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About 100 people gathered on the sidewalk around the Mayflower Hotel in downtown D.C. this evening to catch a glimpse of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Obama was scheduled to make a statement to the press at the hotel after leaving a meeting about the economic bailout package at the White House. Obama had met with President Bush, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and congressional leaders. Neither McCain nor Obama made an immediate statement after leaving the meeting.
The spectators who gathered weren't able to get a good look at Obama -- he entered a black SUV surrounded by his small motorcade in the alley adjacent to the hotel's parking lot. But the group shouted cheers of support for the candidate as the vehicle pulled out on to 17th Street and headed south.
Traffic was somewhat disrupted as secret service officers tried to keep people on the sidewalk and out of the street. The crowd quickly dissipated after Obama drove away.
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The Mayflower doesn't have a parking lot, and it's DeSales Street, not an alley.
DeSales is where my boyfriend's bike tire got stolen. I'm glad Barack decided to take a SUV instead of biking.
Actually it was an alley, not DeSales, and I did get a pretty decent look. :)
Oh! I think I see him! Isn't that his halo just beyond the policecar?
I'm assuming he didn't have time to stop at the bar for an Elliot Spritzer. Sam won't tell me the secret recipe, but I think there's Campari given the bitter aftertaste.
Why were people standing on Connecticut? Candidates and other VIPs always leave the Mayflower from the DeSales St exits.
Also- I'm pretty sure this photo is backwards.
Nevermind- I see this is the 17th Street side.
jesus christ superstar
I see Obama is bullying media outlets not to show the new NRA ads.
Obama: "Free speech for me, not for you!"
What hard-hitting news. "Guy gets into car. People try to see him, fail. Guy drives away. People leave." WOW.
Replace "guy," "car," and "see," with "The Pope," "Batman Underoos," and "pee on," and you have a much more interesting story.
Holy crap a politician is in DC!?!?!??!?!
OMFG NO WAY!?!?!?
If anyone cares, Politico's gossip blog said he was working out at the WSC north of Dupont Circle this morning. Shocking ... a politician in the gym?
People used do this all the time when Clinton was spotted around the city, even as late as the beginning of his second presidency. I can remember a big crowd gathering outside while he ate at an Italian restaurant in the West End in November 1996, and the cheering and clapping that greeted him on the 20 yard walk to the limo.
In other words, it's not just about Obama, it's about the cult of celebrity in America generally. Although admittedly, I haven't seen GWB getting the same treatment the last few years . . .
Does he live in DC?
-Although admittedly, I haven't seen GWB getting the same treatment the last few years...-
Although admittedly, I haven't seen GWB getting the same treatment the last few years . . .
That's because Dubya never goes to restaurants in DC. He either eats in or orders carryout from Taco Bell.
Heh. Tacos rule.
we need a real cult-of-personality ruler. one the masses can really get behind and worship.
where the hell is kim jong-il when you need him?
Really, he went in the alley? The only alley there leads into the loading dock and it's disgusting!! I do see that the security guy is standing where the alley goes in off 17th, though. I wonder why they did that. I worked at the Mayflower through the Clinton years and they always used the DeSales entrance for any POTUS/FLOTUS/VPOTUS events. Monica Lewinsky, however, used the front door...
I was standing somewhere in that crowd in that picture, on the east side of 17th, facing the little alley on the south side of the Mayflower. He came out a side door into the alley, walked around the front of his waiting SUV, then stopped and took a few steps forward to wave when he heard all the cheering.
So what if politicians are spotted all the time in DC? A live spotting of a presidential candidate (particularly one you support) is not as common, and *I've* never seen him in person, so I thought it was pretty cool. Everyone around us was pretty jazzed. You can work in DC politics for years and still lose the jaded too-cool-to-care persona when something like this comes along. Or I can anyway. :)
p.s. The guy and girl standing behind me were chatting each other up, and he told her he worked for the American Enterprise Institute. So I guess even non-supporters will stand around for 30 minutes for a quick glimpse...
Wave that magic Obama-wand! Cure all our ills with your magical wizard powers.
I say let them eat hope.