B.O. and the Campaign Trail: Part II

October 19, 2007

Part II: Who Wants a Free T-Shirt?

It was finally THE morning!! My alarm clock rang, and I shut it off. Just 15 more minutes. . .

My internal time-clock went off. Whoa! I am not leaving two hours early as I intended! I rushed out the door, clutching my RAPID ENTRY PASS and my map, my notebook (so that I could take copious, responsible voter-type notes), and my camera (so I could take pictures to "put on my blog," i.e. sell online).

I arrived on campus just in time--visitor parking was full, and what I assumed to be the RAPID ENTRY PASS line was a million miles long. No matter! I am an important voter! I told myself, and found a parking spot in front of a nice house a few blocks away, purposefully avoiding reading the words on an official-looking sign stuck in the ground a few feet away from my car. I marched towards campus, on a mission for the truth from Barack Obama. Or at least, for the strategized, carefully crafted declarations of intention from Barack Obama's campaign team.

Have I mentioned my outfit? I can tell that I haven't, since you are still reading this.
Being new to the "campaign trail," I figured that, when in doubt, it is usually smart to blend in with the crowd. What would a college-aged Democrat wear to show her appreciation of "like, the most totally amazing presidential candidate ever"? The idea came in a flash -- I would make a t-shirt! It was cheap, environmentally sound (recycling clothes), and would make a statement, but without blowing my "undecided" status to crazed campaign volunteers that might be hanging about, waiting to pounce.

The next decision -- what would I write on it? I thought long and hard about this one. It was not easy -- "Obama '08" has been overdone, and there were plenty of those shirts hanging around. "Barack U Rock" was catchy, but a little too Dr. Seussical. Finally, I arrived at the perfect design, and brushed out large letters in bright blue fabric paint:

B.O.

It was beautiful -- like an e e cummings poem, brief but descriptive; simple, yet profound. Just to make sure people did not miss the message, I painted it on both sides of the shirt.

Getting back to the rally . . . I walked up and joined the line of RAPID ENTRY PASS holders, noticing that there seemed to be many more people at the event than I anticipated. Ergo, the RAPID ENTRY PASS line was more like a SLOW LINE OF PEOPLE WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THE STAGE ONCE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO STAND ON THE GRASS JUST INSIDE THE GATE, WHICH, SERIOUSLY, DOES IT EVEN MATTER AT THIS POINT? I also noticed, that, despite this, many people in line around me were unfazed, and seemed to be joyful, almost laughing, you could say, as they nudged their friends and pointed at my beautiful t-shirt in admiration. "Yes! I am happy to be here, too! What a great day to be a Dem-O-Crat! B.O. For Pres! Whooo!" It worked!! They were convinced that I was "one of them" and I passed safely through the crowd and Obama volunteers, who I could have sworn parted just a little to allow me to walk through.

Finally, I handed in my RAPID ENTRY PASS at the gate. I was in! The seats were all full, but no matter, I took my spot in the crowd, just left of the press stage, just barely able to see the microphone once in a while, whenever a) the press decided they could return to the spacious press stage area and NOT stand in our only line of sight, or b) the tall guy in the white dress shirt at the front of our group decided he needed to shift his weight.

And then we waited. Curiosity got the better of me, and I struck up a brief conversation with Jeremy and Laura, who were standing immediately in front of me, but not in a way that my view was obstructed. I could tell already that these were savvy students! I asked them a few questions, and they gave me permission to post their answers and their picture on my blog, even after I explained that nobody would read it anyway. They both are ASU Tempe students. Jeremy is a Sophomore kinesiology major, originally from Michigan, and Laura is a Junior social work major, originally from New Jersey.

LD: So, why are you here today? Are you supporters? Just curious?
J: I'm a supporter of Barack Obama, I have been for a while. Unless Al Gore decides to run.
L: I just want to be more informed, and be current on the campaign.

LD: Are either of you affiliated with a political party?
J: Yes, Democrat.
L: (nods) Democrat.

LD: And Laura, what about you? Are you supporting a particular candidate?
L: I'm undecided.

LD: Are there any particular issues that stick out?
L: There are lots of issues that are important to me-- the war in Iraq, healthcare, the environment.

LD: For you, Jeremy, was there a particular issue that made you decide to support Obama?
J: For me, the main issue has been foreign policy.

At that point, the crowd started clapping, and we turned our attention to the stage. Two men were on the stage, one holding a "WHO WANTS A FREE T-SHIRT?" poster, and the other with the free shirts. I thought that this was a bit obvious -- of course we want free t-shirts, we are either in college or paying for college loans. Besides, I didn't need their t-shirts -- mine was waay better than theirs.