Ruby Slippers at Philadelphia Obama Speech!

I should have known, when I posted on the event earlier, that a blogging buddy would provide a first-hand report on President Obama's Philadelphia healthcare speech yesterday. Of course, this is slightly more intense than photo-blogging a tea party! Mary Sue at Ruby Slippers attended the Obama speech in Philly and has a personal report, "Field Trip to Obama''s Health Care Speech in Philadelphia":

When we were through security, we were told to move to the floor beneath the podium. I had an unbelievable view of the stage. I must say that in person, Obama looks more like Fred Armisen than you would think. Here is Kelly's picture of the SEIU people directly in front of the President. The group was in a roped off area and they weren't all dressed in purple but they broke out in a chant together while we were waiting for the arrival of Obama. This was the only group that was able to shake hands with Obama at the conclusion as well.

More pics at the post. And Mary Sue's daughter's friend Kelly has a guest post at the blog, "A Young Conservative's Reaction to Obama's Health Care Speech":

I must say that is was pretty cool to see the President of the United States, especially given how close he was. But that wore off pretty quickly. I don’t think I clapped at all during that speech (which was giving the Secret Service Agent near me the willies). The level of frenetic excitement in that gym was amazing. The way that President spun the speech was masterful though. The bit about the Congressional Budget Office will make a particularly lovely sound bite, particularly if no one looks behind the smoke and mirrors presented for the CBO to score. President Obama isn't likely to present the harsh truth that this plan will result in a $2.7 trillion increase not the decrease in the deficit he claimed.

Great stuff -- and a golden reminder that there's hope for the youth of tomorrow!