Obama Rocks Oakland

I had a great experience today at Barack Obama's rally in downtown Oakland.  The day was gorgeous, sunny, not too hot.  An incredible, racially diverse crowd estimated at 12,000 had gathered to greet Obama and his historic campaign.  

Me, Mr. femlaw and our two little femlaws made the trek down with water bottles, sunscreen and backpack full of snacks to keep the wee ones from going crazy.  And I also brought along my notebook and pen, to jot down some things in case I had time to diary about it later.  Well, I couldn't see a damn thing, but I heard the speech and caught the crowd reaction.  Below are my notes and reactions on the day.  Where I have quote marks, I think they are direct quotes, but since I am working from my notes without a transcript it might not be perfect.

Take-home point of the speech?  We have real, critical life and death issues facing our country, and our leaders are "treating politics like a game."   We want, and deserve, better than that, and we have the power to change it.  Video excerpts from the speech available on the Oakland Tribune website.

The SF Chronicle reports a crowd estimate of 12,000 (from the campaign). The crowd certainly felt huge.

The rally was scheduled for a small park downtown in front of City Hall - gates to open at 3:00.  We arrived about 2:30 downtown to find a line already about four blocks long, which we promptly joined.  It felt very festive - lots of people talking excitedly about the event, being amazed at the line, and folks walking the line selling buttons and T-shirts.  Everyone was incredibly orderly and patient throughout the day.

The crowd was all ages, all colors.  You could have shot a battery of Bennetton ads there without breaking a sweat.  I saw babies in carriers and kids on their Dad's shoulders, college students climbing light poles for a better view, an older white man with a "Leprauchans for Obama" sign, an older Black woman in a churchgoing hat and matching dress, walking with a younger woman - maybe her granddaughter?

The Chroncle interviewed some African-Americans in the crowd:

For many in the largely African American crowd, it was a moment of potent symbolism, with several saying they had traveled to the Oakland City Center to see for themselves the first viable African American candidate for president.
"For him to be here in Oakland means a whole lot. This is the first guy who has motivated me,'' said Marcus Gary, 38, a construction supervisor from San Leandro who had his two young sons, 6-year-old Kunta and Neranti, 2, in tow as he waited for Obama's arrival. "He's new. He's different. And we've been doing the same thing for too long.''
Gary, who had the children dressed in Obama T-shirts, said his older son is "already telling me that Obama will be the first black president. I can tell them that they can aspire to be someone like him.''
But, he added, he had his own reasons for believing in the candidate. "Everything is about money, and doesn't reflect the spiritual values. I want us, as African Americans, to be able to have faith in the country,'' he said. "We need to grab onto something that's real."

The organizers had great ID tags - bright green in honor of St. Paddy's Day, and they all said O'Bama, with a shamrock as the apostrophe.  They walked the line, telling everyone that Senator Obama would not take the stage until everyone made it in the gates.

We finally made our way in along with the throngs of people.  We were way in the back so we couldn't see the stage.  (Note to campaign - elevate the stage more next time!)  A long wait, with a nice warmup by Bay Area band Double Funk Crunch.  Ron Dellums, former Congressman and mayor of Oakland, opened the program.  (Does that mean he's endorsing Obama?)  Barbara Lee was also acknowledged, and cheered, but I couldn't see if she was there or not.  Dellums called Obama a "magnificent new spirit in the body politic."

A local Oakland Iraq war vet introduced Obama, saying he is "trying to give our veterans a fair shake."  

Obama took the stage to rousing cheers.  His opening anecdote was about the Springfield speech.  He said he was "scared" because it was 7 degree out and he figured no one would show up, "and everyone would think I had no support."  Well, 17,000 showed up anyway.  He said how great it was to see such a crowd here, too, and that "we are here today because our country calls us."

He talked about the problems we face, especially highlighting educaton, dependence on foreign oil, and global warming, and how "the benefits and burdens" of our successful economy are not being spread evenly.  He talked specifically about wage stagnation and health care costs, and said "we have got to meet the challenge" of addressing all of these.

Then he moved into talking about a "war that should never have been authorized."  The Chronicle story has some quotes on that:

"I am proud of the fact that I opposed this war from the start, that I stood up in 2002 and said this is a bad idea, that this is going to cost us billions of dollars and thousands of lives,'' Obama told the audience, which wildly cheered his statements. Noting that he has sponsored a bill calling for drawing down troops beginning on May 1 of this year, the senator said that "we've got to send a signal to (the Iraqi government) that America's not going to be there forever."

Best line yet about his plan on the war:  "We have to be as careful about getting out as we were careless getting in."

Obama told an anecdote about meeting a gravely wounded Iraq war vet and his wife.  They told him about having a hard time getting the benefits he so clearly deserved.  At this point Obama made a point that is a theme of his speeches, and one I feel is realy powerful.  From my notes:

Politics is not a game.  Decisions in Washington are not a sport [cheers] . . .The reason we cannot meet this challenge is because we are consumed with cynicism and pettiness . . . We [in the government] don't understand what's going on in the lives of ordinary people [bigger cheers] . . . We're here today because we've had enough!  [huge cheers]  . .  .If we change our politics, we will change our nation.

Then he moved into talking about his own history as an organizer and a civil rights lawyer, where he learned that "fairness and justice has to be fought for each and every day."  He described his recent trip to Selma, which shows "the power of ordinary people" when they realize that "something better is out there" and they fight to attain it.  He continued this theme by walking through the history of movements for progressive social change throughout American history, from the anti-slavery movement, to women gaining the right to vote, the growth of unions and what he called the "second empancipation" of the civil rights movement.  He said at each stage, these movements rejected a "can't do, won't do, won't even try style of government."  

Then he tied this whole history back to the current moment, and his campaign.  "This campaign is a vehicle for you!" he closed, to thunderous cheers and the song "Your Love Is Lifting Me Higher."

Tally for the day:  2 sore feet and 1 aching back from standing for several hours and carting my two-year old daughter in the backpack, 1 shiny new button, 1 "Barack the Vote" T-shirt, and 1 very, very happy and energized feeling inside.