Today the president is discussing Health Care reform in a much talked about televised 6-hour meeting with representatives from both parties. I went to the White House to spot some senators and maybe the president himself. The pedestrian area on the North side of the White House, including the Lafayette park, was closed with fences. Even the 'live by the bomb, die by the bomb' protester tent, which has been in front of the White House ever since I first got there (and who knows how long before that), and which stood through three snowstorms this winter, was relocated to a far corner of the park. I encountered the greatest activity on the West side, at Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street. Some 100 protesters and 10 TV crews had gathered there. As 10AM approached, the police started directing everyone further away from where the president would pass. Their authority was undisputed; onze senior officer took ownership of the crossing and with resolute voice and gestures directed his juniors, the protesters and the press, who backed off without complaints.
It all went quite peaceful, except for one man who was put to the ground, handcuffed and arrested by three policemen, while relentlessly shouting "Stop Obama! Stop Obama!" Maybe the police overreacted a little bit, but that uncompromising attitude may as well be safeguarding that undisputed authority. The man's shouts faded as he was led away from the scene. Most protesters were against health care reform. Their signs read things like "Hocus POTUS" (POTUS being the acronym for President Of The United States), "Socialism Failure," "Hands off health care!," "This summit is a shame," "All bills off the table, start all over," and "Obamacare no! America can't afford it." And I saw a couple of Gadsden flags (Enter: the Tea Party?). The most awful sign called for Obama's impeachment and showed Obama with a Hitler moustache next to the words: "One small man, one big disasters for mankind." Apparently, the education system doesn't cover all either. It's a mystery to me why these protesters so fiercely oppose their beloved nation finally doing something about that stain on its civilization.
With the moment of the president's passage coming closer, the outbursts of shouts from the protesters got more frequent and louder. Then, a little past 10, quite suddenly lenses raised and a high-held microphone came wobbling behind some black government SUV's. That should be him. I pierced over the cameras, but in the three seconds he was in view I couldn't tell him apart from his company. Camera crews I was standing behing took their cameras off their shoulders and began packing their stuff. Was this it? The crews had to take their shots 150 m away from their target. "He was walking with Biden," one cameraman said. Thanks for the info, now I can check them both. With a little sarcastic smile on his face, a German sounds man said: "That was worth waiting three hours in the chilly morning for." I guess he doesn't have to worry too much, as he likely enjoys good and reasonably priced coverage in case he catches a cold.
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