Obama's visit without a press pass

Here are photos from the 90+ minute wait most people had outside of Memorial Hall in the freezing cold before Sen. Barack Obama's speech on Wednesday. While waiting, one woman discovered the exhaust from the news vans gave off heat. Yup, it was that cold ... people were warming up with noxious fumes.


The mob waits patiently outside the front door of Memorial Hall. Broken metal detectors forced people to stay out in the cold at least an hour longer than originally planned.


RacinePost broke the news Monday about Obama's visit to Racine. We were several hours ahead of anyone else, who waited for the campaign to post a notice on its website. Our secret? We called the Civic Centre and asked if Obama was coming. Apparently, we just had to drive past Memorial Hall.


Damian Evans, of Racine, came prepared. He brought a copy of Obama's, "The Audacity of Hope" to read while waiting in line. Mostly he kept his hands stuffed in his pockets, though.


A woman collapsed while waiting in line. A police officer was nearby when it happened, and an ambulance was called to the scene. We never heard an update on her condition.


The line wrapped aroung Memorial Hall. We saw most people in line make it inside, but ...


it was standing room only for most of the late-comers.


The reason we waited.