I see Gerhard Schröder!

SPD: Jena Rally 15.08.05

Originally uploaded by elmada.

So tonight I achieved something that put me in a select group of people on the planet: I have now seen the leaders of two different western countries in person.

The rarity of seeing one’s leader in person was pointed out to me in an American Presidency class back at the University of Wyoming. At the time I hadn’t seen a president in person, so I was in the majority. Then one Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Bill Clinton came to Denver, and I got to see him in person. Not only that, after he spoke, he worked the crowd and I managed to press forward and reached out to touch his hand. I didn’t make a similar effort to touch then Governor Roy Romer’s hand-I’d already shaken his hand at some point.

Tonight I added Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor. Schröder was in Jena campaigning for office and the SPD party-assuming that there is an election next month. (The Constitutional Court could rule that his calling for elections was illegal in the next few days, thus aborting the campaign.)

Naturally I didn’t understand a word that Schröder said, but that didn’t make the trip worthless. Rather it was interesting watching people and making comparisons.

Back when I went to hear, and got lucky enough to touch, Bill Clinton, I had to pass through metal detectors and get patted down. Everybody went through the metal detectors if they expected to be within eyesight of the US President. Tonight, nobody went through metal detectors, and only those who opted for seating right in front of the stage had to go through security: they were patted down from top to bottom.

The campaign speech also differed from an incumbent’s speech in the United States: hecklers were within shouting distance of the Chancellor-blowing whistles, holding up signs, and shouting while he was speaking. In comparison, people who showed up with a neutral to negative bumper sticker at Bush campaign stops in 2004 were turned away before they even reached security.

Lastly, amongst my first impressions, I have to confess that Schröder is a dynamic and enthusiastic speaker. I haven’t seen many politicians who could take an audience and make it come alive. I realize, of course, that he was the main attraction-that the three local speakers weren’t that important-but that doesn’t change the fact that he was the only one who got the audience to laugh, the only one to modulate his voice, and the only one who used his body to speak, not just his voice.

In addition to the above photo, I have more on Flickr in the SPD Jena set.