Invite Obama to Atlanta, we already did

[pacoliketaco]

We’re going to Atlanta! And we thought how great it would be if a surprise speaker turned out to be Barack Obama. So we sent him an invitation. If your team agrees that we can all inspire our president, please join us and send your own invitation. Here’s what we wrote:

On Behalf of FIRST Robotics team 1807, the Allentown Redbird Robotics, we would like to invite you to attend the FIRST Championship Event held at the Georgia Dome on April 16, 17 and 18.

FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, and there is no group more inspired, dedicated, creative and hard working than a FIRST Robotics team. We will be attending this event with over 10,000 other students from around the country and the world, along with their teachers, parents and mentors. Passionate students who will be our future scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

We realize that there are many demands on your time, but we are certain that even a short visit with all of us will strengthen your hope for our future. As you have inspired this country, let this group of students inspire you.

Respectfully,
Team 1807

Here’s the contact info: www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ or

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

[galewind]

Pace,

Great idea! We'll draft something up as well. It'd be great to get teams from all over, as well, to join in to show how important FIRST can be in developing the potential for our country's future.

[Tom Hand]

From Team 1987 who fired off letter Jan 4th or so:

With our 400-500 letters sent this year, we have had responses from Kit Bond, Matt Bartle, and now Mr. Obama. The reply came through email to our mentor, Mr. H.

Here it it:
“Thank you for inviting President Obama to attend the Kansas City Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

The President values each and every invitation, but due to time constraints, he must decline the majority he receives. We have reviewed your invitation, and unfortunately, the President will be unable to attend.

As you noted in your letter, President Obama has sought to prioritize science and math education and teacher recruitment. As he has said, “We need to recruit an army of new teachers. I’ll make this pledge: If you commit your life to teaching, America will pay for your college education. We’ll recruit teachers in math and science, and deploy them to under-staffed school districts in our inner cities and rural America. We’ll expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. And when our teachers succeed, I won’t just talk about how great they are—I’ll reward their greatness with better pay and more support.” We thank you for partnering in this pursuit as a science and math mentor, and we appreciate your understanding. We thank you and your organization for your contributions in this pursuit, and we appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

The White House Scheduling Department”

[dani190]

From Team 1987 who fired off letter Jan 4th or so:

With our 400-500 letters sent this year, we have had responses from Kit Bond, Matt Bartle, and now Mr. Obama. The reply came through email to our mentor, Mr. H.

Here it it:
“Thank you for inviting President Obama to attend the Kansas City Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

The President values each and every invitation, but due to time constraints, he must decline the majority he receives. We have reviewed your invitation, and unfortunately, the President will be unable to attend.

As you noted in your letter, President Obama has sought to prioritize science and math education and teacher recruitment. As he has said, “We need to recruit an army of new teachers. I’ll make this pledge: If you commit your life to teaching, America will pay for your college education. We’ll recruit teachers in math and science, and deploy them to under-staffed school districts in our inner cities and rural America. We’ll expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. And when our teachers succeed, I won’t just talk about how great they are—I’ll reward their greatness with better pay and more support.” We thank you for partnering in this pursuit as a science and math mentor, and we appreciate your understanding. We thank you and your organization for your contributions in this pursuit, and we appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

The White House Scheduling Department”

wonder what he will say to the atlanta dates...

[NorviewsVeteran]

wonder what he will say to the atlanta dates...

Hopefully the "world" parts will grab his attention better.

[CraigHickman]

To be brutally honest, I doubt any current president will be able to attend Champs. Here's my reasoning:

A. It's open to the general public. This makes security an even larger nightmare.
B. Teams enter and exit with toolcrates constantly. This creates a security environment that is inoperable for a president. It would be disturbingly easy to smuggle a firearm into a FRC competition, hence the lack of likely hood of his attending.
C. We're not big enough. This is the president we're talking about here, folks. This is the most powerful man in the world. We aren't big enough yet. We're close, but this is the man who single-handedly packs millions for speeches.

[Trent B]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Wizards-fan-President-Obama-talk-a-little-trash?urn=nba,145551

If that isn't a similar security problem I dont know what is.

