Clinton and Obama came to Charlotte Tuesday. What I learned, saw and felt
The last time I went to a Clinton rally, I was asked by a campaign staffer to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. I said no.
Most of you probably think I was an idiot for passing it up. And yes, yes, I was. But it was eight years ago and I was a shy 12-year-old who was terrified of messing up the pledge in front of a large crowd and a former president. (Bill Clinton was speaking at the Kernersville event, not Hillary.)
Yesterday I went to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s rally with President Barack Obama at the Charlotte Convention Center. No one asked me to do the Pledge. Instead I stood in line outside of the center for more than two hours with thousands of other people just to get inside.
Here’s what I learned, saw and felt in my second (albeit less scarring) Clinton rally experience.
What I Learned
Capitalism is still thriving
As we waited to enter the Charlotte Convention Center, vendors walked up and down the line – which wound its way through down the light rail track away from the Convention Center – selling Hillary buttons, Hillary hats, Hillary pretty-much-everything.
Some sellers mixed it up with some Obama merchandise.
Some even smarter sellers walked the line selling drinks as the sun and oppressive heat beat down on the large amount of us waiting. And, boy, did those in line take them up on their offer.
It’s at moments like these that I reevaluate my tendency to never carry around cash. (Once we got into the convention center, we were provided with free water.)
On a serious note, I saw several people who appeared so affected by the heat that they needed medical attention. The majority of them were children. It was extremely hot, at about 95 degrees outside.
After the rally, a smart seller offered people on the street ponchos to shield themselves from the heavy downpour that had started while we were inside.
What I Saw
People from all over
In line, I met a family from Alabama who drove eight hours this morning to get to the rally. Once I got into the Convention Center, I talked with a man from Japan who was visiting Charlotte and decided to come to the rally to get a taste of U.S. politics. Another family in attendance was from right here in Charlotte; the parents said they wanted their young children to see this “historic” moment.
The overfill room was pretty full itself
The Clinton camp estimates 7,000 people were inside the Convention Center and 2,500 were in the overflow upstairs, making it her largest audience yet, according to NBC Charlotte.
Due both to my late arrival and the thousands of people who attended, I was one of those in overflow.
The room looked like a ballroom and had a large screen that showed what was happening in the actual speech.
But while the overflow group was physically isolated from the rest of the crowd, they cheered Clinton and Obama right along with the large crowd. (I think I’ll have the “Hill-a-ry,” “Hill-a-ry,” “Hill-a-ry” chant in my head for at least a few more days.)
What I felt
Besides the heat?
Excitement
Everyone I talked to seemed so genuinely jazzed to be at the rally – even though they were in the overflow room.
The heat while they waited didn’t matter. The location didn’t matter. It was just being there that mattered. And that attitude was contagious.
When Clinton and Obama entered our overflow room following the speech, the crowd hit a decibel level I had never previously heard. They were just that pumped to see Obama and Clinton.
Disappointment
During the whole time the overflow crowd was waiting for Clinton and Obama’s arrival, I was positioning myself to get a good shot of their arrival.
When they entered, I was so completely focused on moving the camera this way and that to try to get around the heads and cellphones of those in front of me, that it took until I was walking out of the center for me to realize that I had just witnessed, fairly up-close, the current president and possible future president.
I was so focused on the video, I hadn’t really looked at them – except through a cellphone screen. And I didn’t even good a quality video.
Happiness
After mentally kicking myself for not being in the moment enough, I thought of how amazing it was to be in the same room as the president, which, while I don’t have a bucket list, would surely be on it if I did.
And, hey, if tradition holds, I’ll get another go at it in eight years.
Photos: Eliza Wireback
This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 12:32 AM with the headline "Clinton and Obama came to Charlotte Tuesday. What I learned, saw and felt."