by Brenna Deerberg

West High students stood on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of President Obama on Friday afternoon. Some students, such as Claire Hird ’13 and Wynne Fuller ’13, left school as early as 10:30 in order to snag an ideal place to listen to the president address Iowa City. Their hair was still damp from the earlier rain, but the crowd was abuzz with excitement. The opening speakers were applauded enthusiastically, and when Joe Biden took the stage to introduce President Obama the cheering was equally as excited. However, when Obama himself stepped up onto the temporary stage situated on the Pentacrest the noise levels became deafening.
“It’s good to be back at the University of Iowa,” Obama said as he began his speech.
Hundreds of iPads, iPhones and a random assortment of other camera devices rose above the crowd, trained on center stage at the President of the United States.
The crowd was rapt, laughing at Obama’s jokes and cheering when they were supposed to. Phrases like “basic bargain” and “I need your help. I need your voice” prompted ear-splitting levels of enthusiasm.
“I think all of the people there were pretty much in support of him so he was received well,” said Hird, a member of West High’s Young Republicans club.
The black and gold attired crowd behind Obama’s platform started chants of “four more years” in the middle of the speech. Obama responded by saying,
“This is great, but you haven’t even heard my third plan yet,” causing another wave of laughter to sweep across the masses. Similarly, there were moments of booing when Obama made a comment about his competitor’s plans for the nation.
“Don’t boo, vote,” Obama said.
The speech came to an end with Obama’s voice rising about the cheering crowd in a crescendo.
“God bless you,” Obama said. “Let’s get to work. Let’s move forward.”
A final chorus of “Four more years” followed Obama as he took Michelle Obama’s hand and helped her from the stage, followed closely by Joe and Jill Biden.