Teachers and staff at La Follette High School used words like ?surreal? to describe the detour the presidential motorcade made Tuesday en route to a late-afternoon rally on the UW-Madison campus.
Obama addressed concerns, and more, during his two-day, four-state tour that ended Wednesday in Richmond. In the middle, he drew raucous cheers at a college rally in Wisconsin. “I know times are tough,” he told thousands of students at the University of Wisconsin on Tuesday. In 2008, he said, “the feeling was, well, this is just exciting. You got those nice ?Hope? posters.”
Now that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has cleaned up after Tuesday?s political rally featuring President Barack Obama, officials at the school are preparing a bill for the president?s political operatives.
President Barack Obama urged college students at a Madison campaign rally Tuesday to stick with him and vote in the Nov. 2 elections, promising that “change is gonna come.”
If there?s an enthusiasm gap for Democrats this election, it hasn?t reached Madison.Students and residents in the traditionally liberal city turned out by the thousands on Tuesday to see President Barack Obama at a rally on the University of Wisconsin campus meant to energize the base of the Democratic Party.
More than 26,000 people came to Library Mall to welcome Obama, the first president to visit the campus since Harry Truman in 1950. And today the president sounded more like “candidate” Obama than President Obama.
President Obama, seeking to avert potentially devastating losses for Democrats on Election Day, delivered an impassioned appeal to a cheering throng of college students here Tuesday night, telling them to ?keep believing change is possible? and pleading, ?You?ve got to stick with me, you can?t lose heart.?
Over 26,500 people waited over three hours to hear two words yesterday: “Hello, Madison!”
President Barack Obama spoke at the “Moving America Forward” rally Tuesday in Library Mall, accompanied by fellow Democrats gubernatorial nominee Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.
The University of Wisconsin has some of the country?s top doctorate programs across a broad variety of subjects according to a new report from the National Research Council.
As University of Wisconsin students waited to see President Obama?s speech on Library Mall, protesters around Madison Tuesday hoped to provide a counter-rally illustrating Obama?s shortcomings as president.
The audience at the University of Wisconsin, which has been buzzing over the pending arrival of the President of the United States, erupted into applause as President Barack Obama took the stage Tuesday night.
Embattled Democratic candidates in Wisconsin joined President Barack Obama at a rally Tuesday, urging the 17,000 college students in attendance to get energized to ensure Republicans don?t have an enthusiasm gap in the midterm election. “We can?t sit this one out,” Obama told the crowd packed onto an outdoor mall in the middle of the University of Wisconsin?s campus. Another 9,000 people showed up but couldn?t fit into the mall, according to university police.
The usual sight of students meandering leisurely in flip-flops and shorts mixed Tuesday with those of heavily armed police, barricaded streets and snipers atop the campus library, adding an intensity to the toasty fall day as UW-Madison welcomed its first sitting U.S. President in 60 years.
Obama got laughs from the crowd on Library Mall as he reminisced about his early days in Chicago, when he used to visit friends going to school in Madison. “I had some fun times in Madison,” he said. “I can?t give you all the details, but I have good memories here.”
The Wisconsin Union Directorate on Tuesday announced the fall schedule for its Distinguished Lecture Series, which kicks off Monday with Romanian author, poet and National Public Radio commentator Andrei Codrescu.
Welcome to the State Journal?s live blog of President Barack Obama?s rally on Library Mall. Follow along as our reporters and photographers provide dispatches from the scene, or submit your own observations or questions.
Clearly frustrated by Republicans? energy _ and his own party?s lack of enthusiasm _ President Barack Obama scolded fellow Democrats even as he rallied them Tuesday in an effort to save the party from big GOP gains in the crucial midterm elections. At an outdoor rally at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the president urged thousands of students to stay as inspired and involved in this election as they were two years ago.
President Barack Obama served as the closing act Tuesday for a rock-n-roll, fire-up-the-troops extravaganza on the UW-Madison campus ? a giant rally meant to recapture the excitement of the campaign trail and bridge the so-called “enthusiasm gap” among younger, Democratic voters. Obama took the stage at Library Mall to a raucous crowd, following a performance by musician Ben Harper and a series of speeches by the state?s major Democratic candidates. From the outset, the president made it clear why he was in Madison, and on campus, at this moment.
When the television networks projected Barack Obama had secured the presidency at 10 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2008, much of the UW-Madison campus erupted in jubilant celebration.
….Almost two years later, Obama was attempting to rekindle that unbridled enthusiasm during his trip to campus Tuesday evening for what amounted to a pep rally put on by the Democratic National Committee.
According to the most recent figures compiled by the polling experts at Gallup, 49 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president, while only 45 percent approve (with a margin of error of 3 percentage points). To the surprise of no one, however, Tuesday’s gathering at Library Mall was distinctly pro-Obama.
President Obama visits Madison today to try and rekindle some of the energy he helped generate for Democrats here two years ago. When the President visited Madison as a candidate in February of 2008, he was riding a wave of Democratic presidential primary victories. Thousands of people — many of them students — waited in the cold to see the Illinois Senator speak at Madison?s Kohl Center.
