Any day a sitting U.S. president comes to town is an exciting day.

Lawrence had the honor of hosting President Barack Obama on Thursday. Aside from a few traffic jams caused by police efforts to clear a secure path for the presidential motorcade, his visit seemed to come off without a hitch.

The president’s message, delivered at Kansas University’s Anschutz Pavilion, emphasized many of the same themes as Tuesday’s State of the Union address: the general upturn in the nation’s economy, as illustrated by growth in such areas as jobs and energy production, and his plans to help bolster America’s middle class by helping to “build a sense of security in a changing economy.” That means making college more accessible and health care more available along with providing the kind of wages middle-class Americans need to buy homes and plan for retirement. He also touched on his proposal to increase the minimum wage and drew enthusiastic applause when he mentioned his efforts to ensure women equal pay for equal work.

Obama made affordable, high-quality child care a key focus of his visit. His first stop of the morning was at the Community Children’s Center, a Head Start program housed at Plymouth Congregational Church. During his speech at KU, he drew on his Kansas roots, mentioning his grandmother who worked in a Wichita aircraft plant during World War II. Because women were desperately needed in the work force then, child care programs were part of the deal. Obama noted that the nation “knew how to do it in 1943 or ’44” and should be able to do it today. “What’s the holdup?” he asked.

In between meeting preschoolers and the waiting crowd at Anschutz, Obama had a private session with the Jayhawk basketball team. He noted the team’s position atop the Big 12 conference and he went away with a personalized Obama jersey and a signed basketball.

Obama is a gifted speaker, and he was in fine form in Lawrence. He quipped about his inability to carry Kansas in either presidential election but acknowledged he “might have won a few sections of Lawrence.” (Actually, he carried Douglas County in both 2008 and 2012.)

Regardless of their political bent, Lawrence residents should be honored by Obama’s visit. Congratulations to all the organizers and advance workers who helped pull off this historic moment for Lawrence and what we hope was an enjoyable visit for the president.