wandered around for a while. Since this was the ball where people from California would be attending, we knew that we might spot some Hollywood or Silicon Valley notables.
(Sure enough, we spotted Ron Howard being interviewed.) After about an hour, we noticed that more and more people were arriving and heading up near the front stage. We figured that would be where the President and Vice President would be making their entrances. Soon after we arrived, Marc Anthony was announced and began to perform on stage – about 20 feet from where we were standing.
(No, not that Marc Anthony – though that would have been pretty cool too.)
(This Marc Anthony.)
(Here is a short video of the performance.) He and his band sounded great and they played quite a few salsa numbers. I think we has getting a bit upset that very few people were dancing – but in our defense we were getting packed in at that point and we were more interested in seeing the new President. Still it was nice. Near the end of his performance, he called upon his wife, Jennifer Lopez aka J. Lo to perform with him. The crowd went wild and I felt bad for Marc Anthony who was really upstaged by his wife.
(J. Lo and Marc Anthony.)
(Here is a video of their performance.)
Afterwards, we kept standing for a while. We noticed the Vice Presidential flag was in place and a few minutes later, Vice President Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden made their entrance.
(Some pictures of the Vice President and Dr. Biden.) The Vice President said a few kind words and then danced briefly with his wife. It was nice to see them and the thousands of people (mostly behind us) cheered emotionally. I called my mother a few times during the evening and she kept us informed as to where the Obamas where – she was watching TV. It was nice to share the moment with her as well. An hour so passed and more people kept entering and most headed as close to the stage as possible. It was getting very crowded and tight. We heard from others in attendance that some people could not get in – the fire marshal would not let everyone in at the Western and Youth Balls. As we waited, a military band began to set up and a color guard assembled. “Hail to the Chief” was played and that’s when I think it all hit me. Jen and I had worked for this for so long and now- it finally felt real. As President Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama entered to that music, with the military color guard I felt it in my gut – the sense of history in the making and the realization that I had been a part of making this moment possible. I had been working for this since March 2007, and now my candidate was President. It was really that moment that moved me the most of the entire trip.
(Some of our pictures of the President and Mrs. Obama.)
(Here are some videos of the event.) One could tell that President Obama was very tired. (And we knew that he had had at least as long of a day as Jen I and had had.) His remarks were brief but gracious. It was certainly worth seeing and I was grateful for the opportunity. After the Obamas left, many people streamed out hastily. We stayed for a bit longer. We noticed that chips and pretzels had been put out by the staff. We heard a few people complaining but overall people were happy. Really most of the criticisms of the Inaugural Balls that we heard either that night or in reading before made sense – if one arrived really late. If one arrived late, I could see how one would find no food – just some snacks, everyone crammed tight and just standing and waiting in front of the stage for a quick visit by the President. But Jen and I arrived early – so we had good food, and time to walk around and enjoy ourselves. Jen and I headed back to Tim’s via the Metro very happy to have been part of the historical festivities.
As I have written earlier, Jen and I were unable to see President Obama take the oath of office in person. This is how we experienced the event:
It was still a moving experience and I am glad we were able to share the moment with others. As I have also said, Jen and I also were lucky enough to be able to see the President at two inaugural balls. We are more concerned about the people who were stuck in the "Purple Tunnel of Doom" and other, similar situations. Not all of them had the opportunity to see the new President as Jen and I did.
I was born and raised in Ohio. I am a lifelong Catholic Christian who has always been interested in the big questions of life. I have a passion for learning especially Philosophy, Science, Religion, History and Culture. I graduated from the University of Toledo in 2001 with a B.A. in International Relations. I married my soul-mate, Jen in 2001 and we moved to rural Tanigumi-mura Japan where we taught English for 3 years. We moved to California and lived in San Francisco and the Bay Area for 4 years. Tired of sitting on the sidelines, I began volunteering for the Barack Obama campaign in March of 2007 and was eventually hired as a Field Organizer. Through the Obama campaign, I found my calling and moved back to Ohio to continue organizing. In 2009 I helped the field operations of the Keith Wilkowski for Mayor of Toledo race. After that, I was hired as a Regional Field Director for 15 northwestern and north central Ohio counties for the 2010 Democratic Coordinated Campaign. Jen and I are continuing to volunteer as we wait for the next organizing opportunity to present itself.
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