The TurboNerd

I arrived about 10:30 am. I had planned to be at Reunion Arena much earlier, but had to finish up some work around the house before I could go. I briefly considered staying home, thinking that I might be too late to get into what was sure to be a packed house. I went anyway. I figured that even if I couldn't get in, I could still stand in line and observe the people who had chosen to come to the middle of Dallas on a Wednesday morning to hear a man speak about why he wants the crappiest job in the world.

Once past the lighter than normal downtown Dallas traffic (Class 4 Nightmare, not too bad for Downtown D), I parked and walked in. I followed the crowds and soon found myself in a parking garage directly behind the arena. This is where the long walk started. The line snaked through the garage and up the ramps. I went up the first level and the line was still going. I went up the second level, more people still. I went up the fourth and at this point it hit me how many thousands of people were standing in this line. Finally I made it to the  top level and the back of the line (see below).

The line didn't start moving for about 40 minutes. During this time more people kept coming up the ramps and lining up behind (see below).

Finally about 11:30 the line moved forward, and then stopped. Just as the line began to move, my friends

rachelcaine and her husband Cat walked by me. We gave each other waves and “Hey's” and kept moving: me forward and them towards the end of the line.

We did this “move, wait five minutes, move” pulse for about 30 minutes or so. We were making progress! One floor down and four to go! Everyone was very pleasant and well mannered all up and down the line. To steal a quote from Douglas Adams: we knew how to queue. The balmy 71 degree morning helped.

As we snaked our way through the bowels of the parking garage, I listened in on the conversations around me. This was not eavesdropping. I planned to write this blog entry about it, so it counts as “journalism”, so nyah. Mostly people were talking about things you would expect: work, family, life, the line (and how long we would be in it). The couple immediately behind me, both early 20s with dark lustrous hair and looking like a matched pair of His & Her catalog models, chatted away about their various friends while the young lady hung onto her fashionably stubbly male companion. I guess beautiful young people have a hard time waiting in line, because these two refugees from Stonebriar Mall left to go home before we made it through Parking Level #4. The rest of we unwashed masses trundled intermittently along.

A note about the unwashed masses: they weren't. The crowd was a heterogeneous mix of mostly caucasians and blacks. There were a few Hispanics and very very few Orientals in the crowd. My best guestimate is that it broke about >50% white, >40% black, and <10% other. Dress varied from work shirts and jeans to expensive suits and dresses. The majority were wearing everyday comfortable clothes. I did notice that a high percentage of African-Americans wore much nicer clothes than the rest of us. Lots of good looking suits and nice dresses. In many cases these went beyond “Sunday goto meeting” clothes. I saw more than a few that looked like they walked over from their offices in the nearby skyscrapers. I got a sense of an empowered and rising middle class demonstrating how seriously they took this event.

The gender and age split was also interesting. In all groups, gender split about 50/50. Ages ranged across the scale: infants to “get back in your coffin, grandpa” seniors. The biggest age groups were early 20s, 30s, and 40s. There were plenty of 50+ attending, but they were an obvious minority. Also, there were lots of pre-teens and teenagers there. The teens looked engaged and aware. The pre-teens generally looked like they would rather be back at school.

Back to the line. About the time we hit Level 3 we started moving faster and more evenly. We still had stops, but we seemed to be picking up momentum. Occasionally we would hear a cheer from below us. We speculated what it was about. Obama sighting? Line movement? Saved money on car insurance? We just couldn't tell. We found out later why people were cheering: they had exited the parking garage and were in the home stretch. After 2+ hours walking up and down a parking garage, we all deserved to cheer.

After the Lovely Couple left, I started chatting with the folks in front of me and behind me. The trio in front of me were a young guy that works as a carpenter, a young wife who had lost track of her husband somewhere in the line (and didn't seem too concerned about it), and a middle aged woman who knew the young man. Nice folks all (see below).

The group behind me was a man and his two children. The boy reminds me of a couple of my nephews: bright, physically active, good sense of humor. The girl was quite bored, though she perked up for a little while when I talked to her about the book she was reading for school. The dad was genial and seemed to be a true-believer Democrat. His conversation with the kids frequently came back to how important the election was and why the Democratic Party was the better deal for everyone. I'm not sure how much of his nudging sank in with them. Overall, a nice family (see below).

