A Birthday Party Fit for a President

In the midst of a debt crisis and with an election on the horizon, President Barack Obama turns the big 5-0 today.

And as a way to celebrate a half-century of the President’s life, his reelection campaign threw him a country-wide bash on Wednesday night. In South Orange, the party made it to , where the President’s campaign,Obama For America, threw a bash attended by approximately two dozen supporters.

“There’s an interest again in the President,” said Pam Friedman, the campaign’s Community Organizer for Essex and Union County.  “A lot of these people campaigned in 2008, and then they went back to their business because the President was elected.  But now they’re back because they think the President needs them.  They see that he needs to be re-elected.  They see the gridlock in Washington and this is the man they voted for, this is the man they believed in and they’re back to help him again.”

As the supporters ate and talked politics, the organizers spoke about the importance of being involved in this campaign.  Afterwards, the guests were joined by the President himself via video conference.

Speaking backstage from his own birthday party in Chicago, the President thanked his supporters around the country for the birthday wishes and urged them to start the process for re-election.

“We’re starting this early because we want to start recruiting the volunteers to get people engaged and involved in the campaign now,” said Larry Hirsch, Neighborhood Town Leader of South Orange, Maplewood and Millburn.  “We’re trying to get people who were involved in 2008, involved now, so that by the time the campaign picks up, they will be actively involved.  We’re not going to have to call them in September and say “this is the Obama campaign, we need you now.””

The campaign welcomed some new supporters this election cycle with these parties around the country.

“We had some new people, which was emphasized by the President’s speech, and that was very encouraging,” said Friedman.  “People are coming into the process and they are a little nervous, but the great thing is what (Obama) said.  It’s not just about organizing and strategy and doing different jobs, but it’s really about people to people.”

Leslie Pogany, owner of Bunny’s, was happy the campaign came to her, looking for an establishment to hold the event. 

“It was exciting for Bunny’s to host this event because it shows how South Orange is the first Essex town to get on board with the presidential election,” said Pogany.  “Bunny’s has always been a political hub.”

Among the party guests was another President, albeit of a bit smaller region, South Orange Village President Alex Torpey.  He spoke to the supporters about the values he shares with President Obama.  Afterwards, he got to cut the ceremonial first piece of birthday cake.

“I wanted to come down here and show my support for the kind of values that I think Barack Obama represents,” said Torpey.  “It’s a grassroots organization and policy driven by people in a given community, whether it’s at a local level in South Orange or a national one in the White House.”