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Presidential visit: Quotes and fun facts
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A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT QUOTES AND FUN FACTS
ICEBREAKER
"I hear the Gophers have their home opener in a brand-new stadium," Obama said at the beginning of his speech. "I want to make sure you know I wish the Gophers luck, but they are playing Air Force and I have to fly back home on one of their planes, so I've got to be careful about what I say."
VIEWS FROM THE CROWD
For: "People need to relax -- calm down," Hanna Smith, a preschool teacher from St. Paul, said of Democrats getting frustrated with Obama. Smith, 27 with no dependents, pays $100 a month for health care. "[It's] doable," she said. "But on a preschool teacher's salary? Not so doable. ... It's time for a change."
Against: University of St. Thomas student Dan Hillenbrand held a sign that read simply, "You Think This Line Is Long?" Said Hillenbrand: "We have our corner [and] people are seeing what we have to say and I think that's what's important." Hillenbrand said his parents' plan covers his health care.
THE POWER OF PROXIMITY
Who got closest to Obama? Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Rep. Keith Ellison accompanied him on Air Force One and Obama was greeted on the tarmac by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Attorney General Lori Swanson and state Auditor Rebecca Otto. All but Ellison got a special mention in Obama's speech. Rybak, one of Obama's biggest Minnesota supporters, got mentioned twice.
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS GOV. PAWLENTY?
Well, not in Minnesota. While President Obama wooed Minnesotans over his vision for health care, Gov. Tim Pawlenty was in Florida, wooing Republican women over his vision for the GOP. Just as Obama was scheduled to land in the Twin Cities, Pawlenty was due to appear in Orlando as the luncheon speaker for the National Federation of Republican Women's conference.
ABBY'S MOMENT
Abigail Klobuchar, 13, daughter of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, got her own brush with the president. Abigail had a chance to talk to Obama on the phone Saturday -- the result of her mother flying in on Air Force One. What did they talk about? "She told him she liked his [Wednesday] speech," Klobuchar said.
BY THE NUMBERS
17,000: About the number of people who attended. The Target Center's total capacity for the event was 19,250. A few rows of seating at the very top remained empty.
200: Estimated number of protesters outside.
Staff writers Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Pat Doyle and Mike Kaszuba contributed to this report.
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