Senator Barack Obama

It had been a very unrealistic goal of mine for the summer, that if the slightest chance arose, I wanted to go to see a speech by Democrat presumptive nominee, Senator Barack Obama.
There are many things that I both agree on and disagree with his policies, and if asked honestly, I would prefer his brand of politics. However, since I’m an impartial observer as a BBC intern, I wanted to view it as a spectacle.
I had been told earlier in the summer that I would need officially recognised press credentials and to be reserving my place to get in, so the opportunity seemed a distant dream of ever getting there.
On Tuesday though, I went along with a producer and cameraman from the bureau to conduct vox-pops (interviews) outside the Woodrow Wilson Centre where he was due to speak. A few supporters and the odd McCain protestor were all we needed, and then we were to head back to the office. Fortunately, our Arabic Services correspondent wished to do a piece to camera, and asked us to meet her there.
As Obama’s convoy drove past, it was interesting to see the window down, and he relaxed in the back seat. The car behind not so, with armed personnel pointing sub-machine guns at anyone with the mere thought of trying something. I thought this quick glance to be good, but little did I know that we would be granted access to the conference hall. By sheer fortune I had chosen today to bring my passport with me, knowing that, as time draws near to the end of the internship, if something came up, I wasn’t going to miss it.
By the kindness of the lady on the press registration, we were able to convince her that I was an intern accompanying them into the hall, and she somehow gave me a press pass.
As I say, reporting this purely as a spectacle, it was some event to behold. Usually you expect to see reporters recording the speech, yet writing down quotes and summaries, they weren’t. From what I seen, many were captivated, clearly having had to put their names down quick to gain entry. I had never seen the like of it before.
I was standing alongside representatives, and who knows, maybe some of the top men and women of ABC, CNN, CBS, PBS, and also some non-journalistic organisations like Fox News. Nobody had taken the place at the dead centre camera position of the podium, and I was able to sit there. With the press pass the freedom to roam and also to take photos was incredible. Our guys left to cover reaction from outside, yet thankfully phoning back to the bureau they let me stay on to watch the rest of the hour-long address.
It was to go up as the BBC’s leading story, where it was argued to be his most significant to date. It related to foreign affairs, Iraq, the Middle East, and nuclear weapons, with his intention to portray his image as Commander-in-Chief. I have since recorded the tape to DVD as a momento. While he used an autocue of course, his pace and control was astonishing. It was practically a master-class in how to deliver a speech. At the start and end the cameras were flashing, yet if one went off during the speech, it almost pierced the tension and hold he had over the room. That isn’t to describe it as a cult; there were no banners or wild supporters, it was a very serious speech, about very serious problems, and I can say I could hardly believe my luck being there.
Later that afternoon, with the New York tiredness completely taken away after the morning, I went along with Adam Brookes, Defence Correspondent, to the Iwo Jima Memorial to record a concluding piece to a package on the Obama/McCain stances on foreign policy. Also including the footage from the speech, it went onto the 10 O’Clock News back at home, and it was great to see how it was put together.

Furthermore, Matt Frei graciously allowed me to speak with him for a while on the success of BBC America and his own views on the media. I was to stay in and watch from the studio his recording of BBC World News America from 6-6.30, and had an awesome photo taken with him inside.
After all this came the celebrations for Lauren’s 20th Birthday in Dupont Circle.
If ever there was a day that defined the summer for me. This was, is, and will be my highlight. It was a great experience to see the behind the scenes set-up, and how the media were organised, but I truly felt, as I stayed by myself at this speech, that I was looking at the man who will probably become the next President of the United States of America; that for me was quite special.