At 6:15 p.m. when I left work with my friend we walked into a crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the Mayflower Hotel. They were waiting to get a glimpse of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama who was addressing a press conference at the hotel. Obama was talking to the press after a meeting at the White House with President Bush, and Republican presidential candidate John McCain to discuss the $700 billion economic rescue package for the country’s financial institutions.
We joined the crowd and decided to wait for 15 minutes and try our luck to get a glimpse of Obama. With every opening of the hotel doors the expectations went up. 15 minutes turned into 30 minutes, and a coffee and cake later we were still standing there in the rather chilly weather. Around 7:15 p.m. there was a flurry of car movements, and with sirens flashing a convoy left the hotel. A huge section of the crowd sighed and left. No one had a glimpse of Obama. But some of us lingered - there were still security personnel standing around. Then just past 7:30 p.m. Obama emerged into the alley adjacent to the hotel, waved to the crowd, boarded a black SUV and left.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he leaves the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C.(Photograph by Sebastian John)
