Eight Days Out: Obama Rallies Drawing Record Crowds

[babylonsister]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14965.html

Big crowds for Obama's 'red-state tour'
By BEN SMITH | 10/26/08 9:07 PM EDT


Barack Obama speaks before a crowd in Colorado.


Barack Obama will conclude what aides referred to as a ten-day "red state tour" Monday, a trip that culminated in a two-day swing through three key western states.
Photo: AP

snip//


Obama's crowds during the 10-day swing (minus a couple of days off the trail to visit his ill grandmother in Hawaii) broke records. In St. Louis on Oct. 18, and again in Denver, on Sunday, local government officials estimated the crowds at more than 100,000 people, which would make them the largest political events in American history and substantially larger than the mega-rallies Sen. John F. Kerry led even later in the 2004 cycle.

Obama also drew a giant crowd — some 45,000, according to local officials — in the college town of Fort Collins, 35,000 in Albuquerque, and substantially smaller crowds in Las Vegas and Reno, where he continued to point out that John McCain had voted for four out of five of Bush's budgets.

"Just the other day, George Bush returned the favor and voted early for John McCain," Obama said in Denver. "Well, Colorado, George Bush isn't the only one who gets to vote early — you can vote early, too."

snip//

In each of the states where those votes are broken down, they seem to favor Obama, as black voters, young voters and Democrats turn out disproportionately.

Out West, Obama also interspersed his remarks with Spanish. He called McCain "loco" in Las Vegas, and led crowds in chants of "Si, se puede" in Albuquerque.

"They're changing over," said Anthony Rodriguez, a California truck driver who had been going door to door for Obama in Hispanic sections of Reno, and said he was surprised to find how familiar a figure Obama was in households that supported Bush in 2004, and where children begged him for Obama fliers.

In Fort Collins, Obama asked for a show of hands of who had already voted; about half the hands in the crowd went up.

"You can't walk through our plaza without someone urging you to vote," said Mary Timby, a sophomore, who said she'd voted early in the booth on campus. "I wish I could just wear a T-shirt saying, 'I voted' so {the Obama volunteers} would leave me alone."

Others at the rally said they were holding out for Election Day.

"I like doing it the old-fashioned way," said Alexa Rempis, a senior.

[nightrain]

1. The crowd/audience in Albuqurerque on Saturday night was more like

50K than 35K, considering all the folks who were on the edges. Obamanos!

[buff2]

2. OMG........

It is so wonderful to see this unfold before our eyes. A new day,a new era is coming. Finally the GOP white strangle hold on our government will finally be over. History will be made on Nov.4th 2008.I am so excited I can hardly stand it. This is what is killing the GOPerverts.

A BLACK man beating them.....a BLACK family in the WH:wow:...it's no wonder they are fighting each other. Their little comfy world is being blown to shreds and there is nothing they can do about it. :rofl: Look at the crowds......doesn't look like the racists are in the majority,does it? :hi:

[Az_lefty]

3. Wish he'd come to Az...he's within 2 points of McSame now...

I wonder if CC Goldwater's endorsement helped to cause this.

[midnight]

4. It looks like the sea of change we so desperately are seeking.

By the time this wave hits the White House I hope that it has something left in the reserves, and that all"our money" has not been doled out to the elite who wanted to shore up their private stash before this tidal wave of change arrived.

[GirlieQ]

5. The Fort Collins rally was incredible.

Just so you know, Fort Collins is a town of 130K people. About 25K of those are college students.

Getting 45K people together in one place was amazing. The area the rally was in has *zero* parking, and there was only one line. People were still coming in after Obama's motorcade had left. I can't even imagine how many people would have been there if they'd opened the area earlier so everyone could get in. I know several people who saw the line and went to go watch it somewhere else.