The thrill of Bill

Bill Clinton came to UC Davis this evening to campaign for Hillary. The announcement in the paper said he'd be speaking at 9 p.m. in the Pavilion (aka the old Rec Hall) and that there'd be seating for 1,800 to 2,000 people. Susan, Bill and I wanted to hear him, so we headed over to campus about 7 o'clock. A lot—a LOT—of other people had the same idea; when we got there, the line was already literally around the block, several people deep all along its length. But we figured what the heck, we were there, and we might get in, so we found the end of the line and took our places in the queue. The north wind had begun blowing earlier in the day, and it picked up and got colder as we waited. And waited. But the crowd was good natured, lots of joking and speculating on whether any of us all the way back where we were would make it into the hall (one woman said, "If I don't get in, I'm voting for Obama!").

I saw some university staff people and other non-student-looking types in the crowd, but most were students, and I felt encouraged and heartened by their evident interest. But my nominee for the most inspiring person there was the young man right behind us in line. His name was Nick, and he's in the fifth grade in Orangevale, about 35 miles east of here. He wanted to come hear Bill Clinton, and so he and his mom drove over and got in line. Nick said he's interested in the election, and he and his classmates talk about it sometimes. Right now, he says, about half of his class is for Hillary, and the other half is for Obama. He himself hasn't yet made up his mind.

We didn't get in. We ended up watching some of Clinton's remarks on the TV monitor in the Fox 40 truck; the guy at the controls saw a bunch of us standing outside peering in his windows, and he opened the side doors so we could see better, and he turned up he sound so we could hear. Nice of him to do that, and in future I will think more kindly (well, a little more kindly) about the Fox 40 organization.

I was disappointed not to get to see Bill up close and personal, but I've seen him in person twice before. What I was really hoping for, and what made me feel the most disappointed, was that Nick didn't get in, either. If I'd had the chance, I'd have given him my spot.