[cbale2000]

To be brutally honest, I doubt any current president will be able to attend Champs. Here's my reasoning:

A. It's open to the general public. This makes security an even larger nightmare.
B. Teams enter and exit with toolcrates constantly. This creates a security environment that is inoperable for a president. It would be disturbingly easy to smuggle a firearm into a FRC competition, hence the lack of likely hood of his attending.
C. We're not big enough. This is the president we're talking about here, folks. This is the most powerful man in the world. We aren't big enough yet. We're close, but this is the man who single-handedly packs millions for speeches.

I agree with your rational, but I will also point out that last year when George Bush Sr. Spoke at nationals no one really knew about it ahead of time.

My guess is that sort of planning could be used, because if there is no way of knowing if he will show up, no one will plan for it. This generally would make security much easier (Again, note the security detail at the event when George Bush Sr. was in Atlanta, it seemed to me to be quite light, even if he is an ex-president).


My 2cents anyways, I'm sure there are plenty of good reasons for him not to come, but I wouldn't rule it out completely. And there's always Deans plan of taking everyone to the Washington mall in a few years too. :)

[CraigHickman]

I agree with your rational, but I will also point out that last year when George Bush Sr. Spoke at nationals no one really knew about it ahead of time.

My guess is that sort of planning could be used, because if there is no way of knowing if he will show up, no one will plan for it. This generally would make security much easier (Again, note the security detail at the event when George Bush Sr. was in Atlanta, it seemed to me to be quite light, even if he is an ex-president).


My 2cents anyways, I'm sure there are plenty of good reasons for him not to come, but I wouldn't rule it out completely. And there's always Deans plan of taking everyone to the Washington mall in a few years too. :)

Bush Senior isn't a president anymore, so he doesn't have too many current enemies.

[BJT]

the security for a presidential visit would SCREW UP the entire event. nobody could get into the arena that entire day without being searched. it's a nice thought, but I don't really think it's possible.

[MattLi]

Ok while I agree with you people that security will be an issue, I don't believe it's completely impossible for him to show. Honestly, he could just probably show up unannounced and FIRST will let him speak. I mean he is the president after all. Also, last time I checked, no one at FIRST has a burning desire to bring any firearms to the Georgia Dome for a robotics competition. He could just show up, his security lock down the Dome, and then leave. No one would expect anything, so there would be no risk of random assassins bringing snipers to the event.

[SU 39]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Wizards-fan-President-Obama-talk-a-little-trash?urn=nba,145551

If that isn't a similar security problem I dont know what is.

It is nowhere near that situation. Obama did not just show up unannounced at the game. The security to get in the arena there would definitely have been turned up a bit. At the Championships, people can come and go as they please, definitely too much of a security risk. While it would be nice to see Obama in Atlanta, it would probably be safer (for him) and more efficient (for the event) if it was just something like a pre-recorded video.

[MattLi]

Wait how about a live webcast? He could talk to us from the white house. He'd never have to leave.

I've already sent an email to my team talking about sending letters.

[Viper37]

C. We're not big enough. This is the president we're talking about here, folks. This is the most powerful man in the world. We aren't big enough yet. We're close, but this is the man who single-handedly packs millions for speeches.

That's the one that came to my mind first. Pardon the pun.

[Molten]

I don't know. Personally, I don't think he belongs there. He should be writing laws and negotiating with other countries. FIRST is very important to me and to many others, but it really is not the most important thing for this country. Let Obama fix the economy, then he can worry about robotics. Afterall, with engineering outlook, that would be doing us all a huge favor.

[artdutra04]

I don't know. Personally, I don't think he belongs there. He should be writing laws and negotiating with other countries. FIRST is very important to me and to many others, but it really is not the most important thing for this country. Let Obama fix the economy, then he can worry about robotics. Afterall, with engineering outlook, that would be doing us all a huge favor.Just a heads up, the President doesn't write laws, elected officials in Congress do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuI2oa5Stk).

[Viper37]

Let Obama try to fix the economy, then he can worry about robotics.

Fixed.

[Tetraman]

Here is a better idea: Tell Dean Kamen to get Obama. It would be a much easier for one of our greatest inventors of our time to invite a president to an event then it would for a group of students. Yes I agree that if we were a complete legion and everyone in FIRST asked Mr. Obama to join us for atlanta there would be just a good a chance for him to attend, but lets get real for a second. A Webcast would probably be easiest, and a pre-recoreded video would be even easier.

