By Lily Abromeit

OSAWATOMIE — The small town of Osawatamie, Kan., grew in population Tuesday when President Barack Obama visited.

Police stood on every corner with police tape blocking off parking spots and entrances throughout the normally quiet town. Helpful signs like “Presidential Speech Parking Area” pointed people in the right direction as they streamed in from across Kansas. One house hung signs on the front porch saying, “Welcome to Oz, Mr. President!”

The normally red state turned a little blue for the day.

American flags decorated the storefronts of a few downtown shops. Just outside Osawatomie High School, crowds of people, freezing but excited, lined the sidewalk.

Osawatamie resident Nicki Tschantz, was first in line to get into the building for the 1 p.m. speech. As it neared 10:30 a.m., she said she had been in line since 6 a.m. Tschantz waited for 16 hours on Saturday and Sunday to get her ticket to hear the speech and reacted enthusiastically to the news that the president would be coming to her town.

“I almost peed my pants,” she joked.

Further back in the long line, Paola resident Quincy Garrett said he was waiting to “see our first African-American president, in person.” From Obama’s speech on Tuesday, Garrett was hoping to hear the president’s plan for the state of the economy but mostly, Garrett was “just looking forward to hearing him.”

Teacher Patty Leddy said she didn’t really expect to hear anything from Obama Tuesday.

“It’s just going to be such an experience that my mind is going to be going in a thousand places,” Leddy said. “I’m going to be taking pictures and just enjoying the minute.”

Leddy planned on re-watching the speech Tuesday night to hear what the president had to say.

Also in attendance on Tuesday was LHS senior J’Qui Audena and LHS freshmen Sadie Keller who both enjoyed the speech and said it met their expectations.

“[Obama] covered everything that I’ve been thinking about and everything debate has been going on about,” Keller said. “I thought it was a great speech.”

President Obama’s trip to Osawatamie on Tuesday was no coincidence. In 1910, president Theodore Roosevelt visited the same town to talk to Kansans about his idea of “New Nationalism.” On Tuesday, the location of Obama’s speech was not the only thing that the current president had in common with Roosevelt.

Many of the things Obama spoke about Tuesday were similar to Roosevelt’s points in his 1910 speech. Obama spoke to cheering crowds of his plan to pull people together to help re-form the middle class.

“This is a make-or-break moment for our middle class, and all those fighting to get into the middle class,” Obama said.

Quoting statistics, Obama said that “kids that in this country [are told], work hard and you can get into the middle class.” But, Obama said the opportunity for these kids to get into the middle class is becoming more difficult.

“Over the last few decades, the rungs on the ladder of opportunity have grown farther and farther apart,” Obama said. “The middle class has shrunk.”

According to Obama, the American economy suffers because too many people don’t have an equal opportunity for a successful life and “this kind of inequality…hurts us all.”

Obama said success of the United States economy and the success of America comes from the people, as one.

“In America, we are greater together… where everyone gets fair shot [at being successful], and everybody does their fair share,” Obama said.