Hey all! I'm finally back home after a long day with the Rutgers Democrats, and I have some pictures and video to show you from today's rally with Barack Obama and Jon Corzine! Jump over the fold and check 'em out!
First some quick background on the event and how I scored such awesome seats. The Corzine campaign rally was originally planned to occur at Rutgers University (my alma mater, and I'm a new graduate this year), however because the demand was so high, the campaign moved it to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. The new location is an outdoor partially covered amphitheater, and it was a great venue.
Since the Rutgers Democrats organized the original Rutgers event, they were given two VIP tickets per member to this event. I'm a member and thankfully still on the email list after graduating this year, so I scored the ticket.
OK, now to some pictures! First, here are some official pictures from the Corzine campaign! I'm gonna try and do this Al Rodgers style!
The great Governor of New Jersey!
Unions for Corzine!
Our great President Obama with Jon Corzine!
Fired up! Ready to go!
People of all ages and races coming together! Shout out to my Rutgers Democrats peeps in this picture!
What a sight to see!
Last, but not least, the campaign nabbed a picture of my friend and I listening intently! (I'm the guy on the right)
OK, now here are some of my photos and one video. They are from my iPhone so be kind, but they are actually pretty decent quality.
A nice full profile picture of me holding a campaign sign!
Yes, we are that close to the stage! Third row!
Jon Corzine speaking!
President Obama speaking!
And finally, a video upload to YouTube. The quality is not that good, but the audio is good. This is from the beginning of Obama's speech.
**Update #1: I'm adding a transcript for my video segment, along with a link to the full Whitehouse.gov transcript of Obama's remarks today
Transcript of my video from Whitehouse.gov:
He's been tested by the worst recession in half a century -- a recession that was caused by years of recklessness and irresponsibility, and obviously had a disproportionate impact here in New Jersey, given the closeness of the financial sector to the state.
Part of the crisis was caused by the same small thinking that's plagued our politics for decades -- the kind of thinking that says we can afford to tinker around with big problems, put off tough decisions, defer the big challenges, tell people only what they want to hear.
That's not the kind of leader Jon Corzine is. He didn't run for this office on the promise that change would be easy, and he certainly has not avoided what is hard. This isn't somebody who's here because of some special interest or political machine -- he's here because he cares about what happens to the people of New Jersey.
This is a man who has provided more property tax relief than any other governor in New Jersey's history. (Applause.) This is the first governor in 60 years who has reduced the size of government. At the same time, this is also a leader who has stood up against those who wanted to cut what matters, like education. Jon Corzine has not only protected funding for New Jersey's schools, he's reformed them with higher standards, and now students in this state rank at the top of the country in reading and math.
Full transcript of Obama's remarks.
I'm really proud of my Governor and our President today! I was super fired up and glad to see the energy we saw during Obama's campaign back in full force. We have a difficult road ahead, but on the backs of your fellow New Jersey Kossacks, let's keep on pushing for Jon Corzine to be re-elected Governor of the great state of New Jersey!