Wearing cheeseheads, Nancy Julien, second from left, Mat Frey, second from right, and Rachel Thompson, right, all of Madison, Wis., listen in as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., not shown, addresses a crowd of about 4,000 people Monday, Oct. 15, 2007, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
Barack Obama is way behind Hillary Clinton in the polls.
That doesn't seem to be having any impact on his ability to draw a crowd. He's taking Madison by storm today.
Students and others are mad for Obama.
From the Wisconsin State Journal:
More than 300 people were lined up to see U.S. Sen. Barack Obama at the Monona Terrace Convention Center before the doors opened this morning at 9:30 a.m. and by 11 a.m. more than 1,000 were waiting for admittance to an overflow area.
Organizers are calling the campaign event the largest student-driven event the Obama campaign has held. The presidential candidate was expected to speak to the crowd before noon.
About 3,000 tickets had been sold before the event began, driven largely by a UW-Madison student campaign push. The event was taking place at Monona Terrace to provide more room for the crowd. It was originally booked at the Orpheum Theatre, which holds 1,500 people.
Tickets were $15 for students, $30 for general admission.
At about 11 a.m., Bryon Eagon, a UW-Madison sophomore and organizer of Students for Barack Obama, announced to the crowd that more than 2,000 students were in attendance, with about 1,000 still lined up to get into an overflow area of the event.
"For many of us, this is the first time that we've found a candidate we can really care about," Eagon said. "But more importantly, we've found a candidate who really cares about us."
Eagon seems so innocent, doesn't he?
Obama really cares.
That's sweet.
Madison City Council Ald. Zach Brandon, 7th District, said local Obama supporters asked the campaign to visit Madison to recruit students that might help knock on doors in Iowa before the January Democratic caucus. Wisconsin's primary won't take place until February, when the nomination may already be secured.
"Their goal wasn't to build political support, but to build energy to transfer to Iowa," Brandon said.
It's cool to recruit on Madison's campus, as long as you're not recruiting for the U.S. military. Then you might not experience such an adoring reception.
Hilary Manley, a UW-Madison junior studying elementary education, arrived at Monona Terrace decked in Badger red at 6 a.m., half an hour before anyone else. Her goal was to be first in line "because I love him."
"I think he's going to bring a lot good change," Manley said.
Manley seems a bit starstruck.
She loves Obama, so much so that she's willing to be first in line, at 6:00 AM!
I'm trying to think of a candidate I would be so excited to see that I would get out of bed that early and wait in line for 5 hours.
Nope. Can't think of any. I guess I don't have that sort of love when it comes to candidates.
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Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Speaks to supporters, Monday, Oct. 15, 2007, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
With an enormous American flag as a backdrop, Obama addressed his 4,000 fans. He wore a white shirt, no tie, rolled up sleeves -- no lapel for a flag pin.
He began with a joke: "Never before have this many Packers fans cheered for a Bears fan. Never before in the history of Wisconsin has this ever happened."
Obama said, "We've gotta shout out loud and clear that we expect a new kind of politics."
He said that people in Washington roll their eyes when he talks about hope. They say, "He's a hope-peddler. He's a hope-monger."
Obama said that he was guilty as charged.
Obama interrupted his speech.
"Did somebody drop?"
He called for paramedics.
"We got paramedics on the scene. She looks good."
Obama continued.
He asked, "Where was I?"
"Change."
He addressed the charges of his lack of experience.
He said that a lengthy resume doesn't necessarily guarantee wise decisions.
"[Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld] led us into one of the biggest foreign policy disasters in a generation."
OK. Interesting that he didn't include Bush.
Then another interruption.
"We got another person?"
"I'm just knocking 'em off their feet."
"Paramedics are on their way."
"Everybody stay hydrated."
Back to the speech--
Obama talked about Iraq. He told of how he spoke out against the war during his Illinois Senate campaign in 2002.
"This is a dumb war, ...and we shouldn't fight it."
"Dumb war?"
That's not Obama at his most eloquent.
Obama said that as a candidate and as a president, "You gotta have some impatience. You gotta have some anger."
On the subject of health care, he said his passion on the issue comes from watching his mother worry about insurance when she was dying.
Obama talked about the energy crisis and the environmental crisis.
He ran through a litany of things, shouting "I don't accept (fill in the blank)."
He mentioned JFK and his call to send an American to the moon. Obama equated his own vision for America's future with JFK's vision.
He said that Kennedy didn't know how Americans were going to meet the challenge but that didn't keep him from calling for it.
Then Obama turned back to Iraq.
Obama said, "We've got to start bringing [the troops] home now."
He said that we can't have them in a "civil war."
"We're spending $10 billion a month that could be spent right here in Wisconsin."
Ten billion dollars in Wisconsin?
That would solve our budget issues.
Obama channeled JFK again when he mentioned Hillary Clinton's criticism of his foreign policy naivete. He quoted Kennedy as saying that we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate.
At this point, "Kumbaya" almost broke out.
"We're gonna close Guantanamo and restore habeas corpus."
When talking about the American justice system, Obama made reference to different standards being applied to the Jena Six and Scooter Libby.
The crowd was in a frenzy.
Obama said that as president, "I will be honest with you about the challenges that we face. I won't snow job you."
"I will open up the doors of government and ask you to participate."
"I'm asking you to trust in yourselves."
"I need all of you to get involved. "
Hallelujah!
Obama's appearance seemed to be more of a revival meeting than a political rally.
He was concluding his speech, when he was interrupted again.
"Oh, oh. We need one more. Paramedic... "
"We should have had this outside."
"We weren't expecting this much heat. "
"She's the third. "
"She has a really nice smile, so she's OK."
He continued his story about a lone voice at a sparsely attended, early morning campaign appearance shouting, "Fired up."
Obama said that became a rallying cry. "Are you fired up?"
He said one voice can change a room, a city, a state, a country, and the world.
"Here's my question Madison: Are you fired up?"
"Ready to go?"
Obama led the crowd in the chant.
"Fired up?"
"Fired up!"
"Ready to go?"
"Ready to go!"
Obama concluded, "Let's go change the world."
Afterward, Obama spent a long time pressing the flesh before leaving the hall, disappearing behind the curtain.
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Read the Wisconsin State Journal's update on Obama's visit to Madison.
Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's report on Obama's speech.
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In addition to the event for the throngs of Obama's $15 and $30 faithful, there's another fundraiser in Madison. This one is much more intimate.
Reception for Barack Obama
10/15/2007
12 p.m.
Home of Hans and Mary Lang Solinger,
1206 Sherman Ave.,
Madison.
Guest: $500.
Host: $2300 contribution or raise.
RSVP required http://my.barackobama.com/madison For more information contact Ari Koban at (312) 819-2789 or akoban@BarackObama.com. Please make checks payable to: Obama for America, Po Box 8210, Chicago, Ill, 60680.
Can you put a price on love?
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