 

At one point these two kids were looking between the garage levels (see below).. The boy exclaimed “Wow, this crowd is insane!”. I turned to him and said “I disagree. I think what we are seeing is a mass outbreak of sanity”. Stunned look and then “That's so Cool! Dad did you hear that!”. He repeated it several times to his Dad and the people around him. Dad looked a little grumpy that I had gotten his son excited with one line when his hour long dialog with the boy hadn't made a visible impression.

 

The line kept speeding up and soon we were on Level 1. Ground Floor! This was easily the longest part of the line. It snaked back and forth four or five times across the length of the parking lot. I caught a glimpse of

rachelcaine and Cat about three folds over, but couldn't grab a picture of them.

We rounded the last bend and then the line suddenly opened up. We trotted fast across the back side of the parking lot and gave a quick shout when we exited into open air. Less than a minute later we were inside Reunion Arena. I parted company with my Ahead and Behind trios. Of course the only open seats left were on the far side of the arena (of course), so I made my way quickly through the outer ring.

I entered the arena proper and then crawled my way up the risers. I couldn't see the stage, so I shifted around several sections and sat down. I looked over and saw the Behind Trio, father-son-daughter, just across the aisle. An interesting coincidence (see below)

Within a minute of sitting down, Obama was announced and took the stage. I made it! The arena was mostly full, but there were a few open sections. As the speech went on I was puzzled that those sections never filled up. There were thousands of people in line behind me. The only thing I can figure is that when they found out Obama had started speaking, most gave up and left. The relative emptiness of the parking lot when I left seems to confirm that theory.

Back to the speech. Obama started by letting everyone know that he had a cold so his voice might weaken at times, but his spirit was still strong. A little cheesy, but a nice sentiment. Still, he seemed to be warning us, don't expect HypnObama today. He then launched into his speech. Lots of initial acknowledgments of local and regional Democratic Party notables. Then he started in on the meat and potatoes part of the speech.

The crowd immediately started chanting “O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA” and then he did something which made me instantly feel that this guy is genuine: he shut the chanting down. Obama is no egoist. AT DISTANCE (see below) I could see that he is uncomfortable being treated like a rock star. Then as he started speaking, I could see the awkwardness fall away. He believes what he is saying.

 

He has no doubt given variations of this speech hundreds of times. Frankly, this wasn't one of his most rousing rhetorical presentations. It had plenty that people have heard before. It was much heavier on specific policy goals and details than previous speeches that I have seen via the magic of the Internet. There were times that Obama hit an applause line and the crowd responded weakly if at all. At other times a phrase or point that obviously wasn't a planned applause getter caused a huge response in the audience.

One funny moment happened when Obama paused to blow his nose and the crowd cheered. Even then he handled it with grace. Before pulling out a tissue, he apologized for interrupting his own speech to take care of his runny nose. Graciousness and respect for others are the real deal with Obama. He is about as two dimensional as a 1000 year old redwood.

About mid-way through his speech, it felt like it went from a speech to a discussion. The crowd was no fawning hypnotized “Cult of Obama”. They sat and listened. They responded to what they liked and sat tight for the parts that didn't speak to them. He paced the stage like a professor lecturing a class (see below). He seemed to invest a great deal of trust in the audience to “get” what he was saying. It worked. They did.

 

After he finished, he walked the rope lines on the arena floor shaking hands as politicians all have to do. The crowd started filing out. Many stayed to watch. I moved down to take a few close up pictures. Besides, the nosebleed seats always make me nervous.

I got about 20 feet or so away from Obama's exit door and snapped a few shots. The best wasn't of him, but of one of his Secret Service agents. I would not want to mess with this big bald guy (see below). He looks like he could kill you by twitching an eyebrow. Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

 

After Obama left, I turned to go and a good looking young boy shot past me running on top of the seats. He was yelling to his family above him “Obama shook my hand! Obama shook my hand!”. I pulled my camera back out and asked him if he would hold up his hand and let me take his picture. He did while his obviously proud father stood beside him. (see below)

 
So what is the final verdict? Is Obama just a rhetorical shell with no substance? Are his supporters cultish and creepy? Is Barak Obama the real deal? After seeing him and seeing that most of his supporters are thoughtful and sincere people concerned with their future and the future of America, then I would have to say: Yes, Barak Obama is the real deal.