In his first full-fledged visit as president to Nebraska, President Barack Obama called on America to reject the politics of doom and gloom and work together to build a stronger and better nation and world.
“That's not the spirit that brought America so far,'' the president said Wednesday afternoon at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Baxter Arena.
The president's Omaha visit launched a two-day tour of the United States - after delivering his final State of the Union address - to highlight the progress his administration has made and address the challenges and opportunities ahead. It was his first public appearance after Tuesday's speech to Congress.
To an enthusiastic crowd that authorities estimated at 11,000 jammed into the arena, Obama repeated themes he raised in the State of the Union address. He pitched his argument that the nation has improved economically under his policies. He pushed for innovation in education and health care, including a national effort to cure cancer.
“Let's solve the problem,'' Obama said. “Sometimes they're tough problems but we can figure it out.''
Obama, appearing in an open-neck shirt and seeming comfortable in the campus setting, said Americans should not believe those who say the economy is bad and the nation weak.
“That's how crazy our politics has gotten sometimes,'' he said. “We feel obliged to not root for America doing good.''
The president said politicians who think they need to look mean and talk tough are full of hot air and bluster.
“It's not serious … it's baloney,'' he said.
Gov. Pete Ricketts and Mayor Jean Stothert - both Republicans - greeted Obama on the tarmac at Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue and welcomed him to Nebraska shortly after his 2:10 p.m. arrival. Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha, accompanied the president from Washington, D.C., on Air Force One.
The Democratic president brought his State of the Union themes of optimism and bipartisan cooperation to one of the nation's most Republican states. Obama lost Nebraska to Republican Mitt Romney by nearly 22 percentage points in 2012.
But Omaha is a rare purple spot in largely Republican red Nebraska. Two Democrats served as mayor for 12 years before Stothert won the officially non-partisan office in 2013. Voters in the Omaha-anchored 2nd District replaced an eight-term Republican with Ashford in 2014.
Omaha also is where Obama picked up one of the Nebraska's five electoral votes in the 2008 election, when candidate Obama inspired supporters at a rally at Civic Auditorium to bill the community as “Obamaha'' nine months before Election Day.
Free tickets to the president's Wednesday appearance were quickly distributed during the weekend.
A cheer erupted from the crowd at Baxter Arena when a live video feed on the scoreboard showed Air Force One landing at Offutt. A murmur rippled across the mostly partisan crowd when the camera panned to Ricketts and other dignitaries waiting to greet the president. Some jeers could be heard when the camera showed Ricketts a second time.
Ricketts initially declined a White House invitation to meet the president because he was too busy. The governor changed his mind late Tuesday.
The Baxter crowd gave big cheers when Obama and Ashford walked off the aircraft together and descended stairs to the tarmac. Obama was on the tarmac for about five minutes before climbing into his limousine.
In addition to Ricketts and Stothert, those greeting the president on his arrival included Admiral Cecil D. Haney, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt; Col. George M. Reynolds, commander of the 55th Wing and base commander; Command Sgt. Major Patrick Z. Alston; CMSgt. Michael A. Morris; Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley; and Bellevue Mayor Rita Sanders.
The motorcade left Offutt about 15 minutes after landing. A few spectators stood along the route with cameras.
Obama stopped at the Papillion-area home of Lisa and Jeff Martin for a living-room conversation. Lisa Martin, an English teacher at Papillion-La Vista High School, wrote to Obama in January 2015 to express her concerns for the future of the environment for her then-newborn son. Lisa Martin later introduced Obama at Baxter Arena.
“Every night while I wake up to feed my newborn child, Cooper, I catch up on news and read current events,” Martin wrote Obama. “This morning at four a.m., I found myself feeling very distraught. I started reading countless articles about the environment and how your administration is currently trying to conserve the Alaskan wilderness.
“While I am so thankful policies are being made for Alaska, I still have this sinking feeling of dread and sadness. Will my son be able to thrive on this planet? Will he be able to experience the small things, such as winter in Nebraska, where he has snow days and sledding? Where he comes home to me cooking homemade hot cocoa for him, like I did? Sadly, I think the answer is no.”
