I just got home from the first Draft Obama rally here in Minneapolis. It was absolutely amazing. There were about 50 people there, including the mayor of Minneapolis, RT Rybak (a hardcore Dean supporter, who is considered to be a strong governor / Senate candidate.
I received an email earlier in the week anouncing that a rally / march was going to be held this weekend sponsored by the Draft Obama folks. I decided to brave the cold and check it out, mostly to see if anyone was there that I knew and to see what sort of a turnout they would get.
We met at 12:30 at Calhoun Square in Uptown (a shopping center in the heart of the trendy area of Minneapolis). As I said, 50 people ended up showing. This is an amazing turnout (in my opinion) for a march / rally for a candidate who hasn't even anounced yet, for an election 2 years away. The even more amazing part is that it was the coldest day of the year (so far), at about 5 degrees.
After we gathered and the Draft Obama petition was signed, Mayor Rybak gathered us all in a group, with our signs and Obama head plackers, and gave a brief interview for the local TV stations, which were very enthusiastic about filming us. The mayor gave a brief talk on why he was supporting Obama and then asked several of us to give our impressions of why we were there. (Anyone in Minnesota should look for us on TV tonight.)
We then sat off on our march. We walked a big loop around the area, with signs in tow. As we walked, we stopped in at several of the local businesses along the way, to have coffee and get warmed up. One of the places we stopped was a book shop, where several members of the group purched Obama's book and used the front cover as a sign during the march.
The whole walk lasted a couple of hours, including stops. The vast majority of the responses we got from passing cars and pedestrians ranged from quite positive to extremely enthusiastic.
I was struck actually by how fired up not only the marchers were, but how receptive people were. Granted, we were intentionally walking through what is probably one of the most liberal neighborhoods in the country. However, these are also the folks who would potentially come to caucuses, volunteer and vote.
Overall, a very impressive showing. People were really excited and seemed to be willing to volunteer for other events. Lots of people were asking the organizers when the next event would be and were making suggestions. I believe the Draft Obama people are utilizing Meetup and their own personal email lists at this point.
If Obama can draw this kind of reaction, this early, I'm convinced he can win the nomination, maybe easily, at least based on what I saw today. Granted, this is just one event, but it was pretty impressive for an impromptue gathering. If Obama can generate this kind of grassroots support, he may be hard to stop.