By the time the M.A.C. Center doors opened Wednesday afternoon, the line to get into President Barack Obama’s speech stretched down the Esplanade, around Olson Hall, behind the Gym Annex, onto Midway Drive, behind Prentice Hall, down past the tennis courts, bending at Oscar Ritchie Hall before winding to the edge of the Honors College nearly back to where the line began.

This should confirm in everyone’s minds that the campaign’s decision to have the president come here was a good one.

As we stated in Monday’s Our View, Portage County seems to always get the short end of the stick when it comes to presidential campaign visits. We’re just far enough away from Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown that candidates are content to pay no mind to us.

But maybe, just maybe, the outpouring of interest for Obama’s visit to Kent has put Kent State, the second-largest university in Ohio, on the map for many election seasons to come.

After all, it’s important for students to get the message that voting is a vital part of our democracy. Merely becoming of voting age isn’t enough to get them to the polls if they don’t realize the importance every election can have on their future.

We can’t think of a better way to raise interest among young voters than to have the candidates themselves come and speak directly to them.

That’s why we found it so thrilling to be the first students in Kent State history to welcome a sitting president to our campus. We also hope we won’t be the last. Note to Mitt Romney: You’re welcome here at any time.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.