With the 2024 presidential election just a week away, we're revisting then-President Barack Obama’s visit to Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York on September 21, 2009. The episode features a conversation with guest Tom Wade, former Rensselaer County Democratic Committee chairman, about his memories of the president’s visit and speech on the HVCC campus.

Wade explains the bipartisan spirit around the president’s visit, his relationship with then-Rensselaer County Republican Committee chairman Jim Walsh, and the nature of national politics during the start of President Obama’s first term. He also recalls his own early years attending HVCC in the 1960s.

Were you at President Obama's speech at Hudson Valley Community College? We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line at mail@troystorypod.com

Show Notes:

• VIDEO: President Obama Speaks at Hudson Valley Community College (Obama White House Archive)
• VIDEO: Presidential Remarks on the Economy (C-SPAN)
• Times Union: President Obama at HVCC (via Internet Archive)
• PHOTOS: President Obama Addresses Community College Students In Troy, New York (Getty Images)

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Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

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