Also, reminder - keep the political stuff at a min.

[Koko Ed]

To be brutally honest, I doubt any current president will be able to attend Champs. Here's my reasoning:

A. It's open to the general public. This makes security an even larger nightmare.
B. Teams enter and exit with toolcrates constantly. This creates a security environment that is inoperable for a president. It would be disturbingly easy to smuggle a firearm into a FRC competition, hence the lack of likely hood of his attending.
C. We're not big enough. This is the president we're talking about here, folks. This is the most powerful man in the world. We aren't big enough yet. We're close, but this is the man who single-handedly packs millions for speeches.

I believe when he was president Bush Senior attended the initial FIRST championship in '92.

[merybar]

It may be a slight inconvience getting into the Dome however i think its something that can be done. It wouldnt take to long to be searched headed into the arena the normal way, as well as, the tunnel could easily be searched and controlled. It would make a pretty big statement to the first community if the President of the United States made it to the Championship.

[Kyle Fenton]

To be brutally honest, I doubt any current president will be able to attend Champs. Here's my reasoning:

A. It's open to the general public. This makes security an even larger nightmare.
B. Teams enter and exit with toolcrates constantly. This creates a security environment that is inoperable for a president. It would be disturbingly easy to smuggle a firearm into a FRC competition, hence the lack of likely hood of his attending.
C. We're not big enough. This is the president we're talking about here, folks. This is the most powerful man in the world. We aren't big enough yet. We're close, but this is the man who single-handedly packs millions for speeches.

Exactly, there is no way that the secret service would ever allow the president to go in an arena like the Georgia Dome. There are too many positions and scenarios where someone could inflict harm to him. Also it puts all of the attendees at even greater risk, if there was even a hint of him coming to it.

The best option for him would be to give a pre recorded video speech for all to see. George Bush did this in 06.

[RyanB]

I would just like to say that i think FIRST IS big enough for the president to speak at, for we are the fix to the future. I get that he he has a lot on his plate but i would hate for the FIRST community to see themselves as some how not worthy of having the president at their championship. With the help of Mr. Obama we can really make a difference.

[JesseK]

My team wrote three letters to Obama's organisation after he got elected. We wanted him to attend the DC regional, or at least make a 10 minute appearance. He's only a 5 minute car ride away after all, right? All three responses were that it's too close to the start of his term and there are so many issues to deal with that it would be very difficult to find time for security to set up for an appearance.

We'll try again next year, and the year after that, and every year we go to the DC regional. As for Atlanta ... that's the Secret Service's nightmare ... so he'd have to really want to go. The only way to do that is to get a HUGE amount of teams, including those who aren't attending, to write letters. Hop to it!

The best option for him would be to give a pre recorded video speech for all to see. George Bush did this in 06. This is a good idea...

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Wow, so much Negativity here on ChiefDelphi.

1> President Obama thinks so highly of Science and Technology that he put it into his inaugural speech.
2> I believe FIRST fits into his vision of the future of Science and Technology.
3> His people are quite capable of deciding if the security risk is worth coming to Atlanta.

So lets just invite him, and let him make the decision.

[EricVanWyk]

Lets keep the political talk to a minimum, I wouldn't want to see this thread closed because it devolved into a "I Love/Hate Obama" mess.

My hope is that he rejects all the invites and then shows up anyway. This will get around some of the security concerns and still have him there.

I also hope that we are inviting other nation's equivalent to our President. Can we get some Canadian political love in Atlanta?

[Bongle]

I could see Obama attending. A stadium half-full of high school students would not be so hard to lock down compared to a stadium full of political nuts (nomination) or a few million members of the public (inauguration). I completely agree that it seems right up his alley. It's a fairly innovative, merit-based approach to education that provably gets results.

I agree that a pre-recorded video (or live video) is far more likely though. Which is unfortunate, because I think the greatest benefit of Obama being at champs would be him getting to see FIRST in action (and thus perhaps supporting it as part of an education initiative), rather than the kids getting to see a speech by Obama.

[Molten]

Also, reminder - keep the political stuff at a min.

