LiveBlogging Obama in Oakland, CA

Wow. I went to the event to videoblog it and just check out the man and the scene, but because I happen to be wearing pirate regalia, I got a spot onstage. There was free wifi covering Ogawa Plaza here in front of city hall, but nobody else joined in live. Lots of media. I was connected by wifi and phone so I kept the updates flowing. Or at least tried to. UPDATE: Here's a better summary by FemLaw. But don't miss the fun comments down below here.

Rather than push through updates, I imagine I mostly used comments. See FemLaw's diary, linked above, for a good post-event summary and comments from others there in person.

It wasw hard to type onstage after it got started and also pay attention and also make a respectable attentive backdrop.

Consider this an interactive experiment, and a place for thoughts of the day on Obama, the campaign, and St. Patrick's Day.

Preliminary estimates were 10,000 people expected, hard to tell from up here, lots of folks are down below the sightline, outside the "bowl" designed for a few hundred

The Berkeley/East Bay for Obama MeetUp Thursday was inspirational... lots of attorneys.

There's George Lakoff! Trying to get a spot onstage, looks like.

Green shirts for volunteers, blue placards.

Ooh, Lakoff has a red ticket, he gets to go in the right-up-next-to-the-podium area.

They're passing out handwritten signs in addition to the printed blue ones. Yes, Virginia, not all handmade signs are made by the people waving them.

doors were at 3:00, it's now 3:50, crowd is ready

white tickets are general admission, blue are for volunteers to get up closer, gold is bleachers behind Obama, distributed mostly to people selected to make a diverse backdrop.

pix to follow.

Great to see my fellow Climate Project trainees here, including one from Seattle.

•  Are you ready for Obama?

  That's what they're asking the crowd.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 03:55:23 PM PDT

  •  ready, ready, ready raines! thx for being on the

    spot & blogging this..........

    by 4Freedom on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:11:32 PM PDT

  •  because you HAPPEN to be wearing

    pirate regalia?

    I have rarely read a more interesting sentence on this site.

    by sheddhead on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:18:47 PM PDT

  •  a month since he stood in front of capitol

    he's onstage now.

    by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:22:32 PM PDT

  •  it wa cold in I'll 7 degrees

    Had my long johns in I'll at the announce

    Everbody think I got no supt

    17k ppl there.

    Spirit captivating energizing

    Took tyhat to iowa

    by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:23:53 PM PDT

•  Are you ready for Obama?

  That's what they're asking the crowd.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 03:55:23 PM PDT

  •  sound check

    Things are happening, serious looking security ppl are in place. Test run of cheering.

    I am right behind the people holding the 2008 sign with shamrocks for 0's onstage. Switched to phone since wifi is slow.

    by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:02:01 PM PDT

•  we are losing the sun on the crowd

  But they have big pro lights facing the podium.

  The crowd is getting impatient. Music rolling back...

  Here comes loni hancock assembly member former berk mayor.

  Ppl around me are here to see the guy, it is a beautiful bay area afternoon.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:06:57 PM PDT

•  mayor dellums onstage

  Big cheer at obama mention.

  And at welcome him to this mostprogressive cong dist

  Barbara lee called out

  Welcome this .. New spirit

  Welcome to oak
  Audacity yo see itself as Model city

  Diversity of world

  Even 40 yrs ago mlk bombs in vietnam exploding in hood

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:12:46 PM PDT

•  us army sgt iraq war vet up

  Describing working w iraqi police... 'what's your home like?'

  Reflection after... thinking about home.

  Miss it.. B/c of ppl here
  Rich diversity we see all around us today.

  To this day I still wonder about my iraqi police friend.

  The ppl give this place my heart and soul.

  Still a citizen soldier.

  Many vets like me.. Pledge keep this country fair strong free

  intro someone give vets fair tttmnt

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:17:43 PM PDT

•  obama onstage

  shaking hands as he arrived

  compliments crowd

  holding mike up tight, walking around vs. using podium

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:20:08 PM PDT

•  one fo the goughtest things of being in politics

  the loneliness of the road.

  btw look at timestamps for sequence, I'm sometimes replying to earlier.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:26:22 PM PDT

•  we are phere today because history cals us

  End up w country poorer meaner than parents... unaceptable.

  Healthcare sys broke

  Education

  We have 2 invest in young ppl

  We got a congress now that is making it tougher.