Martin, whose voter registration is nonpartisan, said she felt a feeling of dread and urgency.
“So, what do I want? I guess I just want to know my son will not have to go to the zoo to see polar bears. I want him to know, like we know today, that they exist out there in the wild. I want him to breathe in the air and not be afraid of pollution. I want him to lay under the trees and for him to feel peace in the simplicity of that moment of breathing in the beauty and grandeur of nature. I want him to one day dream of his own children and for him to know that our generation protected his future through protecting the world we live in.”
Others in the Martins' house with the president included Lisa's parents Ora and Rebecca Hutchinson, Vern Davis-Showell, Doug Showell and Davis Showell.
Obama emerged from the house after about 45 minutes and walked across the street to chat and take photos with several neighbors.
When the president's motorcade continued to UNO, it passed a man with a simple cardboard sign that read, “Trump,” a reference to Republican presidential contender Donald Trump.
The crowd got a bit of a false alarm as the program began.
“Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the president ….(huge roar) … of the University of Nebraska, Hank Bounds,'' the public address announcer intoned.
“Sorry, I was not quite what you were expecting,'' Bounds said to laughter as he took the podium.
He proceeded to welcome the crowd and tout UNO, including a presidential award it won for community service, its national security research and its No. 1 ranking for military friendliness.
President Obama steps onto the stage at Baxter Arena Wednesday. “Hello, Omaha,” he bellowed to a sea of raised arms snapping smartphone photos. (Photo Courtesy: Chris Machian / World-Herald News Service)
The crowd responded with boisterous cheers when Obama mentioned the University of Nebraska Medical Center's leading role in fighting the African Ebola outbreak in 2014 and Omaha investor Warren Buffett.
“We couldn't be prouder of the doctors and nurses, including those here at the University of Nebraska Medical Center,” he said. “They saved lives, not just here, but their courage saved lives around the world. Because they showed, 'We can deal with this.' This is a problem, it's serious, and we're going to science the heck out of it.”
The president said the United States must mobilize the world to work with us, and pull their own weight, on global issues.
“That's not a lack of leadership. That's common sense,” he said.
Obama pointed to how far the country has come since the Great Recession. Paraphrasing Warren Buffett, he said, to cheers: “No one ever benefited from betting against America.”
He said country has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. He noted Nebraska's unemployment rate below 3 percent, and a national rate around 5 percent.
America is facing change, he said in referencing Martin and her questions for her son's future, “but each time we have ended up better than before. Progress is not inevitable. You've got to work for it.”
Several thousand people waited for hours - in the sunshine and cold - in a long snaking line outside the arena for Obama's arrival. Many got there two or three hours before the doors were to open at 1 p.m. The first man in line said he arrived at 5:30 a.m. Many brought food.
Alex Crawford, a 19-year-old sophomore at UNO, sported American flag shorts despite a temperature in the mid-20s.
“I always wear shorts,” he said.
Many attendees brought their children. Dozens of kids passed the time by throwing a football or playing soccer with a water bottle as a makeshift ball.
Angela Jackson was with her 8-year-old son, Michael McGaugh. Her 11-year-old son was to arrive soon. She said it was important to see the president “to witness the history” her grandparents didn't see.
“This is my son, a young black boy who needs to see our president, to see that he can reach the highest achievement possible,” said Jackson, 31, of Omaha. “It means a lot to me.”
Robert Bossung sat on a bench across Center Street, holding an American flag and a sign that read, “Abortion is always the wrong choice.” He arrived about 11 a.m. to peacefully protest.
“I'm clearing my own conscience,” said Bossung, 65, of Omaha. “I don't want to see (Obama) but he is our president and I respect him for that.”
Priya Premnath, 30, of Omaha, arrived early to get a good seat.
“He's the president of the United States,” he said. “Of course he's worth standing in line for.”
Trish and Roy Rempe, both 65, of Superior, Nebraska, said they were more than happy to stand in line.
“This will be the third president I've seen,” Trish Rempe said. “I've seen two Republicans (Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan), and now I'll see a Democrat.”
She said Obama's party doesn't matter.