Note to all: I was not trying to be political. Trust me. If I felt like talking politics, everyone would be well aware. I would be giving details on what I think he should do. Instead, I simply put a few generalized problems that are of bigger concern then FIRST. I'm just trying to make the point that maybe Obama going to Atlanta may not be the best thing. Afterall, if I were to somehow make it to Atlanta and had to go through a ton of safety precautions just so 1 guy could make a speech in person, I'd be mighty annoyed. I wouldn't mind the live camera feed though. That might actually be somewhat cool.(especially if it was a two-way so he can actually see the crowd, field, and perhaps a match or two.)

[JaneYoung]

Here is a better idea: Tell Dean Kamen to get Obama.

I'm going to be picky for a moment and change this sentence a bit:

Ask Dean Kamen to invite President Obama ...

(Not sure I would recommend that anyone tell Dean Kamen to do something.)

I get the point of the post but I also get the fact that many people read ChiefDelphi, not just members of FRC teams.

[ATannahill]

Note to all: I was not trying to be political. Trust me. If I felt like talking politics, everyone would be well aware. I would be giving details on what I think he should do. Instead, I simply put a few generalized problems that are of bigger concern then FIRST.
I don't think you were the problem, I think most people, including me, were upset* by the person who added "try to" to your sentence and said "Fixed."

* upset is the best word I can think of.

[Kyle Love]

While it's a nice idea, Obama has a lot bigger things to get done. He should be doing his job in Washington DC. It would be much more realistic to get a past president (kind of like the first George Bush) to come to the Championship instead.

Just a heads up, the President doesn't write laws, elected officials in Congress do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuI2oa5Stk).
While true, he is still involved in the process.

I think it would be awesome if Neil Armstrong would show up at the Boilermaker Regional in a couple of weeks. I'm sure the Purdue grad would like to come back. He hasn't been back to campus since last fall when they dedicated the new Neil Armstrong building (https://engineering.purdue.edu/EAA/Newsletter/BuildingExcitement/Neil-Armstrong-Bldg.jpg).

[CraigHickman]

I could see Obama attending. A stadium half-full of high school students would not be so hard to lock down compared to a stadium full of political nuts (nomination) or a few million members of the public (inauguration). I completely agree that it seems right up his alley. It's a fairly innovative, merit-based approach to education that provably gets results.

I agree that a pre-recorded video (or live video) is far more likely though. Which is unfortunate, because I think the greatest benefit of Obama being at champs would be him getting to see FIRST in action (and thus perhaps supporting it as part of an education initiative), rather than the kids getting to see a speech by Obama.

A recorded video/webstream would be AWESOME.

But keep in mind, just to get into the inauguration, one had to queue up 4ish hours before hand to go through security screening. I don't want to deal with that at a FIRST competition.

[Viper37]

I don't think you were the problem, I think most people, including me, were upset* by the person who added "try to" to your sentence and said "Fixed."

* upset is the best word I can think of.

It wasn't a poke at him personally, it was a poke at Uncle Sam in its entirety.

If something that minor offends you, I don't really know what to tell you.

While it's a nice idea, Obama has a lot bigger things to get done. He should be doing his job in Washington DC. It would be much more realistic to get a past president (kind of like the first George Bush) to come to the Championship instead.




This, is spot on. The current President has plenty on his plate already. While he did say he is emphasizing science and technology, the appropriate role for him is not to observe the process, but assist within the capacities of his duty.

[Molten]

I think it would be awesome if Neil Armstrong would show up at the Boilermaker Regional in a couple of weeks.

I agree. This would be cool. Maybe, this is where the letters should go.

[Molten]

It wasn't a poke at him personally, it was a poke at Uncle Sam in its entirety.

If something that minor offends you, I don't really know what to tell you.

It's not that it offended them. Just that it was political. Politics are not to be discussed on CD. That is one of the basic rules of CD that we should all try to keep to.

[Viper37]

It's not that it offended them. Just that it was political. Politics are not to be discussed on CD. That is one of the basic rules of CD that we should all try to keep to.

I understand this. However political opinions WILL come into play when topics like this come up. As I stated earlier, the comment I made was not made at the current president, but more towards the State of the Union. Really, not even political at all, as it is an economic condition.

