My first political rally was in 2004. It was the night before the Nov. election and John Kerry and John Edwards had invaded Cleveland. It was one of the most exciting nights of my life. I thought I was seeing the next president of the United States. I was wrong.
These past few days I was able to do something I’ve always wanted to do: Cover a rally for a presidential candidate. Not once, but twice. I was in Lyndhurst for a Hillary Clinton rally on Friday and on Monday I went to Youngstown State to cover Barack Obama.
I spent an entire Friday evening in Lyndhurst. I waited 45 minutes in the cold to get in the press entrance. I stood for five hours straight. And I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.
It was a chance to hear Clinton talk for longer than the same 15 second soundbites that play on every cable news network. Did she say anything earth-shattering? Not, really. I knew she would talk about education and jobs. I figured she would go off on her little spiel on how Obama’s speeches don’t get work done.
But it was the moments in between the scripted speech that caught my interest. Clinton passed a bottle of water to a person to the side of the stage who needed medical attention. Clinton said “Mr. Secret Service man, would you hand that water over there?” as the water made its way through the crowd. She smiled as regained her composure and said “We did get a little hot on the rhetoric.”
The moment only lasted about thirty seconds, but it actually demonstrated a human side to Clinton that we don’t always see.
Partway through her speech, Clinton talked about parents who call her and ask her what to do about insurance for their terminally sick kids. She spoke softly into the mic. The feel of the room became somber. She asked “What am I supposed to tell them?” The mood suddenly became lighter as a man yelled from the floor “Vote for Hillary.” The crowd cheered.
People complain that politicians are too robotic, and maybe that’s true. But sometimes, you need to see a politician in their element to remember they are human.
-Jen Steer
