Nice to meet you, Mr. President

This afternoon former President Bill Clinton visited my hometown of Somerset, PA, campaigning for his wife in the PA primary. I've never seen a former or current President in person so I couldn't pass up the chance to see President Clinton.

I got in line around 1pm. The gymnasium at the Somerset Area High School was supposed to open at 1:30, but it didn't open until well after 2:00, so I had the chance to get a nice sunburn for about an hour. Once we did get inside, an area student sang the National Anthem and then Somerset County Commissioners John Vatavuk and Pamela Tokar-Ickes shared their support for Hillary Clinton. It was another 45 minutes or so before President Clinton would arrive, so I took the time to find a nice spot to take some photos.

I did find a great spot, one fairly close to the main podium and one which allowed me to see over much of the crowd gathered before the platform. I'd only been standing there for 5 minutes or so when event security came over and asked if I was with the press. I said I wasn't, and that I was just there to take some photos for my personal use. She then said something along the lines that "Since I wasn't with the press, my camera hadn't been screened so the secret service would be very nervous to have me close to the President". I was already good 20 yards away, so I asked her if I could just back up to around the middle of the gymnasium. She said "further" and directed me pretty much to the back of the gym.

I wanted to tell her that I never knew Nikon made sniper rifles disguised as digital cameras, but I bit my tongue and did as told. I had my 70-200 lens, so I was still able to get fairly close shots, but my new placement meant I couldn't shoot without getting the heads and shoulders of the dozens of people who were allowed to stand closer (and use their consumer cameras) in the shots. Oh well, it was still neat to see President Clinton, but today didn't sway my vote on Tuesday.