"I've been looking forward to this ball for quite some time because, when you look at the history of this campaign, what started out as an improbable journey when nobody gave us a chance was carried forward, was inspired by, was energized by young people all across America," he told the room as the crowd shouted, "Yes, we can," before he and first lady Michelle Obama took the stage for their first "old school" dance to an instrumental version of "At Last."
But, the party didn't end with a dance by the first couple. Even after the president left, everyone was still ready to keep the celebration going. Fall Out Boy performed a few hits like "Dance, Dance," but after they played "Thnks fr th Mmrs," bassist Pete Wentz joked, "We felt like we needed to play a song for George Bush."
"It's mind-blowing. It's one of those things where it's such an amazing experience — just being in his presence is amazing," Wentz later gushed about meeting the president.
Kid Rock played an acoustic version of "Amen." "Can you feel that?" he asked the crowd. "God bless you all." Guest reporters like Rosario Dawson and Usher were on hand along with celebrities like Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Kid Rock and Santogold. "I mean, after eight years of Bush, we just wanted to do everything we could to try and help," Yauch said. Meanwhile, Tobey Maguire proclaimed, "This is a party."
