Fifty-plus shots here of the moving and highly effective Obama rally at the Meadowlands today.
They'll open up in a larger format if you click on them.
Except for the final shot, these are all taken from where I was placed, with kind encouragement from the Obama volunteers, in the "wallpaper" area: the fifth row precisely behind the podium.
Tough spot to take shots from, as you can probably tell - we were eyeball to eyeball with over 50 cameramen, and in the direct beam of some very powerful lights.
I could have moved, but it was fun there, and an excellent spot for the crowd close-ups of Obama at bottom.
The crowd was larger than might appear here; the arena was well over half full and it can hold 20,000. When I left around 1:30 I ran into two groups from Manhattan which had failed to get to the place in time and were quite disconsolate. With slightly more notice given and a transport operation, that arena would have been very full indeed.
The warm-ups and lead-ins were by various local mayors and Trenton representatives, the actor Robert Deniro (his first political speech ever, he said) and Ted Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy was there too, looking great.
Barack made the speech we have all essentially heard before, but it resonated well. Big mention of the Giants Superbowl win, of course. He is a very clear and easy-to-follow speaker, and one is distinctly drawn both to look at him and to listen to him.
Obama worked the crowd for over half an hour at the end, and I have not seen it done better.
Kinda to my surprise, I was saddened when he was finally gone. He does have a rare magnetic talent, and I found myself drawn in and enticed.
A nice guy. Above all, a very very nice guy.