By Shannon Burns
Pine Whispers
Many Americans dream of getting the chance to meet the president of the United States, but for only a handful of people does this dream become a reality.
Reynolds High School social studies teacher Cris Wiley and English teacher Ruth Sartin, however, have both had the chance to meet President Barack Obama twice.
Wiley had a brief brush with Obama during the 2008 campaign, merely shaking his hand, but got to meet the elected president during Obama’s most recent trip to North Carolina.
The president flew into the Air National Guard base in Charlotte on the morning of March 7. His motorcade caravanned about 15 miles to Mount Holly so Obama could deliver a speech to workers at the Daimler truck factory. There, he offered praise for a company that had hired new workers and built engines that run on alternative fuels.
Both Sartin and Wiley were drivers in the motorcade, transporting members of the media from Air Force One to the factory.
Sartin’s nephew is on the president’s advance team that organizes these trips, and when she got the call that Obama needed drivers, she was right on it.
Sartin discovered that she and Obama share a strong sense of humor. Sartin explained that right before the group picture was snapped, Obama joked about being able to see over Sartin’s head. As a comeback, she asked if he threatened to give her bunny ears, and both were laughing as the official photo was snapped.
That humorous moment, added Wiley, showed off the president’s personality.
“Meeting the president was an incredible experience,” Wiley said. “Despite the cult of personality that surrounds him, he struck me as very genuine and incredibly relaxed.
“I believe he’d met the day before with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, to ease tensions about a potential war with Iran,” Wiley continued. “All the same, he was certainly the calmest person in the room – very personable, and very present in the moment. I think he understood what it meant for ordinary Americans to meet their president, and he was more than magnanimous about affording us the opportunity.”
Although Wiley did not have the chance to listen to Obama’s entire speech in person, he was able to read the text from the speech given that day.
“It highlighted some important initiatives for the economy, but also served as a stump speech in what is likely to be a swing state in November,” Wiley said.
Most Americans cannot imagine exactly what goes on in the life of the president: what it is like to be followed around 24-7 by security or not be able to simply walk out of the house to check the mail.
Wiley was able to experience firsthand a slice of what that life would be like.
“I was taken aback by the magnitude of the undertaking,” Wiley said. “The number of people involved in staging the event and handling the most minuscule of logistics is absolutely staggering. Every person involved has a small role to play, and for most people that role is far from the president.”
Elections are coming up in November, and many Americans’ opinions have changed about Obama while he has been in office. He still has many supporters, including a large number in North Carolina. Obama will return to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention from Sept. 3-6.
“I don’t believe my opinion of the president changed much, but my initial impression of the weight of his job was refined a bit,” Wiley said of being able to meet Obama. “I don’t know that anyone would choose to be the center of attention and have the decisive responsibility in the way the president is burdened with both. He shoulders it all with a clear sense of duty and a pretty enviable measure of panache.”