Local coverage of Obama visit to Madison’s Wright Middle School

November 4, 6:52 AMMadison Political Buzz ExaminerPeggy Williams

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Madison Political Buzz Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 President Barack Obama (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Wright Middle School in Madison, WI today, where he will speak on education reform. Attendance is by invitation only; in fact, only 50 parents will be attending, chosen by lottery.

The President’s plane is expected to land at the Dane County regional airport at approximately 12:30pm. Obama’s address is expected to take place at the middle school at approximately 1:30pm.
Area news media to provide live coverage

Full covereage of the President's speech can be viewed on the Madison area television news channels. Some of the channels will also provide covereage of Air Force One's landing and departure.

WMTV News (NBC) Channel 15

WISCTV News (CBS) Channel 3

WKOW News (ABC) Channel 27

Wright’s widow to attend speech

Jacqueline Wright, the widow of the school’s namesake, the Rev. James Wright, has been invited to attend Obama’s speech at the school. Rev. Wright was a civil rights pioneer in Madison. He served as executive director of the city’s Equal Rights Opportunities Commission for 24 years.

When asked by WMTV News what her husband might have thought about the first African-American President’s visit to a school name for him, Mother Wright, as she is called, told news reporters, “He would be delighted and very happy, but he didn’t take things in such a way that [he would] be overwhelmed… He was more humble in that way.”

Obama first Presidential visit Madison in almost 60 years

Obama’s visit to Madison will be the first by a sitting U.S. President since 1950, when President Harry Truman came to the city. Truman spoke at the UW-Madison Field House on May 14, 1950 to speak about peace. Truman’s speech was broadcast to a nationwide radio audience.

Obama had visited the state’s capitol several times prior to his election, the most recent being February 12 , 2008 when he spoke at the Kohl Center during his campaign. Prior to Truman’s visit, Presidents Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt had both visited Madison while in office. Roosevelt’s visit was in 1903. 

Today marks the first anniversary of the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.