Well, I got to see former President Bill Clinton, from a distance of about 20 feet in the media “pen.” To be honest, the visit at Jasper was a little disappointing.

I didn’t even mind waiting for a while or having to stand for a bit because that was all security-related. The state police wouldn’t even let me use my video monopod, so if my video is shaky, you all know why. But hey, that’s not a big deal.

There were two things that struck me as a bid deal. One, no free swag. Come on, you all raised hundreds of millions of dollars and you all can’t give a reporter a packet? No buttons or press passes like the ones I see in Newsweek? Trivial, but I wanted a memento that I could torture Todd Lancaster with.

Second and the most disappointing from the visit, was we in the press were not able to meet the president. The Hillary and the Dubois County Democrats had volunteers all around the “pen” to make sure we didn’t leave it. One Jasper photographer had to be escorted back into the pen when she tried to get a good closer photo of the President. What really rubbed me the wrong way was when amateur photogs, those who spend money on good cameras and lenses, were right in front of us snapping away. Later, some photogs were able to get different angles of the President but still, nothing that was really great.

And, for me being a Clinton admirer, we as reporters can’t get five minutes? I think nobody would have cared if they waited in Vincennes for five more minutes? Hell, I only had three or four questions, maybe thank him for coming to a place that he normally wouldn’t unless the election hadn’t brought him there.

I went in with high anticipation and I was thoroughly disappointed. I hope the next Clinton or Obama events I go to are better.

—Nate Smith