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Scores of area residents gathered along a length of Lordship Road in Stratford on Saturday as the presidential motorcade made its way to Bridgeport for the "Moving America Forward Rally" at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
"This is great, it's an early birthday present," said Linda Drish, a longtime resident of Stratford who will turn 57 soon. "I never thought I'd get to do this."
After a helicopter landing at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, President Obama and about 50 vehicles and 30 motorcycles zoomed past the crowd of people who had waited two hours or more in the biting wind to catch a glimpse of our national leader.
Although the majority of the crowd was pro-Obama, a few critics were present. Frank Gennarini of Milford did not vote for Obama and said he has little confidence left in the administration.
"I've got to believe he can do better," Gennarini said of Obama.
But others said Obama has a lot on his plate, and the complex issues will take time to solve. Linda Malley of Stratford voted for Obama and is not giving up on him.
"I hold the utmost respect for him and what he's doing," Malley said. "Both my parents are in their 90s and voted for him."
Many crowd members had previous brushes with past presidents.
Gennarini shook hands with Bill Clinton, another man had met Richard Nixon, and Malley shook hands with Lyndon Johnson. But it was a first for Linda Drish. "My daughter and my mother and myself all voted for Obama. For us, this is historic," she said.
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