“I respect the man and the office, and I think he deserves my respect.”
Jonnish McCleod, 21, a UNO student, said she waited in line for an hour earlier in the week to get her ticket to the event.
Wednesday, though, was all about listening to Obama's speech.
“I came to hear some inspiring words from the sitting president,” she said.
Chris Edwards, 60, of Omaha, said he was looking forward to a good speech from Obama.
“I want to hear what he has to say about Omaha and the life here,” said Edwards, who brought his camera. “And I've never seen a president before.”
Among those seated in the VIP section at the arena for the president's speech were former U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson; former Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, Hank Bounds, University of Nebraska president; John E. Christensen, UNO chancellor; philanthropist Dick Holland; businessman Walter Scott; State Sens. Tanya Cook and Heath Mello; Chris Rodgers of the Douglas County Board; Justin Wayne of the Omaha school board; Mike and Anne Boyle; and Dick Fellman, a former Douglas County board member.
The arena crowd greeted the president with raised arms snapping smartphone photos.
“Hello, Omaha,” the president bellowed.
After thanking the crowd many times, he played to it: “Go Mavericks. This is quite a place you've got here. It's still got that new arena smell. A perfect spot for your hockey team to stage another run to the Frozen Four.”
Omaha's opportunity to host Obama started when UNO Chancellor John Christensen got pulled out of a staff meeting a week ago for an urgent phone call.
It was the White House. In the Jan. 5 phone call, an official told Christensen that the president was considering Omaha for his first stop after the State of the Union address. If Obama came, would UNO be interested in hosting the president?
Christensen's response: “Heck yes.''
Christensen was no less enthusiastic Wednesday as his school played a prominent role in the day's events.
The university's new $80 million arena was on full display. The school's jazz band entertained. And the president spoke against a diverse backdrop of UNO students and staff, with hundreds of others also on hand in the crowd.
UNO WELCOMES PRESIDENT OBAMA!,'' read a banner painted by students.
“This is an incredible day for UNO, just awesome,'' said Christensen, whose ties to the campus go back four decades. “I have never seen the students this excited.''
After Christensen got the call last week, he let University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds know about it and got his approval. A White House advance team was on the ground in Omaha within hours.
By Thursday afternoon, Christensen was told it was a go. The Omaha visit was announced just before midnight that night, though due to security reasons UNO was not announced as the site until Saturday.
University spokesperson Erin Owen said the university is the perfect forum for discussions related to national policy.
“This building was built just for this kind of community conversation,'' she said. “Three months after it opens, we get a call from the White House.''
Reflecting on his presidency, Obama said his only big regret is that the political parties are more polarized and rancorous than they were when he took office seven years ago.
Obama plans to keep working on the problem, but said, “It's not going to happen unless the American people send a message to their representatives that that's not the politics they want.”
“None of these things that I just talked about can happen just by a president saying so. The American people must demand it,” he said.
In 2008, “I didn't say 'Yes I can.' I said, 'Yes we can.”
Obama spoke on racial and religious intolerance, and how that was holding back American efforts in many areas.
“When politicians insult Muslims … including Muslim-Americans who are in uniform fighting on our behalf. When a mosque is vandalized or a kid is bullied, that doesn't make us safer,” he said. “The overwhelming majority of American Muslims and Muslims around the world, they're our greatest allies in fighting this scourge of terrorism. … It betrays who we are as a country. One people who rise and fall together.”
Obama closed his speech on an optimistic note.
“That's why I'm hopeful about our future,” he said. “Because of you, the American people. That's why I'm confident that we will get where we need to go, and America will remain the greatest country on earth.”
Obama is scheduled to make a similar appearance Thursday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It also will be his first trip there as president.
Obama's motorcade returned to Offutt at 5:56 p.m., just as the last streaks of light faded in the western sky.
He bounded alone up the steps of the Boeing 757 that will serve as Air Force One for the next leg of his journey to Louisiana - swapped out for the larger and more familiar 747 in which he had arrived just four hours later.
The president waved to a few airmen and the ground crew. And the plane took off at 6:11 p.m.
Obama's trip to Nebraska was complete.