Take it how you will, but that's just my .2 cents.

[Ian Curtis]

I think it would be awesome if Neil Armstrong would show up at the Boilermaker Regional in a couple of weeks. I'm sure the Purdue grad would like to come back. He hasn't been back to campus since last fall when they dedicated the new Neil Armstrong building (https://engineering.purdue.edu/EAA/Newsletter/BuildingExcitement/Neil-Armstrong-Bldg.jpg).

I'm not so sure. Mr. Armstrong doesn't do public appearances, and hasn't for a long time. He's even turned down offers to appear in documentaries about our early spacefaring efforts. Buzz Aldrin on the other hand, seems to love being in the spotlight (although he's not a Purdue grad).

If you want an Apollo astronaut, I'd ask Gene Cernan. He's a Purdue grad, and seemed like a really likeable guy from his interviews in Discovery's When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions. He also is significant as he was the last man to walk on the moon.

[Viper37]

If you want an Apollo astronaut, I'd ask Gene Cernan. He's a Purdue grad, and seemed like a really likeable guy from his interviews in Discovery's When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions. He also is significant as he was the last man to walk on the moon.

+1 that is also the impression I got from Gene Cernan. His interviews were quite interesting.

That Discovery Series was very good.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

It's not that it offended them. Just that it was political. Politics are not to be discussed on CD. That is one of the basic rules of CD that we should all try to keep to.

From my understanding, politics, religion, and other hotbutton topics are not completely against the rules here ... but since they tend to create flamewars, they tend to get closed at the first signs of flames.

[ZakuAce]

Just a heads up, the President doesn't write laws, elected officials in Congress do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuI2oa5Stk).

Executive Orders?

I too believe that fixing the economy is top priority. Maybe he could send a cabinet member, maybe VP Biden? But honestly, this country has more problems. I'd say more but I too don't want to get political. Flame wars suck!

[Nawaid Ladak]

I actually thought of this sometime last year after the election,

This idea would be perfect, President Obama want s new generation of teachers teaching our future engineers and scientists. WE ARE THAT FUTURE. It would be a perfect fit in a perfect manner. not to mention all the positive PR he would receive from a visit to students such as this

I could see Obama attending. A stadium half-full of high school students would not be so hard to lock down compared to a stadium full of political nuts (nomination) or a few million members of the public (inauguration). I completely agree that it seems right up his alley. It's a fairly innovative, merit-based approach to education that provably gets results.

I agree that a pre-recorded video (or live video) is far more likely though. Which is unfortunate, because I think the greatest benefit of Obama being at champs would be him getting to see FIRST in action (and thus perhaps supporting it as part of an education initiative), rather than the kids getting to see a speech by Obama.

This is entirely true. You need him there live for this to work, He needs to see the game being played in first person to see all the work that goes into these robots and al of what the students learn. ie: he could possibly walk around the pits escorted by the Secret Service. He would be able to talk to some of the students as to why they like FIRST, what they have learned in FIRST. and maybe teach Mr. Obama a few things.

President Obama wants to see our future students succeed, WE ARE THAT FUTURE.

P.S. To those of you who say that we aren't that big. please explain this http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Obamas-Surprise-Second-Grade-Class.html

[Viper37]

he could possibly walk around the pits escorted by the SS.

I know what you meant, but at first glance "Secret Service" is not at all what I saw. "SS" is not an appropriate abbreviation for Secret Service.

[pacoliketaco]

Wow, so much Negativity here on ChiefDelphi.

1> President Obama thinks so highly of Science and Technology that he put it into his inaugural speech.
2> I believe FIRST fits into his vision of the future of Science and Technology.
3> His people are quite capable of deciding if the security risk is worth coming to Atlanta.

So lets just invite him, and let him make the decision.

THANK YOU. All i thought of was the invite, whether he would actually show up or not, it doesn't really matter. In sending him letters, we are showing him what FIRST is, which is the whole point. When i made this thread, i did not think of logistics, and i won't, as that was not my intent. I did not want to start an argument about this, i just wanted FIRST teams to try and make a difference.

[dani190]

A recorded video/webstream would be AWESOME.

