On Saturday, Mike and I went to the Obama rally in Philadelphia. We took the R6 into the city from Conshy.
I love the train. It’s so hassle free.
We walked off the train at Suburban Station and crossed the few blocks to Benjamin Franklin Parkway, arriving at 22nd Street around 2:00pm. It was a long time in the sun waiting for the program to start.
But, when it all began, I got the real feeling that I was taking part in something monumental. It is clear to me, at this time, that Barack Obama has captured the imagination of people from different neighborhoods, as well as diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.
To see the 50,000 people standing there united in the common cause to elect this man to the presidency was truly inspiring. To see my friend Mike antagonize the idiot in front of us was just plain funny.
Amos Lee warmed up the crowd with a short set that finished with the Sam Cooke classic, “Change Is Gonna Come”. Each time he sang the chorus, it drew applause. People closed their eyes and nodded their heads in clear agreement.
At that point, Ed Rendell and and Bob Casey, Jr. took the stage and helped introduce Bruce Springsteen.
Springsteen took the stage to wild applause. Wearing a plaid shirt and sunglasses, it was clear that Springsteen showed up ready for a fight. His acoustic rendering of “The Promised Land” was terse and bouncing. His right had strummed the guitar and pounded-out a beat that shook the subwoofers on the speakers that hung from two cranes on either side of the stage. He spoke with eloquence in lean, clipped phrases that extolled the virtue of the American dream. He spoke of playing at the Main Point, to the delight of the Philly faithful who remember.
One of the biggest cheers came when Springsteen said, “We tried this four years ago. This time, we’re winning.” He spoke of America as a sacred home that has been robbed and looted for the last eight years. Before finishing his set with “The Rising”, Springsteen spoke about” wanting his country back” and talked about how “…not even a thousand George Bushes and Dick Cheneys” could destroy our American dream. He exhorted the crowd by saying, “Let’s build that house. Let’s build that house.”
The crowd left the rally walking on air. Today, I opened the newspaper to the most recent polls, which revealed that Obama is leading in eight of twelve different states that Bush won in 2004. McCain’s numbers are slipping.
Obama is winning in Ohio.
Obama is winning in Pennsylvania,
Obama is winning in Florida.
Obama is winning in North Carolina.
Obama is winning Virginia.
Obama is winning in Iowa.
Obama is winning in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
He is leading in California, Pennsylvania and New York. He has pushed McCain’s campaign out of Michigan.
Oh, Republicans….you’ll always have Texas.
So, don’t worry about that.
With one month to go, the election is about to get dirty. That much is certain. Ed Rendell said as much before Spingsteen took the stage. With two debates to go, Obama needs to take the gloves off and knock John McCain out. Now is not the time for diplomacy in the debates.
It is time to take our country back and make it great, again. It’s time to rescue our fading American dream from the hands of the Republican party and the wild, unchecked greed they allowed to ruin this great nation’s economy, cost so many Americans their jobs, and destroy our nation’s reputation abroad.
It’s time to take our house back.
As of tomorrow, we have 29 days before we begin the greatest reclamation project in America’s history – the people taking this land back.
Let’s make this happen.
1 comment:
I couldn't make it there, but I saw the set being built in the morning. It was inspiring to see so many people wandering around center city in their Obama shirts, and working for this cause.. and so many people already out there waiting at 10 am to support that cause. Thanks for writing this, I was very sorry I couldn't go, but now I feel like I understand what it was like to be there. Good work.
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