BY ROWENA VERGARA
The scientist was speechless.
Less than 48 hours before Barack Obama would become the nation's 44th president, Congressman Bill Foster stood behind the same podium Obama will take Tuesday to address the nation.
It was an experience even this former Fermilab scientist could not break down.
"This means so much to the country," Foster said sitting in his office in the Longworth building of the House of Representatives.
"You just couldn't imagine how this crowd was going to be," he added.
Foster will have the privilege of sitting in an area behind the podium with the rest of the House members. But he'll be in risers set aside for most first-year congressmen like himself, he said.
He'll meet with all members at 10 a.m. on the House floor before heading to the Capitol.
Just last month, on Dec. 8, Foster moved into his own office and out of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's. Black leather chairs and a long sofa fill his private office, a room with deep blue-colored walls.
Aside from the new digs, he's still getting used to other Washington standards, like attending balls and galas, and wearing tuxedos.
"I guess it's part of this new career," he said.
Foster attended a ball Sunday featuring Chicago Mayor Richard Daley attended by 1,000 guests, and on Monday, he appeared at the Illinois State Society ball, where hundreds of state leaders were planning to gather.
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