When the President Comes to Town

President Obama came to our campus this past week. Since his historic election, this was his third visit to George Mason University and the fourth of his time as a national figure. One person joked, "If he comes any more he's going to have to get a parking decal like everyone else." Despite the comment and frequency of appearances, make no mistake, when the President comes to town it is a big deal. Always. The focus of his visit was, not surprisingly, health care. He arrived to give a speech and fire up his supporters to contact their representatives on behalf of this potentially monumental legislation. As of this writing, whether he was successful remains to be seen as Congress is still a day or two away from voting on this measure.

For those watching on television or even from the audience, this kind of event might seem fairly simple. A stage is constructed, the sound system is checked, and the President walks out and gives his speech. It is supposed to look simple. But it's not. Less than three full days earlier The White House had called to ask if the university could accommodate them by serving as a venue for President Obama. We immediately say "yes." Shortly afterward, an advance team was in our midst to meet with our events team to identify a possible site. The Patriot Center, the institution's 10,000-seat arena that hosts a range of events each year including commencement, rock stars, the circus, ice shows and sports events, was deemed ideal. But could the President draw a respectable crowd on such short notice? No one was certain, but The White House advance team felt it was worth the try.

Immediately The White House's complete advance team was unleashed to not only construct a stage but also to provide guidance on how seating within the arena should be arranged. Their group also included several key members of the President's communication office to direct how the university's own media team should work with the local, national, and even international reporters as well as security agents to work with campus police on how to deal with any possible protesters. As part of the university's media team, I was interested in seeing The White House's communication representatives up close and assessing how they worked. I found them to be competent, good humored, seasoned and oh-so-young; easily under 30.

In short, the event went by very well. Nearly 8,000 attended and, not surprisingly, his appearance and remarks dominated much of the news the rest of the day and into the next. The President came to town and it went by very well. Whether he will return remains to be seen, but our door is always open to any who occupy the highest office in the land.