Speechless

By: Victoria Egan

I am completely speechless after last night. Waking up this morning I keep thinking it was all just a dream but then I look at the pictures which only confirm it was all real. Last night, I had the absolute honor of being able to attend the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate at Drake University with my fellow political science students. We all dressed up and drove to Drake where we waited for over an hour to check-in, get our tickets and head into the debate hall. When I walked in I was in complete awe. Not only was I standing in the auditorium about to witness history but it was also the smallest venue a CNN debate has been held at. As we all excitedly took tons of pictures and waited in our seats for the debate to begin I just could not believe where I was sitting. I could see five of the six candidates on stage (Amy Klobuchar being the one I could not see) and was seated behind the three moderators Brianne Pfannenstiel, Wolf Blitzer, and Abby Phillip.

Promptly at 7 p.m., the event began and we heard from the CNN D.C. Bureau Chief, the head of the Iowa Democratic Party, the President of Drake University, the Mayor of Des Moines, the chairman of the Democratic National Convention, and a few other speakers. The floor director was great and I was able to see exactly how large live television broadcasts are run, something that was just as fascinating to me as a Cinema and Television major as the debate was to me as a Political Science major. The moderators were brought out first and then the candidates, one at a time. The first to walk out was Joe Biden who I could not believe was only 10 feet away from me as he walked on the stage. The former Vice President was standing right in front of me! I have already seen Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg speak over my time here but had not seen the other three candidates so this was very exciting.

The debate began and it was fascinating to watch it all unfold right in front of my eyes. When the candidates wanted to respond to another candidate they were instructed to raise their hands until they were called on by one of the moderators. It was interesting to see them trying to catch the eye of one of the moderators and it was especially fascinating to watch Bernie Sanders begin to get extremely angry when he kept raising his hand and not getting called on. It was also funny to see Joe Biden keep stepping back and moving around to try and avoid Bernie hitting him as he was talking with his hands. Tom Steyer just kept standing there with a huge grin on his face the entire time and when he did speak he looked directly into the camera. One of my favorite moments was when Elizabeth Warren called out all of the men on the stage for collectively losing 10 elections and for stating that she and Amy Klobuchar were the only two on the stage who have won every election they have run for. It was a very funny moment for everyone in the room except Bernie Sanders who did not seem thrilled about the comment. Additionally, when Warren spoke about being the only person to defeat an incumbent Republican in 30 years Sanders was taken aback and told her that she was wrong because he defeated an incumbent Republican in 1990. Elizabeth Warren then proceeded to do the math and corrected Bernie that she was right and that it has been 30 years. When Steyer called Pete Buttigieg out for being the only individual on the stage that was in this next generation who would be greatly affected by climate change, it also let out some laughter from both the audience and Buttigieg.

Overall, last night was the fastest two hours of my life. The time was up and I felt like the candidates barely touched the surface of numerous issues, something that Warren noted in her closing remarks. After the final applause of the night, the candidates came to the edge of the stage and off the stage where they talked with those of us who were there in the audience and took pictures with us. I was not expecting this to happen at all and figured they would just rush off the stage. Everyone except for Bernie stayed around. The night just kept getting better and better. I was able to meet Joe Biden who personally took a selfie with all of us from Elon, and his wife Dr. Jill Biden who was incredibly kind. At one point when Dr. Biden introduced herself, Joe said “Hi, I’m Jill’s husband” which was really funny. I then worked my way over to Pete Buttigieg, the candidate that I have been working for during my time here in Iowa. I was able to talk with him one on one and told him that I have been working for him here in Des Moines. He was very grateful and asked me where exactly I was working. I told him the specific office I was working in and how incredible his staff has been. I was able to talk one on one with him for a couple of minutes, something I never thought I would be able to do. A group of us continued down the line to talk with Pete’s husband Chasten who was also incredibly kind and talked with us about musical theater, a love of his. Although I did not get to take a picture with Chasten, it was incredible to be able to meet him. After leaving Chasten we got back on the bus and returned to our hotel where we once more ate a late dinner in the lobby, waiting for people to return from the debate. All of CNN has been staying in our hotel so we were able to meet Anderson Cooper when he returned, and the president of CNN. Amy Klobuchar also walked into the hotel and we were able to talk with her as well.

This night was unforgettable to say the least and it just kept going. Sitting in the auditorium was unbelievable and then watching the candidates on stage was followed by getting to meet the candidates. Once we returned to our hotel, people just kept walking into our lobby. My phone was blowing up with people texting me from middle school and high school that they saw me on TV. My family was sending me videos of us on CNN talking to Biden and taking a selfie with Biden. By far my favorite video that was sent to me was my one on one conversation with Pete Buttigieg which was live on CNN! I just could not believe it. The opportunities that this trip has given me have been endless and like no other. I am incredibly grateful to my parents for allowing me to go on this trip, to Elon University for providing me with the opportunity to even participate in a class like this, and to my professors, Dr. Dalhouse and Dr. Landesberg for all of the unforgettable experiences they have provided us on this trip. For sure, this will be a night I remember for the rest of my life.