What a tiring but exciting day! The day started with a 5:45 AM alarm and a 7:15 AM metro ride to the University of the District of Columbia auditorium for orientation. After the long, typical process of orientation, we were introduced to three different speakers: Steve Bell, Michael Genovese and Dana Bash.
Each of these speakers really made the connection for me regarding the high profile evolution of the United States presidency. Even though this explosion of executive popularity may seem very light and inviting, it is actually implicitly complex and often times faulty.
Dana Bash particularly caught my attention through her dynamic experience regarding the John McCain presidential campaign and the presidential primaries and elections through the media outlet, CNN. According to Bash, candidates have evolved into commercialized celebrities instead of keepers of the Constitution. Personally, her experience within the McCain campaign and their regimented focus really highlighted the appeal for so many Americans yearning for a presidential ingenuity that has fizzled out but finally revived through Barack Obama.
As for the lighter portion of the day, the tour of Washington, DC really opened me to a sense of American pride that I have never had the chance to visually experience in person. After seeing the pride Spaniards held in their monuments marking their history as a people when I studied abroad in Spain last spring semester, I felt a void. I had never been able to visit my nation’s capitol which held the visual memory and history of our young country. Today, I feel proud to be an American and to truly appreciate the memorials to some of the most influential and courageous citizens of the United States of America, my home.
