The Day the President Came to Chinatown

I was invited by the Ong family to attend the president's speech at the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center.

No big cameras were allowed so all I had was my iPhone5.

I had a bad fall the other week so I was hobbling around with a cane.  They allowed me to enter as a handicap person.  That's a first for me.  I was able to sit down too.  The average person had to stand.  And they stood for more than two hours.  Supposedly there were 500 people in attendance but it seemed a little less than that.

The whole scene seemed artificial.  The gym of the recreation center was transformed into a television studio.  Draped with blue cloth on the walls and television studio lights professionally installed.  A huge American flag for the background.

The president finally entered and made his speech concerning immigration law reform which he was trying to push through congress.  I was probably like forty feet from where the president stood.  

I don't know what it is... but even the president seemed artificial.  Like he was acting and he was a very good actor.  He could have been just as well be a Jay Leno or Conan O'Brian.  Everything seemed staged and things happened on cue.  Even the hecklers that seemed to heckle at cue and then allowing the president to talk about the issue the hecklers brought about.  If they were true hecklers, they would heckle and heckle till they're lead out.  But these hecklers seemed orderly and were not led out.

Well...it was my first time I saw an American president live and up close.  At one point he was up about 3-4 rolls in front of me. 

By the way, I did not participate in the last two presidential elections.