President Barack Obama urged college students at a Madison campaign rally Tuesday to stick with him and vote in the Nov. 2 elections, promising that “change is gonna come.”
There?s excitement on the UW-Madison campus today, with President Barack Obama due at Library Mall for a late-afternoon rally. Students we talked with today seemed anxious to attend.
President Barack Obama urged students to focus on this fall?s elections Tuesday in his fourth visit to Wisconsin in three months as he tries to keep the governor?s office and a U.S. Senate seat in Democratic hands.
Students at the state?s flagship university Tuesday awaited their first visit from a sitting president in a half century.
The Madison Board of Estimates approved a resolution to amend the 2010 operating budgets of several city divisions to accommodate funding for Freakfest Monday.
Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate Damon Williams held a press conference Monday to discuss the recent reorganization of campus diversity programs at Thursday?s Campus Diversity Forum.
President Barack Obama will focus on the Democratic midterm election campaign at his Tuesday rally in Library Mall, and both his opponents and supporters agree his visit, the fourth to Wisconsin in three months, is evidence the state he won by 14 percentage points in 2008 could slip back into the red this election season.
President Barack Obama announced an education initiative Monday to recruit 10,000 science and math teachers over the next two years.
Nineteen University of Wisconsin students will realize their dreams of studying abroad after receiving Fulbright scholarships, UW officials announced Monday.
Today thousands of people will file onto Library Mall to see President Barack Obama on the University of Wisconsin campus.
Thursday?s annual diversity forum at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union will outline strategic diversity goals and engage campus community members in discussion about UW?s challenges in reaching these goals, according to UW officials.
aAttendees of Madison?s Freakfest Halloween celebration can expect to see a diminished police presence after the city?s Board of Estimates voted to send the lowest amount of funds to security in the event?s history.
President Barack Obama is returning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to ask young voters who helped propel him to the White House to support Democrats in key governor and U.S. Senate races.
Tuesday?s visit carries a different political atmosphere than the one that surrounded the then-candidate in 2008, when a boisterous overflow crowd of more than 17,000 people greeted him at the Kohl Center on the Madison campus.
Obama’s popularity has dipped, and many Democrats are facing tough challenges in the Nov. 2 midterm election.
A 20-year-old Madison woman allegedly was sexually assaulted early Saturday morning, her attacker ripping her underwear before running off when she screamed.
The assault happened at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday on Randall Avenue near Vilas Avenue, Madison police said. According to the police report, the woman was walking home alone after drinking at downtown bars.
President Barack Obama plans a University of Wisconsin rally complete with rock bands to ask young voters who helped propel him to the White House to re-engage and save fellow Democrats from political disaster this November. Crammed into an outdoor mall at the Madison campus, Tuesday?s visit carries a decidedly different political atmosphere than the one that surrounded the then-candidate in 2008, when a boisterous overflow crowd of more than 17,000 people greeted Obama at a basketball arena. His popularity has since dipped amid the nationwide recession, and many Democrats face tough challenges in the Nov. 2 midterm election. During a Monday conference call with college journalists, Obama acknowledged excitement has waned in the last two years. But he said he hoped the Madison rally would re-emphasize the importance of the midterm to advancing his agenda.
Surveys by ACT (the non-profit company behind the ACT test) show one-third of freshman do not become sophomores at the colleges where they started. ACT doesn?t track how many students drop out in less than a year, transfer to another school or return later. But just under half get degrees from the colleges where they first enrolled (within three years for associate degrees or five years for bachelor?s degrees).
Signs and posters are among the rather lengthy list of items not allowed at President Barack Obama?s rally on Library Mall Tuesday, which is sponsored by the Democratic National Committee. This bothered local marijuana activist and 2012 U.S. Senate candidate Ben Masel, who said it infringes on his right to speak freely in a public space.
Library Mall buzzed with activity Monday in preparation for President Barack Obama?s visit Tuesday, a rally intended to excite Democrats for the November election. On an autumn day bright with sunshine, workers put up risers, lights and a sound system at the site of the UW-Madison rally, wedged between Memorial Library, the Wisconsin Historical Society and State Street. Many UW-Madison students cited the historic opportunity to see a sitting president, even if they aren?t his biggest fan.
Rock band the National along with singer-songwriter Ben Harper are serving as opening acts to President Barack Obama?s political rally on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Tuesday. Thousands of students and others are expected to converge on campus for the outdoor rally, the first of four such events Obama has planned before the election.
With five weeks left to Election Day, President Barack Obama is trying to rekindle some of his 2008 campaign magic on college campuses while also devoting more time to a relatively new format of backyard visits that give him time to explain his policies in cozy, unhurried settings. The two-step strategy, which will play out in four states Tuesday and Wednesday, confronts Democrats? two biggest needs: to pump enthusiasm into young supporters who may stay at home this fall, and to persuade undecided voters that Republican alternatives are unacceptable. On Tuesday night, Obama will headline a rally at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he hopes to replicate the raucous, youthful, big-stage events for which he became famous in the 2008 presidential campaign.
