Just in case you've been under a rock or distracted by yellow teeth today, you may have missed the news that Barack Obama launched his formal campaign for the general election today in my backyard of southwest Virginia. I didn't get to attend the events as I found out too late to get tickets (they were gone in a few short hours) but I've spent the day following the news, watching it live on a local TV station, reading numerous blogs, and receiving photos from people who were there.
As I'd expected, Appalachian Virginia proved that it's populated by gracious people who were as excited as those in any other region to be in the presence of '44.'
Proud of my people? You bet!
Photo credit to Ed Stout - and Jack for sending it to me!
(Full video can be found at Obama Visits Bristol, a feature of WJHL-TV and the Bristol Herald-Courier. Excerpts below from their reporting, the Roanoke Times, and the Associated Press.)
The line to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's mid-day speech in Bristol started forming at 4:30 a.m. ... By mid-morning, the line stretched down the street in front of the high school in the southwestern tip of Virginia..
Lines started outside the Virginia High School gymnasium started forming when three Lee County women arrived at 4:30 a.m. – more than seven hours ahead of the event.
"We really wanted to have good seats," said Megan Herring, 17.
She said they left Lee County at 2 a.m. to get to the event.
Just a little farther behind them in line were five people from Roanoke. Beth Deel, Erin Harden, Wendy Schuyler, Aimee Bostwick and her 2-year-old daughter left Roanoke at 5 a.m. to, in Deel’s words, "see the next president of the United States in person."
James Gibbs, director of organizing for the United Mine Workers of America, said more than 300 union members came from Castlewood. The UMW office on Wednesday handed out tickets to the event; Gibbs said their allotment was gone in a little more than an hour.
"We’re going to go in together," Gibbs said. Obama "believes in our cause, and we’re going to show him we believe in him. We’re going to work our butts off for him."
At 9:45 a.m., the doors of the gymnasium were opened, and hundreds began taking their seats. The gymn has been transformed with seats, a platform, and a large sign that says "CHANGE that we can believe in."
There were any number of bloggers and press folks who got in line early, despite hot weather (it rose to way over 90 at noon). Leftwing grabbed this photo (below) of the press line at 7am.
While they were lining up and/or setting up inside however, Senator Obama was already greeting a welcoming committee at Tri-Cities airport in Blountville, TN:
11:15 a.m.:
Forty-five minutes before the scheduled start of Obama’s rally, the crowd began chanting ‘yes we can’ and ‘what time is it? Union time.’
At 11:40 am:
Barack Obama arrived by bus at Virginia High School at about 11:30 this morning. The crowd awaits the start of the rally.
Mothers with babies in swings stood in the sweltering heat for hours to see and hear the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
On the stage, Bristol Tennessee resident Christina Green, 27, was introduced.
"I’ll get a sunburn for Barack any day," she said.
Green showed up at the high school last night to get a ticket and asked an Obama staffer how to volunteer. Later in the night, she got a call and was told what to do. She will meet and instruct other volunteers in a meeting in a soccer field following the rally.
"Voter registration is our top priority," she said. "We need to unite this country, and I believe
Barack Obama can do that. Let’s get this man elected."
Finally around noonish, Congressman Rick Boucher introduces '44' and his escort, Virginia's next new Senator, Mark Warner:
Boucher said Obama’s agenda for health care is "critically important" for residents in Southwest Virginia.
He called Obama the "most compelling candidate since Bobby Kennedy in 1968."
Former governor and U.S. Senate candidate Mark R. Warner just gave Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) a rousing endorsement during a town-hall meeting in Bristol in Southwest Virginia.
After being introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va), Warner and Obama emerged on stage together, stopping frequently to shake hands with supporters lining the walkway. Warner then noted the similarities between his campaign strategy and the one Obama has apparently embraced in his effort to win Virginia this fall.
"You know seven years ago, I started my campaign (for governor) right here in Southwest Virginia and a month ago, I was a job applicant again, and I came back to Southwest Virginia to start that campaign for Senate," Warner said. "Today is the first official campaign kickoff of the Senator Obama presidential campaign, so I don't know about you, but I think it says a lot about somebody about where they choose to start their campaign. America is a pretty big place. There are 50 states....But our candidate, Barack Obama, chose right here in Bristol in Southwest Virginia."
Former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, who’d been neutral on the Democratic presidential race, shared a stage this afternoon with the party’s presumed nominee, Barack Obama.
Warner, running for the U.S. Senate, joined Obama at a rally in Bristol, where Obama referred to the Virginian’s brief bid for the presidency.
Obama said that when he started thinking about national office, he considered the competition, and that Warner was among those he thought would make a "pretty good president."
