Aurora Comms Blog

Obama-mania hits the Aurora office!

Posted on 09. Feb, 2009 by Handbaglady in News, People

The world has gone Obama mad. The media frenzy around the inauguration reached a zenith in the run up to the big day. Every little detail about the ceremony was devoured by media and general public alike – what was Michelle going to wear? Which celebrities would be in attendance? Even his presidential limousine ‘the beast’ was scrutinised…I have to say that for the first time ever, I got completely caught up in the whole thing and have been fascinated by every little snippet of information revealed, like Obama’s BlackBerry addiction and the fact that a crack team of movers swoop into the White House to move the Bush’s out and the Obama’s in, in just four hours…while the ceremony is taking place.

I have watched the whole process with avid interest, partly because I truly believe that the Obama-era represents a whole new exciting chapter in U.S. history but also because I was in Washington D.C. the week before the ceremony and witnessed the epic preparations first hand, making it all a little more personal and real for me.

Some of the Aurora team were in the U.S. capital for a new business pitch and we spent a great deal of time with our Washington colleagues and partners at the GlobalHealthPR* offices on K Street. What became apparent to us was just how genuinely excited and happy everyone seemed to be about Obama’s forthcoming term of office and the ceremony itself.

Everywhere we went in Washington, it was all people were talking about. The day itself was a holiday in DC, fittingly the day after Martin Luther King day and the whole city literally came to a stand still. Even when we were there the week before, they were busy shutting off roads and bridges into the capital and sweeping buildings for security purposes. Nobody seemed to mind the upheaval and inconvenience. Everyone we spoke to accepted the disruption with good grace. The city itself is responsible for covering the immense costs for the day but again there seemed to be no grumbling from the inhabitants, only pride that their city would have the eyes of the world everyone was excited about the future of their country, there was massive national pride which was strangely catching.

We got caught up in the atmosphere, so much so, that we happily visited the official ‘Obama Inaugural Souvenir Store’, where we put all street-cred aside and posed with a cardboard cut out of the man of the moment in a full replica of the Oval Office. We loved the souvenirs for sale which included Obama aprons, face masks, mouse pads, track suits, mugs and dolls. Again, I couldn’t help but think that we Brits just wouldn’t embrace such an occasion with quite so much vigour. The British cynicism would win out and everyone would act very under whelmed. The Americans do National pride very well indeed and I found it refreshing and energising to be among the people of Washington who were so genuinely proud and happy to host such an historic occasion.

Here’s hoping that the Obama Presidency represents a change in tone and policy for the people of the U.S. and indeed the world. It remains to be seen if he can live up to the Messiah-like expectations that many of the American people seem to have about this man, as he himself has said, “I was not born in a manger”. But I for one am looking forward to seeing how things pan out and feel excited about this new beginning.

* Aurora is part of the GlobalHealthPR network which unites owner-managed public relations agencies across the world. There are partner offices in the U.S., throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia. GLOBALHealthPR is the largest organisation dedicated exclusively to healthcare communications worldwide.

Tags: GLOBALhealthPR, transatlantic