Politics Central

First off, I'm sitting here listening to Sarah Palin give her speech at the Republican National Convention, and I went into it fairly open minded having not heard her speak too many times. That said, I'm getting severely rubbed the wrong way by her speech. She's staying away from her policies that I don't necessarily agree with, but the substance of her speech has so far been making Obama the subject of ridicule and jokes that are anything but funny. They're not attacks on issues or charachter, they're borderline insults. She seems to be unable to help but mock the Democrats. The constant booing and chanting of the convention floor doesn't help either.

Anyway, enough politics for now.

I started off the day by heading into DC and ended up right behind the White House to have our morning conference call. I'd never seen the back of the White House before, and it's much closer to the road than from the front. While on the call, I watched numerous tourists get pushed back to the far curb by upwards of 15 policemen while a motorcade rolled up (not the presidential motorcade, but probably someone fairly important with several tinted window SUVs and a police car).



And of course, while there I had to wander around to the front side for the classic picture. There is an infinite amount more security than the last time I was there. You can no longer drive on the road in front of the White House without going through a roadblock and a bomb-sniffing dog checking out your car. You can still walk through, however.



I met up with Rhett (good friend from Oregon) who is doing an internship with One Economy, a DC non-profit that aids low-income families across the globe, this summer. He's enjoying his summer, and one highlight was when he ended up talking basketball with Obama a few weeks ago. Obama is an honorary boardmember of One Economy, and at a luncheon a few weeks ago Rhett happened to end up at the same table as him. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

We had really good Italian food at Vapiano, where you pick your dish and watch it get made in front of you. It's kind of a trendy, modern restaurant.



Also, I had ridden the DC Metro before, but I have to say that after experiencing public transit in numerous other cities, the Metro blows them all away as far as ease of use and the infrastructure.



This evening we had a small marketing event with a local DC running club. We gave away free stuff and raffled off a couple pairs of shoes.



After returning the trucks to parking at the airport, I met up with Perry and his wife Megan and went back to their place for a while to chat and have some ice cream. We had some great laughs, as this well-timed picture illustrates. I'll probably see them again when I'm back next week (and Rhett too for that matter), but I figured I'd better see them tonight because Megan is pregnant and due in three days, so by the time I get back they may have their hands full.



Tomorrow morning I'll be up early to drive to the Baltimore airport where I'll fly out to my parents' place in St. George, Utah for the weekend.