Obama speech is toughest ticket in town

It was like a scene from “American Idol” that played out for three hours Monday. The door to the Dobson High School offices would burst open and a whoopin’, hollerin’ Barack Obama fan would emerge holding high a red ticket to the president’s speech on Wednesday.

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Since there were only about 500 to 600 available, more than a few people likened their prize to the golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, including Vanessa Ambrose, a 2007 Dobson graduate.

“This is the first year I could vote, so this means a lot,” Ambrose said.

She and her friend Kaelin Sutton, also a Dobson graduate, waited in line about 25 hours, while those at the front of the line waited even longer.

“The person I voted for is coming to my old high school. I had to come,” Sutton said.

Obama will be at the high school for part of a four-day road trip to convince Americans his economic stimulus plan will work, and he is also expected to talk about his administration’s separate plan for using the rest of the $700 billion financial rescue package Congress passed last year. A major policy speech is expected on the state of the nation’s housing crisis.

The ticket line snaked about 500 yards through the school’s parking lot and along Guadalupe Road.

Twenty people at a time were allowed on campus to wait for their tickets in front of the office.

The first ones were given out at 9:10 a.m., and Richard Ruiz of Phoenix got the last one around noon.

“I won the golden ticket,” he said.

Probably more people left disappointed than happy.

Miriam Hernandez, 21, of Mesa, was at the cutoff point.

She trembled as she cried while explaining her disappointment.

“We wanted to be there; this is our town,” Hernandez said. “It would have meant so much to us.”

Behind Hernandez was Barbi Formichella, a teacher who took advantage of Presidents Day off and stood in line for about six hours.

“If I had gotten up 10 minutes earlier I would have gotten in,” Formichella said. “I wanted to be an advocate for education.”

Hundreds of people armed with blankets, drinks and plenty of local pride camped outside the school.

By sunrise, an estimated 600 people were in a line that continued to grow throughout the morning.

A few people in line took it upon themselves to number everyone in line to keep things orderly.

Daniel Cordero was number 197.

The Phoenix freelance photographer went from an assignment at Sunday’s NBA All-Star game in Phoenix and got in line about 10 p.m.

Cordero had tickets to Obama’s inauguration last month, but he missed it because of problems with the airlines.

He said if Obama takes questions from the audience and he gets a chance to ask one, he would just say “thank you” for improving what he believes was the shrinking image and standing in the world.

“It’s good we have someone up there who can truly represent the positive of the U.S.” Cordero said.

Sharon Alva and Sheila and Kelly Thomas of Laveen also had tickets to the inauguration, but they didn’t get in.

They were 50th in line Monday and their tickets to Wednesday’s speech are more than just a consolation for missing the inauguration.

“We chased him for six days in D.C.,” said Kelly Thomas.

If given a chance to ask the president a question, he said he would want to know his plans to fix shrinking home values, not just foreclosures.

“Hopefully, somebody thought about people who went upside down,” he said. “Is there going to be any relief for them?”