  Held hostage to spot oil mkt

  $800m a day to hostile

  In process melting polar icepacks
  Impact 4 generations 2 come.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:28:45 PM PDT

•  one fo the goughtest things of being in politics

  the loneliness of the road.

  btw look at timestamps for sequence, I'm sometimes replying to earlier.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:31:14 PM PDT

•  This rally is NOT on C-span

  ....to save you a trip to your television.

  by extradish on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:31:54 PM PDT

  •  but look for local news coverage at least

    I bought a green O'Bama shirt with a clover as the apostrophe.

    I also got interviewed by some student journalists.

    by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 06:06:34 PM PDT

•  town hall mtg w sen durbin

  Mtg a vet in coma 4 6 mo.

  Lking @ his wife.

  Reminded of why we're here 2day.

  We have not ben able 2 meet challenges

  B/c we have been so consumed
  By cynicysm
  We no longer recognize what's at stake

  What's goping on in livesd of ordinary ppl.

  An awakening taking place across america.

  Cre politics..  Based on hope.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:34:12 PM PDT

•  experience

  talking about experience as cmty organizer.

  politics is about compromise so long as you're not compromising yr principles.

  govt can be a noble calling.

  what they're saying... I don't haave enough washington experience.

  its true... I haven't been in washington ithat long. I've been in wash long enuf to know that washington needs 2 change.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:37:06 PM PDT

•  solutions

  invest in healthcare: prevention. keep kids out of emergency rm.

  deal w/folks who have got diabetees and other treatable illnesses.

  elecgtronic billing.. reduce errors.

  make sure that every single american has basic.

  demand universal health care by the end of then ext presidents first timer.

  we can do that.

  don't let them tell us we can't do that.

  we know how to fix our educ ation system.

  put $ into early childhood education

  actually be prepared

  instead of NCLB... let ft $ behind.

  (so much crowd cheering hard to hear!)

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:39:50 PM PDT

•  we know what to do

  Energy conservation create entirely new sectors of economy.

  V. Difficult to do any of these things until we bring an end 2 war in iraq.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:41:17 PM PDT

•  in this country change never fm top

  From bottom up.

  Talking about selma.

  March w senator clinton.

  Reminfded abt enormous power of ordinary ppl.

  When they make determination that this country live up 2 ideals.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:45:59 PM PDT

•  trrop withdrawal

  Obama's bill start by May 1, 2007.

  send signal to iraqi govt: 'america is not going to be there forever. We've bgot business to do elsewhere. we got  business to do here..... ribght here in America.

  we can't continue this occupation.

  for all the mistakes that have been made

  for all the bad planning
  accidents

  problems not just in execution but in conception fo this war

  we still have an oopportunity to get one thing right.

  and that is make sure that when they come home we treat them right.

  hospticals... treatment that they need.

  support the troops... when they come home.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:47:25 PM PDT

•  Play by Play please

  by Lady Bird Johnson on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:48:08 PM PDT

  •  I gave as much as I could type

    I am sure news orgs and/or the campaign will post full text afterwards. If anyne can supply some linky goodness I wil update the diary.

    Now on the bus almost back home.

    by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 05:56:51 PM PDT

•  last speech text

  a 2d emancipiation

  dont listen to flolks who say we cant do

  we have done it from the bottom up

  let me just say this today oakland california

  I can't do this on my own

  this campaign is a vehicle for you

  for your hopes
  for your rdreams

  whena  million voices come together
  they cannot be stopped

  whena  million ppl say every child serves...

  energy policyt that makes sense

  this war will come to an end.

  I want to work with you.

  I promsie k\you
  not only will we have a better america...

  thank you very much.

  that's it! 4:50 pm end.

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 04:50:37 PM PDT

•  The cynic tells us Senato Obama is inexperienced

  That is the MAIN thing he is fighting against.  Not the lies about his youth.  But the fact that some people until to say he is too inexperienced.  He overcomes that every time he holds a town hall, every time he does retail politics and every time he does an interview.

  by Lady Bird Johnson on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 05:04:55 PM PDT

  •  I used to think that, but...

    (btw, I'm in the Draft Gore camp, just so that's clear)

    I used to think "Only one term in the Senate, that's not enough..." but more and more I'm highly impressed.  

    The man is clearly hella' smart, has a very interesting combination of idealism and pragmatism, and, rare among people campaigning for office, in interviews he often questions his own assumptions & hypotheses (Keatsian "negative capability").  The latter point in particular is something we need desperately: someone who is not a-priori convinced he's always right but has the intellectual honesty to discuss uncertainties.  

    Now I'll admit to another factor that some of you may flame me for.  

