VERO BEACH — When Linda MacDonald of Vero Beach walks into a gathering hosted by Women for Obama Thursday evening at a beachside home, she will have some serious bragging rights.
As president of the Indian River County Democratic Women’s Club, MacDonald was part of a contingent of 14 women who traveled from Vero Beach and Sebastian to a rally with President Obama at Florida Tech in Melbourne. She said they were invited and given the tickets by the Women for Obama organization.
Beyond access to the rally of about 3,000 people, MacDonald was one of a handful of people who got backstage access to President Barack Obama on his recent swing through Florida.
“I was offered the opportunity of a meet and greet with the President,” MacDonald said. “We had a great contingent at the rally with some great pictures. After the speech, I was escorted with about 15 people to a room behind the gym.”
In that private setting, MacDonald said Obama was very friendly and thanked supporters for the work they do in their communities.
“We were each escorted to President Obama to have a few words and a picture taken,” she said. “He hugged me and was so gracious and charming.”
It’s not the first time MacDonald has met a U.S. President, but she said the words she exchanged with Obama were more meaningful than being one of a crowd in the White House Rose Garden ceremony in the late 1990s.
“It was much more exciting because I got to have a conversation with him,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald said she spoke to the President about the Affordable Care Act and what that means to her family. Because she has an adult daughter who has pre-existing conditions due to two bouts of childhood cancer, MacDonald said a member of the family who was formerly uninsurable will now be able to get health coverage.
With regard to having the up-close access to someone in person who most Americans only see on television, MacDonald said the President looks pretty much like he does in the media, “but he’s a little skinnier than he looks on television.”
Getting to meet Obama in person is something that MacDonald has one up on daughter Kimberly, who works for the Obama campaign. Because the 26-year-old works in a field office organizing grassroots efforts, she has never met the President.
MacDonald was given two photographs by which to remember the event. A photographer from the Obama campaign took one shot of her with her arm around the President and one shot of them hugging, which she provided to VeroNews.com after the photos became available.
Those photos will likely be passed around and admired at tonight’s event. Indian River Shores Linda Bolton is hosting a Women for Obama event from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at her home in Indian Trails. For more information, call Bolton at (772) 234-7575 or email LBolton@indianriverdemocrats.net.