Yes, that’s President Obama shaking hands with Bob King this past December.Who is Bob King? Well, you probably haven’t heard of him, but he’s a friend and colleague of ours. When President Obama paid a visit in December to the Allentown, Pennsylvania, company at which Bob works, Bob was offered the opportunity to meet and speak briefly with the President. Politics aside, who wouldn’t jump at that chance?
Bob told us, President Obama decided to visit a working class city, and I guess Allentown is as good as any being fourth largest in Pennsylvania. At our company initially they didn't confirm he would be here, but we noticed five or six big black Suburbans driving around throughout the week and people walking through the plant and roof areas. The sniffer dogs canvassed the site also. On the day he arrived we noticed six snipers with awesome looking rifles in position.
We were the last stop that day, Friday the fourth as I recall. Everyone that was on site had an option to shake hands with him and actually say a couple things. I made a comment that I saw him giving a speech the night before and although Fox didn't have anything nice to say I thought he did a hell of a job.
It was an opportunity that was too convenient to miss, getting paid to wait less than an hour to meet the President! It was kind of surreal standing there next to someone that important.
We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture, and President Obama is frequently portrayed more as a celebrity than as someone who can truly affect our lives. But any President – Democrat or Republican – can truly affect our lives, and having the opportunity to share just a minute with a sitting President is a rare opportunity indeed.
