Since it's becoming vogue now to share Obama stories, I figured I'd post mine. ;)
Obama has a good memory for people... almost eerily good. My husband met him in his run for Illinois Senate in 2004. It was in a very VERY small farm town downstate: a town of about 1,200 people. That was the first thing that impressed me: That he would even go to such a tiny little town in the most blood red area of the state there is, and meet the people there. It was about a 20 minute drive from the town we lived in, so my husband went. (I couldn't go, I had to work.)
After the meeting, Obama stayed and talked to people for a while. My husband got to talk to him about his pet issue: software patents. My husband has a computer science degree and is a big proponent of open source software. He always likes to test any politician he meets on their knowledge of the problems with software patents. Obama was, of course, an incredibly intelligent man, but this was one area he didn't know a lot about. However, he took my husbands name, gave him a business card, and told him to get in contact with him.
My husband mis-remembered this, and by Obama taking his name, thought that Obama was going to have someone get back to him. :/
Fast forward to about a year and a half later. Obama had been elected Senator, and was holding town hall meetings all across the state. He held one in the town neighboring the one that we were going to college in, so we went. And, in true Obama style, he stayed to talk to people for a while after the meeting. My husband went up to him, shook his hand, and said something along the lines of, "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm still waiting on my response!" (in a light-hearted manner, of course... we just figured he had gotten busy and had not had time to respond.)
Obama kind of laughed and said, "Oh, I remember you. We met in _, IL, and you asked me about software patents. But, you were supposed to contact me. I've been waiting on you!"
Obama impressed me greatly that day. He is truly a politician of the people. Not only does he truly listen and engage the people, but he remembers them afterward, even if it is a year and a half later. He is truly an amazing man.
