My, how things have changed.
I first saw Barack Obama in person on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. As I wrote at the time,
he'd "closed off Washington Square Park, 9.75
greenish acres at the heart of Greenwich Village and New York
University, and welcomed dozens of Secret Service agents, scores of
cops, four giant metal detectors, a herd of police dogs and,
ultimately, 24,000 supporters, curious locals, ’60s holdovers, dog
walkers, yoga devotees and punk rockers... to his first Big Apple rally
(and largest event to date)." I didn't know what to expect. Not so much
from the senator himself; I'd been following his career, like most
other political junkies, for years. But the whole Obamastock experience
was new to me. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to discover
that, despite all the security, I was able to wander wherever I wanted
and interview whomever I wanted. I was even able to get one of Obama's
top press people on the phone. No hassle.
I
mention the Washington Square Park rally because it's superficially
similar to tonight's Youth Ball, which I just finished "covering" here
at the Washington Hilton. Both events boasted rosters of "young" and/or
"hip" recording artists (rapper Jin and indie-rock group The Northern
at Washington Square Park; Kid Rock, Kanye West and Fall Out Boy at the
Youth Ball). Both attracted a few celebs (Geoffrey Wright then, Rosario
Dawson now). And both crowds were heavy on the 18-35 demographic. But
as I said, things have changed. To get into tonight's gala--one of the hottest of the 10 official Inaugural Balls--we media types not
only had to pass through the usual metal detector; we had to wait until the
Secret Service dogs had approved our bags--an olfactory ordeal that
took, oh, 30 minutes--then follow a vigilant volunteer past the
souvenir stands (panoramic, prom-style portraits: only $423!),
the partygoers and, most depressingly, the bar, only to arrive at a
heavily guarded holding pen in the far corner of the ballroom. Want
water? A volunteer must escort you. Need to pee? Same deal. Ask nicely,
and they'll even fetch you a real, live youth to interview. Needless to
say, actual "reporting" doesn't really thrive in such barren soil.
Now,
it's not like I'm complaining. I totally understand why tonight's
measures were, if not necessary, then at least reasonable. But it's
still worth noting how much of a difference a year and a half
makes--not to mention a favorable outcome on Election Day. In most of
the important ways, tonight's Youth Ball was far superior to the
Washington Square Park event. Kanye West is, like, a million times
awesomer than The Northern (he even wrote a special "Heartless"
coda--"anything you dream can come true tonight"--for the occasion). It
was pretty inspiring to watch my fellow millennials--who,
believe it or not, were split between Hillary Clinton and Obama in
September 2007--celebrating the candidate they wound up propelling to
the presidency. And nothing I've seen since arriving in D.C. on Sunday
has been as moving as the Michelle-Barack slow dance--or as funny as
Obama's post-dance punchline. "That's what's called 'old school,'" he
informed us.
So yeah. Presidents can definitely throw better
parties than struggling, second-place presidential candidates. Still, I
couldn't help thinking back fondly on Washington Square Park--from my
current seat in the press corral.
Oh well. Four more years.
P.S. Yes, I had to (briefly) give my minders the slip to capture the video above. The things I do for Newsweek.