With Warner and 9th District Rep. Rick Boucher standing to his right, Obama said, "I look forward to campaigning with Mark Warner in the fall."
"We need a health care system instead of a disease-care system," said Obama, 46, during a town-hall-style rally that drew 2,500 supporters to Virginia High School.
Obama was the first major party candidate to visit Southwest Virginia since John F. Kennedy in 1960, noted U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va.
Amid chants of "Yes we can!" Obama laid out his health care plan in detail and compared presumptive Republican nominee John McCain’s as "Bush-lite."
"I’ll allow the drug companies a seat at the table, but they just won’t be able to buy every chair," said Obama, who promised not to take any campaign cash from registered lobbyists or special-interest political action committees. He added that the Democratic National Committee would be held to the same standard.
Insured Americans would keep their health insurance but pay $2,500 in fewer premiums each year, he vowed. The 47 million uninsured Americans would gain access to affordable health care and be encouraged to use preventive care instead of emergency rooms. Pre-existing conditions would be covered, he said.
"We’ll have to make choices. Liposuction will probably not be covered, guys. You can still have it, but you’ll have to cover that yourself," Obama joked.
Armed with a walking stick given to him by a 95-year-old Franklin County man, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama today pledged to reform the U.S. health care system before the end of his first term.
Wielding the gift from Charles Edwards Sr. of Union Hall, Obama said: "And if members of Congress don’t pass my health care bill ... I’ll whomp `em."
...
one of the most compelling moments of the appearance came when Penny Blue got the microphone to ask a question and proceeded to introduce her father, Charles Edwards Sr., and send him to the front to hand the maple walking stick to the Illinois senator. Obama thanked the elderly man and asked him several questions about the stick before referring to it briefly as a prop for his discussion of reforming health care.
Blue, an Obama representative in Franklin County who will attend the national convention later this summer in Denver, and her three sisters and brother attended the event with their father. The siblings wore T-shirts linking Obama to Martin Luther King Jr.
There was a heart-rending clip of Mr. Edwards on our local news at 6pm in which he recalled his rough years loading coal in area mines - "I've waited 60 years for this!" - and proving my oft-repeated contention that Appalachia is NOT all-white and NOT lacking in cultural diversity. Still trying to find the video - I was in tears watching it and the crowd apparently felt the same as he recieved a standing ovation.
(Full transcript of Obama's speech here.)
There was one one sour note!
Cited on MediaMatters:
From the 1 p.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on June 5:
MITCHELL: Interesting images today. Barack Obama, Mark Warner in southwest Virginia. This is real redneck, sort of, bordering on Appalachia country. This is not the Northern Virginia, you know, sort of high-tech corridor. And these are voters that he would not logically be, you know, gravitating to. This is the beginning of a pivot.
I call bullshit! Barack gravitated to my home-voters and they responded in kindness and true warmth, as Appalachian folk do for most anyone who treats them with respect. Yes, we can turn Appalachia blue!
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On To Top Comments!
From "Diplome" - don't know if that is the proper UID but was only clue in the e-mail:
The smiles you can find at 5:00 a.m. Was perusing the site and came across this wonderful little exchange. sheddhead and chumley were just perfect. Actually, I wasn't aware of other diaries
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From edsbrooklyn:
plum has some very serious concerns: AcCtually, the diarist has a point.
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From OrangeClouds115:
hahaha! Best LOLcat ever :)
Why do we believe that cats can't spell? Way to go Timroff!
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From Magnifico:
In a comment, InsultComicDog has a picture that sends-up McCain's lastest ripoff of the Obama campaign. McCain's ripoff has been reworked into a Breakfast at Denny's masterpiece. And just like a bunny, McCain has a pancake on his head. I think his new look is a big improvement for McCain. Sizzle! Here's the comment: asdf.
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From Juneappal:
I really appreciate what Downtowner had to say about how the DNC has let him down in his district: No
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From kath25:
Heh! Hell, no. by Tootsie
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From Inland:
Spamnunn tried to sneak this comment into the "teeth" diaries - I don't get it. What's the big deal?
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From Crashing Vor:
MetaSatan returns to mock our dental fixations: You kids are too fucking easy!
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From Spathiphyllum:
While I hate to draw attention to a subject that has been diaried to death today, this comment by alasmoses beautifully sums up what I think most Kossacks are thinking.
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My own picks!