So, will President Barack Obama?s rally on Library Mall Tuesday evening have much of an impact on the November elections? What message did he attempt to convey? The Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics Committee will host a discussion and attempt to answer these questions Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union.
After visiting Madison two years ago for the All Campus Party, American rock band OK Go will return to Madison to headline the annual Freakfest festival on Oct. 30, the event?s organizers confirmed with the Herald Sunday.
Gov. Jim Doyle will not be around next week to welcome President Barack Obama to Wisconsin.Doyle?s office Friday announced the governor would be away on an “industry and trade” trip to China from Friday through Oct. 1. The president will be in Madison on Sept. 28, holding a rally on the UW-Madison campus.
The fate of the exotic pets program at UW-Madison?s School of Veterinary Medicine is still up in the air.In April, officials from the veterinary school told the State Journal they were considering ending the teaching hospital?s exotic animal program. But as of now, the program is still operating. Lori Strelow, public relations director for the school, said officials are still trying to decide what to do.
A Democratic president, facing waning popularity, heads into the heart of the country to seek support. He chooses to speak at the state university in Madison ? to be welcomed by thousands of young, eager faces in a bastion of liberal support.The scenario applies to President Barack Obama?s rally on Library Mall on Tuesday, but it also describes the last time a sitting president came to the UW-Madison campus ? 60 years ago. Harry S. Truman was on a 6,400-mile whistle-stop tour through 16 states when he spoke at the Field House on May 14, 1950, in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 people. It was also a midterm election year. Quoted: Jeremi Suri, history professor at UW-Madison.
With President Barack Obama?s visit to UW-Madison just a couple of days away, Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker visited campus on Sunday and told students he?s ready to fight for their votes.
“I?m not conceding any votes anywhere in the state of Wisconsin,” he told the crowd of about 40 students gathered inside a small room at the Memorial Union.
Just steps from Memorial Union and State Street, Library Mall is an idyllic backdrop for President Barack Obama?s campus rally on Tuesday. But it could also pose logistical and security challenges.With some campus streets already closed due to construction, including Observatory Drive, and more closed for the event, expect gridlock in the UW-Madison area on Tuesday. The program is scheduled to begin at rush hour, 4:45 p.m. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.
A plan to build a $27.8 million practice facility for the University of Wisconsin hockey programs has been revived. Six months after shelving the project, saying he was uncomfortable with the lack of private donations, UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said Friday that a “very good?? surge of gift funds has put it back on track.
President Barack Obama will try to recapture the magic of his 2008 youth vote next week, pulling out some of the organizational tricks of his presidential campaign at a massive rally at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
President Obama will swoop into the heartland this week in a high-stakes bid to boost enthusiasm for Democrats by reigniting the coalition of young and minority voters who were critical to his success two years ago.
Among the most iconic moments of the 2008 presidential campaign were the scenes of Barack Obama, shirtsleeves rolled up, in front of a sea of voters that seemed to go on forever.
Presidential visits can be exciting, but they also present many logistical headaches, upending a city?s normal routines. Such can be expected on Tuesday, when President Obama flies into town for a speech at the UW-Madison library mall: flights will be canceled, traffic and buses rerouted, and areas of campus normally public will suddenly have the highest security.
A Democratic president, facing waning popularity, heads into the heart of the country to seek support.He chooses to speak at the state university in Madison ? to be welcomed by thousands of young, eager faces in a bastion of liberal support. The scenario applies to President Barack Obama?s rally on Library Mall on Tuesday, but it also describes the last time a sitting president came to the UW-Madison campus ? 60 years ago.
With the midterm elections less than two months away, President Obama is traveling the country stumping for his party?s candidates.Obama will be in Wisconsin Tuesday for a rally on the UW-Madison campus. But with the president?s popularity in the state lagging, are democrats here eager to have his backing?
It?s no secret that Dane County is one of the biggest Democratic vote producers in the state of Wisconsin. Local political analyst Charles Franklin said Obama?s Tuesday visit ? his sixth to Wisconsin since being elected ? is all about turning out the Democratic vote.
Two Students at UW-Stout face charges in the death of another student. Twenty-two-year-old Brad Simon had been hospitalized since the weekend after an alleged assault while on his bicycle, he died Thursday afternoon in an Eau Claire hospital.
Proposed renovations to West Mifflin Street remain to be a primary topic of discussion at the Downtown Plan Public meeting Thursday.
Gov. Jim Doyle said two national organizations would give $12 million in financial grants to help students throughout Wisconsin pay for higher education Thursday.
With President Barack Obama set to speak at the University of Wisconsin campus next week, students can expect tight security at the event location and surrounding areas, officials said.
The next several decades will likely see the development of major urban parks along Lake Monona and throughout downtown Madison if area residents and city officials give the green light to major proposals in the city?s Downtown Plan.
