My Night with President Obama

"We're starting to see what change looks like." President Obama, at the fundraiser tonight.

Tonight I got to see President Obama live and in person!  It was honestly the most excited I've been since I shook Bill Clinton's hand last year.  Tonight, he appeared in SF for a 2012 election fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center.  After waiting in line for 3 hours in the freezing San Francisco February weather, 7 of my friends and I had one of the most memorable nights of our lives.  I have personally been an Obama fan since he was a Senator in Illinois.  I was a fierce supporter of Obama in 2008 when he ran for office, especially since he was the first President I ever had the privilege of personally voting for.

UC Hastings College of the Law BLSA

As we anxiously awaited the President's speech, we were lucky enough to be serenaded by the beautiful guitar playing and raspy rock voice of Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden and Audioslave).  My two favorite songs he performed were "Redemption Song" and "Imagine."  Very mellow, yet very nice start to the night.

The almost 3,000 San Francisco residents who attended the fundraiser were definitely fired up to see their President tonight!  He was greeted with standing applause and outbursts of "I love you!" and "You're amazing!" Obama emphasized that winning this election is not going to be easy, just like it was not easy in 2008.  "I told you," he said jokingly.  He urged all of us to become involved in the movement and to take an active role in the vision we want for our country.

The crowd went wild when Obama gave a heartfelt thanks to teachers, when he mentioned that everybody should "play by the same rules," and why nobody who makes more than $250,000 should pay less in federal taxes than their secretary.

My personal favorite was when Obama said, "Higher education is not a luxury, it is an economic imperative."  Some of you may remember a similar quote from the recent State of the Union speech.  The President encouraged us to work together and to not let partisan politics stand in the way of doing what is right for our country.

Regardless of how popular President Obama was with most of the attendees, there were still numerous groups protesting outside the event and a few rowdy screamers that had to be escorted out in the middle of his speech.  A few of the group protesting include: the Center for Biological Diversity (wants to halt oil drilling in the Arctic), medical marijuana activists (angry about the administration's crackdown on dispensaries), Code Pink, World Can't Wait SF, and of course, people from the Occupy movement.  After a lady was carted out for screaming about killing civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama remarked about how "there is always something going on in San Francisco" and "Folks are not shy about sharing their ideas in San Francisco." This surely is anything but a dull city!

Protesters outside the event. The crowd grew as the night progressed.

All in all, it was a wonderful night! Although Obama is going to face some significant challenges in this election, I have high hopes for this man to continue changing and shaping our country into somewhere we can all have the opportunity to learn, grow, and prosper.