I got back from the Barack Obama town hall meeting about an hour ago. What I thought would be a seat in the bleachers directly behind Obama turned out to be a seat about 30 yards away. Though I wasn’t in fist-bumping range with Barack I did enjoy the experience. It was fun seeing how whipped up the crowd was, too. I also got to hang out with my busy friend Grier Martin, and see familiar faces from the Kerry-Edwards rally from four years ago.
I sat with the vets on the upper bleachers, about four people to the left of the end of the “Change We Can Believe In” sign. I’m not in any of the photographs I’ve seen on the AP or Reuters wire. If anyone can find video of the event, let me know.
And by the way, the disabled veteran who had the last question tonight is Michael Bishop, a Marine Corps veteran. I shook hands with him earlier in the evening – a very friendly fellow – but until he asked his question to Obama I had no idea he was homeless.
It really burns me up that men and women like Bishop wind up on the street after all they have given to our country. In spite of being a veteran himself, McCain has an abysmal record when it comes to supporting veterans. I hope Bishop gets the assistance he needs.
Update: WRAL has the video, and if you squint you can see me on the top left side of the screen from 00:01:00 to 00:01:10.
Update Two: New Raleigh has pictures showing me in the audience. You’ll see me in this photo: above Obama’s left shoulder, back row, and behind the dude in the yellow shirt standing and holding a camera. I’m wearing a green shirt and my dorky Navy ballcap.