    When Schwarzenegger was running for Governor I had the same reservations.  "Never held public office..." and I foresaw a train wreck.  But despite whatever positions he holds that we all may vigorously disagree with, the fact is that he has done a competent job as Governor.  More competent than Deukmejian and Wilson, and less disagreeable than either of them.  BTW, I have never seen any of his movies, they just didn't appeal to me enough to go see 'em, so that is not a factor (I didn't even know what he looked like before I saw him on TV as Governor).  

    So, paradoxically enough, a Republican Governor helps the prospects for a Democratic presidential candidate!  The fact that Schwarzenegger has managed to do a competent job as Governor, demonstrates to me that "experience" in public office is less important than a person's inherent capabilities.  That is the factor that made me re-evaluate Sen. Obama.  And I suspect that for a lot of people in California who are moderates of one kind or another, or outside of the majority tendencies of their own parties (i.e. Libertarian Democrats such as myself, and moderate Republicans, oldschool conservatives fed up with Bushism, etc.), the Schwarzenegger factor may play a role in getting them to recognize that Sen. Obama does not need to have a zillion hears in Federal office: his inherent capabilities are more than sufficient to add up to a successful Presidency.

    BTW, thanks for the liveblogging.  I was searching all over the radio dial to see if some station would cover this live, and couldn't find anything; even with all the abbreviations, you managed to convey the spirit of the rally well enough that I could practically hear it in my mind's ear.  

    by G2geek on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 05:40:07 PM PDT

    •  Ya its paradoxical!

      But keep in mind that schwaznegger had to co-opt the Dem agenda to be successful!

      I hope Obama wont co-opt the rethug agenda!

      by wuod kwatch on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 07:44:04 PM PDT

  •  actually, as a cynic, thats not the critique

    the cynical view of obama is not that he's inexperienced, it's that he's selling false hope, that he's speaking to those who want real radical change in the way this country is going, but that in the end, he's going to deliver a new sheen on the same old status quo policies.

    i'm open to my suspicions being proven wrong as the campaign goes on, but obama strikes me as standing substantively far too close to clinton, even if he sounds better rhetorically.

    the people skeptical of obama don't care about inexperience (that's more what people pushing other candidates say, than actual skeptics), so much as from what political assumptions he'll actually govern from.

    by wu ming on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 06:50:27 PM PDT

    •  It's Morning in America? The shining light

      on the hill?  As much as I'm not a fan but respect the men that voice this VERY IMPORTANT phrases, I don't see these nor Senator Obama's Audacity of Hope as false.  Sorry, but I have faith and I believe it what they said way back then and what he is saying now.

      by Lady Bird Johnson on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 07:10:36 PM PDT

      •  you had faith in reagan's rhetoric?

        please tell me you're kidding.

        at any rate, i don't make it a habit to have faith in politicians, any more than i have faith in the rhetoric of car salesmen or anyone else trying to sell me on something. they're applying for a fairly important job of representing this country, and i'm trying to parse out which parts of their resume is buzzword boilerplate filler, and what they'd actually bring to the position.

        by wu ming on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 08:10:29 PM PDT

        •  I have FAITH in my Country

          President Reagan and Bush 41's policy were not fan friendly but I respect them when things were at their worst (which was doing their Presidency's) they still gave us a reason to hope.  I was very young back then but I still think President Reagan was the Great Communicator, that is until Senator Obama came along and took the title.

          by Lady Bird Johnson on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 09:41:40 PM PDT

          •  i rest my case, then

            reagan was a con man, and those lines about "hope" just something to distract you while he picked your pocket and wrecked public institutions that helped everyday americans.

            by wu ming on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 09:54:36 PM PDT

    •  Well...

      This Post over on MyDD compares Obama and Edwards issue by issue and comes out even. So, if Obama is too close to Clinton and just about the same as Edwards, it looks like there's virtually no difference among the top three.

      by jacortina on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 07:14:55 PM PDT

      •  yes, that's this cynic's take

        although i will concede the importance of rhetoric, regardless of substance.

        by wu ming on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 08:07:24 PM PDT

•  I am so familiar with his stump speech

  :)

  May be he should get a new one?

  by wuod kwatch on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 05:22:02 PM PDT

  •  bt hv u evr

    ...rd it in txt msg frmt?

