CT Blue

As I mentioned Friday evening, Groton Democrat Liz Duarte, was Ned Lamont’s guest at the Obama appearance in Stamford. I asked Liz to write something about the event, and I am pleased to present, live and unedited, Liz’s account of the night. I was pleased she could do this, as I had heard rumors that she planned to have her right hand preserved in amber or something, which would have made writing sort of difficult. So, without further adieu:

I had the incredible good fortune of being a guest at Ned Lamont’s table at the Chris Dodd fundraiser with President Obama as the speaker. Being nervous about our infamous 95 traffic nightmare, I left 5 hours early. Not a bit of traffic between 12 and 2 pm going to Stamford! There were open seats in the lobby area so I sat down near Mark Davis, TV reporter, and did my people watching for 2 hours. He reads the NY Times and talks a lot on the phone. The lobby was filled with security. The bomb sniffing dogs were frightening looking with their muzzles. About 4 pm lines started to form only no one seemed to be directing people where/how to register or where to go. The people who paid $2450 for the private reception did get in right away though! Metal detectors were set up and I was nervous that I’d set it off with my metal hip and knee. Hmmm – not a beep. Makes me wonder how good the detectors were?

I waited in line to register and stood next to Gail Malloy, sister of Dan, who was very cordial and friendly to everyone – she worked the line! Because there was only one person with a laptop checking in 1000 people, the line didn’t move. I finally told the staff I knew where my table was because Ned Lamont had already gone in. She let me in without even looking up my name. My first thought was: maybe everyone from Groton could have gotten in for
free??

The program started right away with 2 speakers and the room was only half full. After we got our salads, John Larson introduced Chris Dodd. Chris knew everyone was there to hear the President so he didn’t speak long. Then the shining moment – President Barack Obama walked up to the podium to speak. By this time everyone was finally in the room and we yelled and cheered loudly. The President laughingly said we were a feisty group. He spoke for over ½ hour. He complimented Chris Dodd for all the fine work he has done and is still doing now. He talked about Health Care reform, Wall St., education, and mops (a great story of Republicans complaining but not helping). I frantically took pictures in the beginning, trying to get good angles around the tele-prompters. Then I stopped, put the camera down, took a breath and felt how wonderful it was to be in the same room as our great President and just listened. He spoke so passionately. It brought me to tears.

I do have to admit, however, the secret service were creepy. I swear every time I looked at the 2 men standing in front/side of Barack Obama, they looked straight at me. I was getting a bit paranoid. But I forgot about them when Obama ended his speech. As the crowd was ecstatically cheering, Susan Cocco (former Hillary Clinton CT Campaign manager) who was sitting at our table, rushed up to the blue curtained barricade. In an instant, I followed her
– yes my new knee and hip are working just fine – I haven’t moved that fast in years! President Obama walked around the barricade area and shook everyone’s hands who were within reaching distance. I was one person away from him and he shook my hand. All I could say to him was, “thank you so much for all you are doing”. Then he was out of the
room.

If you’re wondering what you eat for $1000 – it was salmon and steak over a squash mixture. It was very good.