Today the Lincoln Memorial played host to a massive public concert. Starting around 2pm, hundreds of thousands flocked down to the Mall and surrounding areas. I played it solo for the first part of the day and took the Metro to Farragut North (about a mile from the action). I came up the escalator from underground and was immediately inundated with vendors selling EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN. I'm sure I could've found Obama branded vegetables if I had looked hard enough.
Anyway, I got super lucky and caught a glimpse of Obama. As I passed the Blair house (where Obama is staying), I noticed that the Secret Service was queuing up and generally looking 'serious'. I pushed to the street and saw three limosines. The middle one contained Barack and Michelle. As I was photographing the motorcade, Barack pressed his face near the window and waved. I've seen Obama in person, but here he was, ten feet away! Right as I was about to take his photo through the glass, he looked in my direction and waved enthusiastically. Stupidly, I waved back instead of taking the picture. Before I recovered from my brush with 'fame', the motorcade had sped up.
Call me stupid, but when the President is really close to you and waves, you're going to wave back!
-Vaughn Wallace, staff photographer
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