    ;-)

    raines: i kd bc i lv ;-)

    by Simpletonian on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 05:53:43 PM PDT

    •  thx mch

      I'm now back on my regular keyboard instead of chiclets, so all typos are intentional.

      by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 06:05:20 PM PDT

      •  okay, so about the pirate outfit?!

        by Simpletonian on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 07:04:34 PM PDT

        •  I'm a devout pastafarian

          Church of teh Flying Spaghetti Monster, you know, and more pirates = less global warming, just doing my part as a Climate Project graduate who trained under Gore, calling attention to the issue and making education fun.

          by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 09:39:04 PM PDT

  •  Every candidate does the same

    Every candidate has a stump speech and if you follow them closely you'll get tired of it.  The first campaign I followed like glue was Howard Dean's, I heard him several times in person, and he said much the same thing at every stop.  I recall a reporter talking about Edwards in 2004 who said virtually word-for-word the same speech at every stop.  So it's not a sin, it's just life in a campaign.

    by norabb on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 07:34:47 PM PDT

•  crowd reactions after the speech

  'Awesome' - a woman onstage, checking pix on her camera

  'Fantastic.
  I liked when he said 'We know what 2 do'
  The speech was very effective.' --
  Kevin seal, oakland

  White-haired guy: 'the 1st time I actively worked 4 anybody was for Goldwater.
  He was the last Republican I volunteered for. In ther 1970s I worked with Libertarians until they turned into religious fanatics. I voted 4 kerry, although my preference was for the green party candidate.'
  Barack's got my vote. He was against the war from the beginning. From three hrs after the first plane hit on 9/11 I counseled my daughter: don't give in to anger and revenge. Barack Kucinich and Barbara Lee are my people.
  

  by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 05:48:44 PM PDT

•  Not there...

  My wife and six year old son went to this rally today. I had to work, and I'm at work now. So, I really appreciate the updates.

  My wife isn't the political junkie I am, but she LOVES Barack Obama. The fact that she responds to him is a very intriguing focus group of one.

  I'm not sold yet. I'm a partisan Democrat and I don't warm to Obama's "post partisan" posture.

  I'm hearing from a number of families in which the ladies LOVE Barack Obama. The men aren't persuaded yet.

  by copithorne on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 06:26:06 PM PDT

  •  Pictures

    And you promised pictures, Raines. You're going to follow through, right?

    by copithorne on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 06:53:31 PM PDT

    •  yes, I'm home and done with the unrelated parties

      but I also need to break out the SD card reader or find the cable for the cellphone or... I guess I can email them and post 'em on Flickr from there. Check in early tomorrow.

      by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 09:40:12 PM PDT

•  What about that pirate outfit???

  I was there too.  If I had known to wear a pirate outfit to get on the risers, I would have gone all out.

  I got in the blue ticket section and was about 30 yards away from Barack, but no one in that section could see over the people in front of them.  They should have had the speakers' platform higher.  The best view I had of Obama was on the flip-out screen of a video recorder that the guy next to me was holding in the air.  

  BTW, what was the business with the blue vs. white tickets? I got my ticket online 8 days ago and printed it out, but the event staff said I could not go in the blue section with a white ticket.  It seemed that the blue tickets were distributed at random, same as the white.  I hopped a railing and went in anyway.

  by Jeff in CA on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 07:51:27 PM PDT

  •  online all = white tickets

    but blue tickets were allocated to volunteers for friends, family.

    I spent a couple of hours at the Old Oakland farmer's market Friday passing 'em out (white tickets, that is) after visiting the office, inspired by a MeetUp Thurs. nite in Berkeley.

    by raines on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 09:41:38 PM PDT

•  Great event

  I was there and, although I couldn't actually see the Senator from where I stood, I could hear him.  He was very impressive (as usual).  

  The energy was great.  It was a festive crowd, but Im lousy at estimating size.

  by fmrgop on Sat Mar 17, 2007 at 10:03:20 PM PDT

•  FemLaw put up a great summary article

  Rather than reprise it, I've updated to link here.

  Check out the Oakland Tribune video, I'm in it! See my comment over there for details.

  Raines

  by raines on Sun Mar 18, 2007 at 03:17:49 AM PDT

•  That was YOU??????

  but because I happen to be wearing pirate regalia, I got a spot onstage.

  Wow.  I saw you.  I was standing about 100 feet from you and saw you when you went up to the rostrum.  My first thought was that you were representing the "Rogues for Obama" contingent ;)

  Funny.

  I am just now reading blogs, etc., in anticipation of hopefully writing my own diary about yesterday's rally.  I admit I had some real disappointment, a reaction that seems to be very different than most are blogging about the event.  But on the other hand, I didn't walk away any closer to making a final choice between him and Edwards than I was beforehand, meaning that Obama did not say anything that would cause me not to vote for him either.

  by shanikka on Sun Mar 18, 2007 at 08:12:14 AM PDT