Obama visits Newton

PHOTO BY ALEX JONES

President Barack Obama’s motorcade travels down Washington Street as it departs Newton
for Boston Logan International Airport after a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee held in West Newton on Saturday.

By Laura Paine/Staff Writer

Wicked Local Newton
Posted Oct 19, 2010 @ 04:06 PM
Newton — Caroline and Grace Beecher have been over the moon since Saturday, when an
unexpected visitor stepped out of his limousine and onto their lawn to introduce himself
before leaving Newton.
President Barack Obama took a trip to the home of Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Caritas
Christi, on Oct. 16 to help raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Karin Beecher lives next door to de la Torre on Howland Street, with her husband, Tom
Beecher, and their two daughters, Caroline, 10, and Grace, 5. Beecher and the girls spent
Saturday morning making a sign that read, “Welcome! Can Malia and Sasha come play?”
They patiently waited on the lawn while the president arrived in a black limousine.
Beecher said her neighbor was kind enough to invite her to the event and when she had the
chance to talk to the president, there was only one thing on her mind.
“I had an opportunity to meet the president and shake his hand,” Beecher said. “There was
a moment where you could say something, and I asked if he saw my daughter’s sign on the
way in. He smiled and said, ‘yes, and you can tell them it made me feel good.’”
As Obama was leaving the fundraiser, where he spent close to an hour talking with
participants, he stopped at the mouth of de la Torre’s driveway and walked across Beecher’s
lawn to say hello to the girls.
“It’s pretty great,” Beecher said. “My husband was on the law with the children and some
neighbors. He said the president was unbelievably gracious and was focused on the children,
which was wonderful. He told them he liked the sign. It was thrilling.”
Caroline and Grace are over the moon and still buzzing about their once-in-a-lifetime
chance of meeting the President of the United States.
“I think it says a lot about who the president is as a man and the fact that it occurred to him
to stop,” Beecher said. “He only has a million things on his desk, why would he stop? It was
rather incredible.”
Senator John Kerry and Mayor Setti Warren also stopped by to say hello to the girls and
neighbors.

Laura Paine can be reached at lpaine@cnc.com.

Copyright 2010 Newton TAB. Some rights reserved