But keep in mind, just to get into the inauguration, one had to queue up 4ish hours before hand to go through security screening. I don't want to deal with that at a FIRST competition.

did you watch the inauguration? Did you notice how many people there were.

Lol
plus it was outside...

way bigger security risk

[Molten]

did you watch the inauguration? Did you notice how many people there were.

Lol
plus it was outside...

way bigger security risk

True but they weren't all carrying tools in with them. Many of which could be disguised weapons and would have to be closely inspected.

[geekofband007]

obama in safety glasses...i'm sold...lets do it!
haha

[Pavan Dave]

Wow, so much Negativity here on ChiefDelphi.

1> President Obama thinks so highly of Science and Technology that he put it into his inaugural speech.
2> I believe FIRST fits into his vision of the future of Science and Technology.
3> His people are quite capable of deciding if the security risk is worth coming to Atlanta.

So lets just invite him, and let him make the decision.

I agree with you completely. Ask. Whats the worst he can do? Say NO?

... [edit] ...

Seriously.

Cordially,
Pavan Davé

[CraigHickman]

I like this thread. Invite the President, but please don't WHINE and MOAN [for a lack of better words] about the realities of this actually happening because this is not a matter in my hands, Dean's hands, Woodies hands, Chief Delphi's hands, Brandon's hands, Daniel's hands, etc., etc.,....

Rationally pointing out factors of reality isn't whining.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Rationally pointing out factors of reality isn't whining.

Craig,

You are correct, but this thread isn't about the factors as to why President Obama may choose not to come.

This thread is about asking President Obama to come to Atlanta and see first hand some of the 'promise of the future'.

[Molten]

This thread is about asking President Obama to come to Atlanta and see first hand some of the 'promise of the future'.

That is exactly what is being discussed here. Should we invite Obama? That is the question we are asking ourselves. Many of us came to the answer of no. You may think yes. Either way, it certainly does fall into the topic of this thread.

[EE_I_B]

Ya'll are being way to nice. <rest of comment omitted because of violation of CD Rules>

[Daniel_LaFleur]

That is exactly what is being discussed here. Should we invite Obama? That is the question we are asking ourselves. Many of us came to the answer of no. You may think yes. Either way, it certainly does fall into the topic of this thread.

No, you are incorrect. Read the OP.

The topic brought up was to invite President Obama, Not whether or not we should invite President Obama.

I believe we should invite as many political figures as possible, including President Obama, and let them see what motivated american kids can do. If FIRST is ever to change the culture, then we need to start with those we've elected to public office. JMHO.

I believe we should let them decide if it is prudent, or not, for them to come. Us Making that decision for them is rather presumptuous, don't you think?

[artdutra04]

Why should we worry about the security or the little details?

Just write letters to Obama to show him that FIRST is something that his constituents care about enough to take the time out of their day to write to him about. Every day Obama personally reads ten letters from the public, and who knows, maybe one of those will be about FIRST. It doesn't hurt to try.

Whether he decides to come to the event, or make a [prerecorded] speech via webcast, or just write a letter congratulating the participating teams for helping the long term goals of this country, is up to him and his staffers. And whatever the choice would be, the event organizers and teams in Atlanta would adapt.

Without a doubt, Obama certainly is our most tech-savvy President ever. I'm sure it would be well within the realm of possibility of having him record a short speech to broadcast at the event congratulating teams, mentors, and volunteers.

FIRST is not a partisan issue. The goals of FIRST (increasing STEM education and awareness, improving students' skills and education to help the economy, etc) line up with goals of both Democrats and Republicans. Our past three Presidents have supported FIRST in some way, so there should be no reason not to seek the support of our current President.

[Mike Schroeder]

Okay to appease a few requests, I think that we all need to be very careful about what we write her. The forum has strict rules about political threads right now this is not a political thread it is a thread about alerting the leader of our country to The FIRST Culture and to let him know there is this little competition in Atlanta. But please take a moment and think, sure it would be cool to give your opinion about Obama or the current state of the government or countless other things that have to do with politics but remember, why ruin a perfectly harmless thread trying to discuss informing our president to FIRST for your own pleasure.


