The President looked better than I expected. The crowd was better than expected. Kitzhaber has sentiment on his side. It’s neck and neck in the polls. Kitz is being outspent 2 to 1. The President’s message to Portlanders is elect people who are in favor of stopping polluters.
Leaving work early, I arrived to find a line of perhaps a thousand people. At the back I met Tamara. We exchanged greetings and hoped we were in the right line. I asked her to hold my spot and started toward the front of the line. (I wanted to make sure there was not some shorter line elsewhere.) I ended up speaking to a woman who appeared to be either the first in line or one of the first. She had been there since 8:00 this morning.
By the time I got back to my place in line, several others had now joined our party: a photographer, Michael, and Donella with her child John. Our little group comprised our small area of the line that was now growing quite a bit larger behind us. Tamara was a mother of four boys. Donella was a computer systems administrator. Michael asked that we hold his place in line while he ventured to the front to video tape and interview rally attendees. The weather was glorious.
Shortly after Michael got back, the line surged forward and we rounded the corner to the entrance. Donella pushed ahead on the right flank. Michael went who knows where, and Donella and Jon stayed with me. We now were in for our second wait. There I met a couple playing at a drop-the-letter spelling game. They were bright and inquisitive. Here also I found another young mother and her boy of about seven or eight. She had brought for him a book on all the Presidents before our current one. I ended up reading passages to the crowd about John Kennedy’s heroic sea escape and George H. Bush’s near misses with death in WWII.
Once inside, I situated myself on the convention floor and a man handed me a Kitzhaber sign. And there I found Michael. We stood as thousands more filed in behind us. After much jostling to look past tall heads, State Representative Jefferson Smith took the stage. Immediately Jefferson recognized the crowd’s happy mood and launched into a dialogue with the crowd. I must admit that I was very impressed with the enthusiasm he received and his response. He appeared quite capable and able to fulfill the post that he was running for. He called on one section of the crowd and they cheered. He called another section of a few hundred and they cheered. He reminded us that it was only these few people whereby we lost the Presidential election in 2000. Voting is that important.
Sen. Jeff Merkley took the stage next. To loud cheers. When he spoke , side conversations struck up around me about how much he had done for the state of Oregon. There was also general and deep respect for Ron Wyden, who was also on stage along with Congressman Wu and Rep. Earl Blumenauer. I’ve got to admit, Portlanders have chosen well those who they feel represent them.
Kitzhaber was humble. He knows he has a great task ahead of him, if he is elected, and he is willing and able to take that on. Let me digress, there were t-shirts for sale outside that read "2010" Change is not a Spectator Sport." I think this does apply to Kitz. He will need the help of all Oregonians to enact policies that best fit Oregon’s vast natural resources and the dedicated and intelligent citizenry.
The President of the United States came in.
The first time that I heard then State Senator Obama speak was in 2002. It was at an anti-war demonstration on Federal Plaza in Chicago. He had spoken of a "dumb war." Now, eight years later, I see him now proud to declare that 100,00 troops have been brought home.
On the trainride home, people were energetic and happy. We completely took over the whole compartment as we exchanged stories of the event. Other riders joined in the conversation and we heard stories of hope and despair. It was quite affirming.
Here’s for a government of all substance and not one depleted of all use.