As Spathiphyllum points out with his nominated comment (above), not everyone liked kos's front-page story about McCain's teeth: The best I can say about this post by paxpdx and For all the bitching we do (myself included) by joemcginnissjr. Others found a lot of humor to share: This pootie's teeth are teh awesome: /sigh by TheBlaz and So by defending McCain on this... by droogie6655321
I've asked this myself many, many times: Argh, where are the open threads? by pontechango
Is the Rockefeller report too late? It condemns more soldiers to die for lies by bejammin075
Can comedians conduct a debate? Yeah, but as concession to us ... by Meteor Blades
We are not shy! This is a troll, right? by Bobs Telecaster
Brilliant comparison between Clinton and Obama: Way more than fair and square if you ask me by Septima
New nickname for that poor excuse for a Senator: Bleeberman! Bleeberman! by smellybeast
Babar rules! Republicans for Bob Barr! by kath25
Mac-users beware! It's like this by zeiben
Speculating on possible Veeps: Would love Sebelius or McCaskill as VP. by NCrissieB
There's a secret romance going on here! anything for you, by agnostic Is there a Gramps Doc who might be upset?
Compare the energy of Obama-fans with this (and laugh all the way to the polls): can't get enough of this pic by InsultComicDog
We share your tears and your pride: We're going to be fine. by 57andFemale
Best photo YET from Minnesota: add this one from AP by IamTheJudge
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Top Mojo - give some props to BeninSC, my mojo-hero!
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars and first diary comments (top 22 tonight of each plus ties):
1 Thank You !! :-) n/t by RemarkablyChanel - 633
2 Here it is by pollbuster - 542
3 You know... by ultrageek - 331
4 bless you for posting this by CocoaLove - 184
5 I have to agree. by xxdr zombiexx - 182
6 Right on!!! n/t by JJC - 169
7 Going to get trolled for this... by oldskooldem - 169
8 Yes, it is real by ari - 154
9 As a non-Democrat ... by Lurtz - 147
10 the gentlelady will suspend by TrueBlueMajority - 146
11 As an Edwards supporter... by Oaklander - 144
12 Kos...this is kinda stupid. by wmtriallawyer - 139
13 The reviews today were brutal by Dallasdoc - 132
14 Great post. You (and Obama) deserve by richmonds - 129
15 How is that comment relevant? by sricki - 116
16 They did their damnedest already by Jyrinx - 111
17 Lisa Caputo said not true, which means it's true by linnie - 109
18 I refuse to become so by Granny Doc - 108
19 Man, are we all going to deserve by javelina - 107
20 HuffPo said that by stonepier - 102
21 His teeth are authentic by missliberties - 98
22 YEAAARRRRRGGGGG!!!! by CaptUnderpants - 94
23 There IS a Doubt! by interdependence - 93
24 MSM by northsylvania - 93
25 Not a classy post by 45rpm - 92
26 I'll get trolled with you, then by ayawisgi - 91
27 Fineman names some of the firing squad by Dallasdoc - 90
28 Having perfect teeth is a class issue ... by C Barr - 89
29 I am watching this now by onanyes - 88
30 Done (Recommended) and Done (Donated) n/t by DaveV - 88
31 I saw Rangel talking to Andrea...he was livid... by Badabing - 88
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 Tips for leadership by slippytoad - 861
2 Thank You !! :-) n/t by RemarkablyChanel - 633
3 I would appreciate it if by Granny Doc - 619
4 Tips for Obama and Dean. by TomP - 595
5 Here it is by pollbuster - 542
6 Gross applies here... by JeffLieber - 460
7 Another line for the history books by Dallasdoc - 417
8 Kitty treats! nt by OrangeClouds115 - 331
9 You know... by ultrageek - 331
10 Welcome all Dems! by pakaal - 314
11 tips by Keith Pickering - 290
12 Now that's change we can believe in!! n/t by From a distance - 286
13 Tip Jar by Jesselyn Radack - 268
14 Unity. Great diary. by TomP - 224
15 Thanks for this diary by BobzCat - 224
16 Will we get Impeachment back on the table? by bejammin075 - 196
17 Tips for History by Populista - 190
18 bless you for posting this by CocoaLove - 184
19 I have to agree. by xxdr zombiexx - 182
20 Right on!!! n/t by JJC - 169
21 Going to get trolled for this... by oldskooldem - 169
22 Yes, it is real by ari - 154
23 As a non-Democrat ... by Lurtz - 147
24 the gentlelady will suspend by TrueBlueMajority - 146
25 As an Edwards supporter... by Oaklander - 144
26 I prefer an eyes post by InsultComicDog - 143
27 Tips for our nominee by Femlaw - 142
28 Kos...this is kinda stupid. by wmtriallawyer - 139
29 Over half the Iraqi parliament by ActivistGuy - 136
30 The reviews today were brutal by Dallasdoc - 132
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Always the mountains,
va dare