‘Kind of neat’ to see the President ~ October 10, 1994

David Heiller

Cindy and I and our two children went to see President Bill Clinton on Friday, Nov. 4, in Duluth.

It was an interesting experience, not only seeing the president, but seeing all the side shows.

Secret Service agents were everywhere. One man in a brown suit stood on the lawn outside Romano Gym talking into his sleeve. Hopefully he had a radio in there.

Secret Service guy.

Another guy in the balcony where we sat had a radio transmitter in his left ear. He was a young guy with a thick neck, like a football player. He walked back and forth, always looking at the crowd. I tried not to make eye contact. You wouldn’t want to tangle with him.

We had to walk through metal detectors to get into the gym. Police looked in my camera bag and Cindy’s purse. Some people were being frisked with hand-held metal detectors. I wondered why. Maybe they had forgotten to remove their car keys.

Or maybe they were assassins. You’re imagination runs wild with the President around.

In the back of the gym was a big platform, loaded with about a dozen television cameras and many photographers. Two men operated a fancy looking sound system.

Before the President arrived, a man in a red tie walked onto the stage and poured a glass of water from a flask he kept in his suit coat. I think it was water. I hope it was water.

Another man put a presidential seal on the front of the podium. He didn’t do this before the mayor or the college president or the political hopefuls spoke. Only before the President and Ann Wynia, the person he was trying to get elected to the U.S. Senate. And it came down right after he left the stage.

Right before the President came out; about a dozen photographers scurried onto another platform to the left of the stage. Their cameras had giant telephoto lenses.

All this set the stage for the President’s entrance. A special song played from that fancy sound system. A man announced him in a deep voice with “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.” No Hoobert Hervers at this rally.

We cheered loud and long, 45 seconds, I read in the Duluth paper. Everybody kept standing during the whole speech, which didn’t go over two well with our two kids. They were tired of standing, and tired of hearing how honored everybody was that the President was in Duluth. I probably would have felt the same way at age 11 or nine.

So our kids sat down during the President’s speech. I felt guilty about that, like I do in church if they sit down during the Lord’s Prayer. We don’t let them do that in church, I thought. Why should we let them now?

But this is America, where we try to separate Church and State. So instead of yelling at them, I leaned over and told the nine year old, “Malika, I’m 41 years old and this is the first President I’ve ever seen. That’s why I’m standing.” And she stood up.

The family in 1994.

I can’t remember most of the speech. President Clinton talked about how our economy is improving, and what a great person Ann Wynia is, and what an ominous person her opponent, Rod Grams, is.

He had some jokes too that were actually funny. Sen. Paul Wellstone had given a warm-up speech that was down-right rousing. The kind only Wellstone can give, a spine-tingler.

Then the President said, “Too bad Paul doesn’t have any energy and enthusiasm. Never know where he stands.”

The quote that stuck with me the most was about Ann Wynia, who doesn’t have the speaking skills of Wellstone. President Clinton picked up on that in a gentle way. There are a lot of people in Washington who are good talkers. We need people in Washington who are good dο-ers, not just good talkers, the President said. That applies to all people in all trades, not just politics.

PEOPLE took home different things from their trip to see the President. There was unbridled enthusiasm. I saw Christine Carlson of Net Lake waving to the president like he was an old friend that she hadn’t seen for long time.

There was disappointment from people with tickets who stood for hours outside the gym, and saw the doors close in front of them. They couldn’t get in because the fire marshal or Secret Service or the head custodian wouldn’t let any more people inside. I read later that 5,000 tickets were printed, but the gym only holds 3,800.

The situation was made a little better after the rally, when the President went out and shook many hands there as he could.

On Sunday night I asked Malika what she thought of the trip. “It was too hot and I was really sweaty and all we did mostly was stand, and shouting and clapping.”

Cindy heard those comments and asked Mοllie if there wasn’t something she liked. “I liked going to the restaurant,” Mollie said. We went out to eat after the rally. (It really was good food… Taste of Saigon.)

President Clinton in Duluth, Minnesota.

I then asked Noah what he thought. “It was fun. I liked yelling a lot. Any more questions?” He knew what I was looking for.

Jake and Andrew Lourey had an unforgettable experience. After the rally, President Clinton shook hands with people in the front of the gym as he was leaving. Jake and Andrew came running down from their balcony seats vaulted a railing, slid under a rope, and shook the President’s hand. Some kid told Jake not be so pushy, so Jake, age 11, moved to the side, and shook the President’s hand again. That kid’s got a future in politics.

“Kind of neat” he told me later. And that about sums it up.