All Eyes on Obama

February 5th, 2008 at 02:57pm Aaron Chambers

The Hyatt in downtown Chicago is bustling with folks anticipating Barack Obama’s Election Day speech.

Obama is not expected to begin speaking for seven more hours, but already several hundred people are flowing through and around the grand ballroom, in the hotel’s basement, where Obama will stage his event.

The crowd appears to be roughly divided between media and security. Yes, there are a couple hundred reporters, producers, etc., but there are just as many security personnel — secret service, Chicago police (uniformed and in plain clothes), and even officers wearing TSA (Transportation Security Administration) uniforms.

As I write this, the secturity team is clearing everybody out of the grand ballroom and press room across the hall. Following the security “sweep,” everybody heading back in must pass through a secret service checkpoint.

The focal point of the ballroom is Obama’s raised stage, which is backed by five steps of risers. Apparently, Obama will have a whole bunch of people standing behind him when he speaks — and folks watching TV will get to see all their faces.

The centerpiece of the room is another set of risers, reserved, of course, for TV cameras. I’m guessing a hundred or so cameras will fit; it’s just huge.

The rest of us media are relegated to the “press file” room across the hall. There are dozens of rows of tables and chairs for working media. There must be at least 300 seats. 

Obama, who is back in his home state following months of coast-to-coast campaigning, is expected to begin his remarks around 10 p.m. It depends on how the election goes. His speech no doubt will depend on whether he wins, loses or ties with Clinton today, Super Tuesday.

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