That's funny... I went to a Bob Dole rally at the Truman library in 1996... needless to say I would be at the Obama one this time around :-)
J.J. On 1/30/08, Shawna Hampton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So yesterday I braved the blizzard and freezing temperatures to go to the > rally for Barack Obama held in downtown KC. I'm pretty much a die-hard Obama > supporter and have been since before he announced his run, but had never > attended a political rally for a presidential candidate before (even though > I'm very interested in politics - I interned with the Missouri House of > Representatives in college). > > > > Let me tell you - it's an experience I will remember for the rest of my > life. Here are a few of the more remarkable aspects, from the perspective of > a rally newbie (but I genuinely think a lot of this is unique to the Obama > campaign) - > > > > The People > > > > There were people there of every color, every age, every background. I have > not seen such a mix of people in my entire life (granted I was born and > raised in white middle America, but still), including a very large > percentage of young black men and women (I only bring it up because of the > historically low numbers of voters from this demographic in even the general > election, much less a primary). There were thousands of people there - we > were in line to get into the parking garage for almost half an hour, then in > line to get into the auditorium for over an hour. It was held in a > convention center and the place was packed - people were standing on > stairways, balconies, the fire marshals eventually closed the doors when the > place reached max capacity and there were still thousands more outside > waiting in line who didn't get in. > > > > The Atmosphere > > > > The best thing, though, about the people was how genuinely nice and > respectful everyone was. Out of all those diverse viewpoints, backgrounds, > ideals, etc., I felt a real sense of purpose, an almost palpable excitement > from everyone there. It was almost like I imagine devout Catholics must feel > going to see the pope (I am NOT comparing Obama to the pope). I know that > sounds, perhaps, like a sappy exaggeration, but in all that crowd of people > everyone was smiling, everyone was laughing, I didn't see one rude act or > gesture or word, which I almost always do at other similar events that draw > large crowds. > > > > It was electrifying, being in that crowd, when Obama was speaking. I saw > several people with tears in their eyes at certain points in the speech (he > led everyone in a rousing version of the Pledge of Allegiance and everyone > roared the last few words - "with liberty and justice FOR ALL"). I saw > grannies screaming their lungs out, teenagers chanting "O-BA-MA" . before he > even came on stage the entire crowd was roaring "YES WE CAN" so hard the > floor was shaking. > > > > Obama Himself > > > > The man is a phenomenal speaker. I knew that before from watching him speak > on TV or reading transcripts online, but he is something you truly have to > see in person to believe. Of course he talked about what he would do when > elected, but more importantly, the main points of his speech were about us > as an American people and what we can and should be doing to "rebuild the > country block by block," the hard work and dedication we have to show as a > unified group to heal our nation, and how having genuine hope for a better > future is the first step and has always been the first step toward facing > difficult challenges. > > > > I have never in my life been so inspired as a human being by a political > candidate. I have been as cynical as they come about government and politics > (hell, I saw how it truly works during my time at the MO legislature - if > you don't come out of that jaded, you're just not breathing) and America in > general. But after last night, I am proud to live in this country again and > I'm hungry to actually DO SOMETHING to make it better. > > > > I don't care if you like Obama, if you agree with his policies and ideals, > if you think he's experienced enough, black enough, too black, too slick, or > too Democrat - you should try to see him speak just once in your life, just > to get a taste of what it must have been like to see JFK or Bobby Kennedy or > any of the other great statesmen of history. Whatever happens, if he gets > the nomination or not, if he wins the election or not, this is truly a > moment in history that we've needed sorely as a nation for far too long and > I hope all of you get to experience it sometime before November. > > > > Shawna Hampton > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > www.revisionsconsulting.net > > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:252499 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
