Barack Obama, senator of Ill. and presidential hopeful came to ASU on Friday. I dragged my tired ass out of bed at 7:30 to bike to campus with Kris (who had regrettably agreed to come withe me.) Got there nice and early, snagged a good spot in line to be among the first admitted onto Hayden Lawn where the rally would take place about two hours later. I took some pictures, got a few quick interviews for sound bites for a radio package, and then finally the gates opened and they let us on the lawn. We hustled and got a spot right up front. Armed with my 200mm, I got great close-ups of Obama as he excited the crowd with messages of changing congress, providing health care for all Americans, making college affordable, bringing the troops home form Iraq, and a plethora of other horrible things that Americans are itching to see fixed. It was all very exciting. I felt so privileged to be there, to be listening to this great man speak. He's eloquent and honest sounding. I say honest "sounding" because you never really know how honest a politician is, but he's convincing. He's the ideal for many of my generation. He speaks to us the way we want to be spoken to; respected, understood, and hopeful. We want to see the world change for the better and he wants to be the one to begin the process. I think I will always remember standing on that lawn, sweating and clicking away at my camera while being shaded by a blue campaign sign hearing that venerated black man dissipate all our age-old disputes in a single speech of hope and promises. Promises we can believe in.