President Obama spoke to a crowd of 9,000 people gathered at the George Mason University athletic complex on the morning of Friday, Oct. 19.
While most AHS students were in school, thousands of Fairfax County residents waited in line for hours to hear the President speak. These eager citizens were excited to see Obama up close.
“The campus was cut in half by a line,” spectator John Tshimanga said. “I had to walk half a mile to get to the end.”
The President was introduced by Congressman Gerry Connolly, whose words served warmed up a crowd that was facing dreary weather in the mid-morning drizzle.
In his speech, Obama opened with emphasizing the shortage of time – only 18 days – until election day on Tuesday, November 6th. He mentioned how on election day, Americans would be making a decision between “two fundamentally different visions for the country that we love.”
“You’ve heard of the new deal, the square deal, the fair deal – Mitt Romney is trying to give you a sketchy deal,” said the President. This was just the first of many crowd-pleasing lines that Obama would deliver in his speech.
The President proceeded by criticizing Romney’s five-point plan for the economy. “It’s really just a one point plan instead of a five point plan. One point: folks at the very top play by a different set of rules,” Obama said.
The next topic addressed in his speech was the President’s health care reform – “Obamacare”. This term was originally coined by the plan’s opponents in Congress to describe it as extremely left-wing, verging on socialist. When Obama heard of this nickname, he adopted it as his own and now uses it to his advantage.
Cheers and laughter erupted from the crowd when Obama introduces his newest concept – “Romnesia”. He used this term to describe instances in which Romney has changed his views throughout his political campaign.
“If you say women should have access to contraceptive care, but you support legislation that would let your employer deny that contraceptive care,” Obama said, “then you might have a case of Romnesia.”
Bringing it full circle, Obama connects his diagnosis of “Romnesia” to Obamacare. “Here’s the good news,” he said, “Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions. We can fix you up – we’ve got a cure!”
Moving on, the President listed his accomplishments over the past four years. He claims to have been true to the promises he made when running for the presidency in 2008. He ended the war in Iraq, located and executed Osama Bin Laden, and repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – a military policy that banned openly homosexual people from joining the armed forces. On the home front, Obama has been said to cut taxes on the middle class and small businesses.
“America does better when everyone participates, everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone plays by the same rules,” said the President.
Toward the end of his speech, Obama appeals to the loyalty of his fans. “I believe in you,” he said. “I need you to keep believing in me.”
The President ended his speech with the cliche and inevitable presidential line – “God bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.”
In the jammed line to get back to their cars, the spectators commented on the President’s speech.
“I was glad to see him enjoying himself,” Tshimanga said. “He got people laughing with his original idea of Romnesia. I consider myself lucky to have heard something new.”
Although the event took place during the day, many AHS students were able to watch the speech later on Obama’s YouTube channel. Like the spectators at the live speech, they too had many comments after hearing the President’s words.
“He seemed really friendly,” sophomore Bee Coaquira said. “One thing about Obama is that he is very charismatic. Maybe his government plans are not the best, but he is definitely the most charismatic.”
“The speech was hilarious,” freshman Dezhawn Dumornay said. “He really appealed to the crowd, and it helped that he was thinking a lot about the people. Everything that he said made sense and came together well.”
As high school students, we can’t always make it to every speech and political rally, but we can stay connected through social media websites. No matter which candidate you prefer, you can always stay current on their information through their Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts. See you at the polls!
If you would like to watch Obama’s speech at GMU, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEXyZA78z2k&feature=relmfu