Thank you for the moment of time you took to read this

Mike Schroeder
CD MOD Team

[Tristan Lall]

Why should we worry about the security or the little details?Quite right. We can assume with some certainty that the Secret Service would handle the details, soon after the acceptance of such an invitation. The paranoia about weapons and locking the stadium down isn't reasonable at all. As a society, it's ridiculous to be in constant fear of someone attacking the President, wherever he may go, to the degree that he can no longer make a simple public appearance.

[Molten]

No, you are incorrect. Read the OP.

The topic brought up was to invite President Obama, Not whether or not we should invite President Obama.

I believe we should invite as many political figures as possible, including President Obama, and let them see what motivated american kids can do. If FIRST is ever to change the culture, then we need to start with those we've elected to public office. JMHO.

I believe we should let them decide if it is prudent, or not, for them to come. Us Making that decision for them is rather presumptuous, don't you think?

Ok, as requested, I re-read the first post. This is what I found.

If your team agrees that we can all inspire our president, please join us and send your own invitation.

Notice the part I bolded. This statement, is the one that says, if your team agrees. It inspires us all to ask ourselves, do we agree with him? Should we try to write to our president? That is why people simply responded, no I don't agree. Granted, the poster was probably expecting everyone to say, sure I agree...I'll get right to making the letter. But that simply isn't how it works. If you start a thread like this, you are opening it up to be discussed in every aspect of the topic. This includes disagreement. I'm really sorry that we don't agree on this particular topic, and in all honesty I am not going to argue whether or not to invite him. Those points have been made previously. All I am trying to say is that this does all fall into the original thread topic even if it wasn't quite what the writer intended.

Furthermore, making the decision for him would be telling him that he is not welcome. Nobody has done anything of the sort. We are just choosing not to invite him. If he decides of his own accord to go to Atlanta, that is his choosing.

[DCA Fan]

Annnnnd this thread has gone off into hilarious tangents that I wouldn't have imagined. Honestly folks, enough bickering. If you choose to invite President Obama, go for it. If you don't, so be it. It's not up to you guys to worry about the logistics or the possibility of it happening. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, we try again next year.

But as for my two cents, I can't see why you wouldn't invite President Obama. As others have said, the worst that could happen is that he declines. But I think it would benefit FIRST's profile tremendously if he does show up.

[Nate Smith]

Shortly after the inauguration, as they were talking about the new part of the whitehouse.gov site that was supposed to make it easier for you to submit feedback to the White House, I sent out a message introducing FIRST in general, and offering to provide more information upon request. To date, I haven't heard anything back...

[Lil' Lavery]

Notice the part I bolded. This statement, is the one that says, if your team agrees. It inspires us all to ask ourselves, do we agree with him? Should we try to write to our president? That is why people simply responded, no I don't agree. Granted, the poster was probably expecting everyone to say, sure I agree...I'll get right to making the letter. But that simply isn't how it works. If you start a thread like this, you are opening it up to be discussed in every aspect of the topic. This includes disagreement. I'm really sorry that we don't agree on this particular topic, and in all honesty I am not going to argue whether or not to invite him. Those points have been made previously. All I am trying to say is that this does all fall into the original thread topic even if it wasn't quite what the writer intended.

Furthermore, making the decision for him would be telling him that he is not welcome. Nobody has done anything of the sort. We are just choosing not to invite him. If he decides of his own accord to go to Atlanta, that is his choosing.

As your second paragraph states, you have no problem with him coming to Atlanta if he so chooses. So why are you arguing?
If you don't want to write him an invite, don't. Nobody is forcing you to.
And if you have no problem with him attending, why are you attempting to persuade others not to invite him?

Your argument makes very little sense to me.

[neoshaakti]

Hmm that makes me think that we shouldve invited Former President Clinton to the NYC Regional..hmmmmmmm

But anyways, Obama's going to the FIRST Champs would be awesome!
That just makes me wish I was going even more....sigh

[Molten]

As your second paragraph states, you have no problem with him coming to Atlanta if he so chooses. So why are you arguing?
If you don't want to write him an invite, don't. Nobody is forcing you to.
And if you have no problem with him attending, why are you attempting to persuade others not to invite him?

Your argument makes very little sense to me.

