Oct 09 2008
Barack Obama in Dayton, Ohio
So today was a beautiful day, Barack Obama came to my hometown to kick off a two-day tour of Ohio and did a free rally at our minor-league baseball stadium. He hit upon four main issues, spending about fifteen minutes each on the economy, the mortgage crisis, his tax plans, and healthcare.
Between the excitement of the crowd of around 8,000 and Obama’s soaring rhetoric, it made for a very interesting day.
A couple notes to take away from the day:
Obama seems much more relaxed in person than he comes off on television. At times he even joked around with the crowd. When one person said they couldn’t hear him at the beginning of the speech he paused, “You can’t hear me?” Obama asked, then he pointed to the third base side of the field, “Can you guys hear me?” The crowd enthusiastically responded “YES WE CAN.” “What about you guys, can you hear me?” He asked pointing to the first base side. Then he turned around towards the outfield “How about behind me, can you hear me?” Then he turned to the person who couldn’t hear him before and said “I think you’re the only one in the stadium who can’t hear me!” Later on when the speakers went out for a minute he joked that he would bring the sound guys up on the stage so we could heckle them for their performance.
The speech wasn’t all fun and games though, shortly after pulling off his suitcoat Obama began to dwelve into the issues. Obama said McCain’s newest mortgage plan “punishes taxpayers, rewards banks and won’t solve our housing crisis.” He said it would “guarantee that American taxpayers lose by handing over $300 billion to underwrite the kind of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street that got us into this mess.”
Noting the wide change in proposals by John McCain to solve the economic crisis, Obama again went on the attack saying “I don’t think we can afford that kind of erratic and uncertain leadership in these uncertain times.”
The biggest hit on McCain came when he mentioned how a McCain strategist told the New York Daily News earlier this week that “If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose.”
“This isn’t about winning a race, this is about doing what’s right for Americans,” said Obama.
Regardless of what you think of his politics, the man is an incredible speaker. He flows so elegantly from subject to subject, building up emphasis in a loud crescendo before tearing it down and starting over again. He’s inspiring, he’s intelligent, he’s intellectual. Aren’t those qualities we should look for in a president?
Photos courtesy of my sister.
Nice. I saw Barack during the primaries, but haven’t been able to since. I went to a McCain/Palin rally in Lee’s Summit, MO about three weeks ago, and it was one of the most odd experiences in my life. I’ve never been around that much hate and blind faith in my life. Ugly. That’s about the best word for what I saw.
Great post, man
Cheers
Nice pictures and great recap. He is an amazing speaker and if he wasn’t pushing so hard for some programs that I feel put the government where it doesn’t need to be I’d vote for him too.
wow i am glad you got to see him in person. He is the greatest speaker I have ever seen. He came to my college back in 2004 on the night before the election and I was blown away. I saw him speak again in summer of 2006 when my brother graduated from Northwestern. I’m so lucky to have seen him speak in person twice… he’s really great and I am hoping he makes it in November!
Nice update on the campaign. thanks! -Kev
Your sister took great photos. Nice shots.