My brother Don and his wife Arvilla arrived yesterday for a visit, and soon after their arrival I learned that Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan would hold a rally on the Miami University campus in Oxford today.
We arrived an hour before the rally's scheduled 5:30 start, and walked to the end of the long line.
On our way to the end of the line, I saw a number of good friends, among them Doug, who was loaded down with some high-powered photographic equipment. Including an iPhone.
It was quite a crowd. One of the security guards who checked us in through the metal detectors said they were told to expect a crowd of 1,000. He estimated that six or seven times that had arrived. We heard they actually had to shut the gates at 5:30 and send the rest of the crowd to viewing positions outside the barriers.
The first speaker was one of Paul Ryan's professors during his student days at Miami. He spoke in glowing terms of Ryan and then introduced Ohio governor John Kasich and and Senator Rob Portman, who took the stage together.
Kasich spoke first, and Portman followed. Both men did a fine job and kept their remarks appropriately short before the senator introduced the man of the hour, the Miami graduate, Congressman Paul Ryan.
Ryan strode confidently to the stage, smiling and waving to the cheering crowd.
He won the willing crowd immediately with references to Skyline Chili and Oxford institutions, Skipper's and Bagel & Deli.
The sun and my position made it hard to get a decent photo, but his short speech was engaging and inspiring, especially for a man who has only had three or four days on the stump.
It's not every day (or any day heretofore) I get to see and hear a governor, U.S. senator, and congressman and vice presidential candidate just a few miles from my home. It was well worth the effort, in my book.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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