I am not trying to get people to not invite him. I am trying to get them to stop suggesting that any statement other then "Yes, lets invite him" is off topic. Read above. Others say, that posts on the reality of the situation is not on topic. As you said, I don't care about Obama's travel plans. If I wanted to meet him, I'd have met him during the election season. He was just down the street. On topic is more then agreement. It involves all discussion that has to do with Obama going to Atlanta. That is the only thing I'm saying. Don't dismiss somebody's ideas as off topic just because you don't agree with them.

As I've stated, arguments related to the Obama travel is relevent to this thread's nature. However, this little discussion that has arisen from it, is not. Please allow people to voice their opinions on the Obama matter. However, as for this debate that I accidentally started, consider me withdrawn. Do me the favor of not asking me any questions, and I will not post in this thread again.

[Nawaid Ladak]

i'll have my letter sent off some time this week

also; for all the people still worrying about all the security

if this was a public event
the stadium would have more people
more people = more exposure to FIRST

so i don't see anything wrong with that

[Rick TYler]

But as for my two cents, I can't see why you wouldn't invite President Obama. As others have said, the worst that could happen is that he declines.

I think the worst thing that could happen is that he could show up. Having the presidential circus come to town would seriously disrupt the event, take the focus off where it belongs (the work of the students), and provide a platform for a working politician to get PR on our collective time. I would much rather have a successful scientist or engineer, or an apolitical public figure (sort of like the first George Bush, but not like Bill Clinton who is still actively involved in politics) than Obama. I don't think the students on CD realize how a presidential visit would suck all the air out of the event and make the Championships a sideshow to the presidential appearance. As others have suggested, the security around a presidential visit is VERY likely to disrupt an entire day of the event. Let him stay in Washington and get some work done.

[Bongle]

I think the worst thing that could happen is that he could show up. Having the presidential circus come to town would seriously disrupt the event, take the focus off where it belongs (the work of the students), and provide a platform for a working politician to get PR on our collective time. I would much rather have a successful scientist or engineer, or an apolitical public figure (sort of like the first George Bush, but not like Bill Clinton who is still actively involved in politics) than Obama. I don't think the students on CD realize how a presidential visit would suck all the air out of the event and make the Championships a sideshow to the presidential appearance. As others have suggested, the security around a presidential visit is VERY likely to disrupt an entire day of the event. Let him stay in Washington and get some work done.

I don't think that's the case. I think a visit from Obama would be about the same level as one of the many generic "Obama visits pork factory" or "Obama gives speech to troubled autoworkers" visits that he (and every other president) makes month after month. There wouldn't be a huge media entourage. Keep in mind that Bush Senior still has secret service protection, yet I didn't hear that the dome was locked down for his visit. Obama is certainly a higher-risk target, but I think the Secret Service (who arrange visits to public areas for their living) could probably handle it without much disruption.

In the end: I don't think an Obama visit would necessitate locking down the dome, but a recorded message or live webcast is far more likely.

Edit: Even if they have to lock down the georgiadome, entry and exit doesn't happen _that_ often: the people going to/from the fields for matches are low in volume enough that there probably wouldn't be a problem searching them. People entering and leaving the main georgiadome might see more of a delay, but I don't think it would be enough of one to really dampen festivities.

As for the "but anything in a toolbox could be a weapon" thoughts, I think he'd probably give a speech like he did in Chicago on election night: behind a few inches of bulletproof glass. Walk in, give speech, walk out.

[Cow Bell Solo]

To be brutally honest, I doubt any current president will be able to attend Champs. Here's my reasoning:
C. We're not big enough. This is the president we're talking about here, folks. This is the most powerful man in the world. We aren't big enough yet. We're close, but this is the man who single-handedly packs millions for speeches.

Didn't you ever see the top searches on google when new clues went out, or after kickoff. FIRST highly impacted those searches, which I'm sure had to of been a lot of people.

But yes we are smaller than other events in the world. But many people I have come across knowing or not that I am on the robotics team, asked If I saw this robotics competition on TV. So the word is getting out.

[Noeen Kashif]

this is a really great idea, but then again, he is the president of America!
He has lots of important tasks, and if he does accept our invitation. The amount of security there will disturb everyone. He is not any average person!
Great idea though:)

[XXShadowXX]

we need to start a petition!

my friend is attempting to start this on face book right now