President Barack Obama Stumps for Hillary Clinton in Bexley, Ohio

Photo by Greenlee Gazette staff photographer, Dona Roudabush

 It was worth the wait. After dodging some strong-arm GOTV tactics at a Hillary Clinton southside field office, obtaining tickets to the event at the OSU campus field office, waiting in line today for an hour, and then standing in an auditorium for three hours, we finally got to see and hear President Barack Obama. Aware that this would be our last chance to see Obama in person while he's still president, we went through the hoops to get the tickets, and endured the wait, and I'm glad we did.

Don't get me wrong, there were issues. One of them is just being stuck in a room with the same people for several hours with nothing much to do but wait. We couldn't even really sit (unless we wanted to have butts in our faces), because there were no bleachers but for the close-up red ticket holders. Worse, we only had the "doors open" time on our tickets, and had no idea when the prez was due to arrive. Had we known it would be three hours, we likely would have left, so I'm actually kind of glad we didn't know.  [Story continues below]



Also on the down side was the audio system at Bexley's Capital University Field House, which was wholly inadequate to the task, forcing Obama and other speakers to have to shout into the microphone. There should probably have been some sort of program, or even some kind of warmup act or something for the crowd to focus on for the first two hours of waiting. About 4:30, there started to be a few speakers, from Franklin County Prosecutor hopeful Zach Klein to Senate candidate Ted Strickland, and the university Dean. But that first two hours there was nothing, besides Capital's band playing off in a corner somewhere. We were getting restless, and our feet were getting tired.

Photo by Greenlee Gazette staff photographer,
Dona Roudabush

But then, the main event. President Obama arrived to thunderous applause, and boundless enthusiasm. This guy is still--quite obviously--loved by Democrats. You could be forgiven for almost forgetting that he wasn't running for anything! But he didn't give Hillary Clinton short shrift, not by a long shot. His was a full-throated, loud, clear endorsement of Clinton, and he was quite convincing. He gave Donald Trump some decent ribbing, to the point that Trump would be steaming if he were there. I hope someone shows him a highlight reel.

I'm gonna miss this guy. Clearly, a lot of people are. I'm glad I went.