Polson represented at inauguration

Jim Ofstad’s voice wouldn’t have carried across the millions of people from across the country who gathered to witness  Barack Obama be sworn in as the first black president of the United States.

But the Polson resident, who attended the 2009 Inauguration with his wife Debbie and son Tyler, does have some advice for the new president: “Just keep a level head,” Jim said, “and don’t make any bad moves.

“He seemed to be good at those factors through the whole campaign.”

The Ofstad’s had planned a trip to D.C. later this spring, but Debbie had the foresight, Jim said, to e-mail Montana Sen. Max Baucus about the possibility of getting inauguration tickets. The couple secured their tickets through Baucus’ office, and were in attendance as Obama was sworn in.

Jim said they were three of about 240,000 people who got tickets that granted them a closer view of the ceremony.

The Ofstad’s flew into Dulles International Airport on Saturday and were planning on staying with Tyler and seeing the sights until they returned today.

Tyler Ofstad, a 1999 graduate of Polson High School, graduated from Standford University and is currently working on his MD/PHD at a research facility in Virginia.

The Jenalia Farms facility is a branch of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and according to its website, works on the “identification of general principles guiding how information is processed by neuronal circuits, in addition to the development of new imaging technologies and computational methods for image data analysis.” Jim said that the bulk of Tyler’s current research involves studying memory and learning on a molecular level through fruit fly brain scans and gene testing.

Tyler was granted a very selective spots to Jenalie Farms through his graduate and doctorate course out of California, Jim said. The grant allows Tyler to do the research while working on his higher neuroscience degrees. This weekend, he’s playing tour guide.

Jim said he’s kind of a “carpet bagger” when it comes to politics, and doesn’t lean any particular way, but was impressed by the Obama campaign, the way it went back to the grassroots and “gathered $25 here and there, all through the Internet.”

“I wouldn’t want his job right now, but he seems to be the best man for the job right now,” he said.

The Ofstad’s didn’t get to see Obama on the now-President’s visits to Montana last summer, but did donate through the Internet to the campaign.

“We’re just going to check it out,” Jim said last week. “I just think it’ll be pretty exciting.”