Excitement surrounds Obama's visit to Oakland

[Ethelk2044]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/17/BAGPKONDCH3.DTL

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, appearing before an adoring crowd in Oakland, one of the state's largest African American communities, delivered a rousing call Saturday evening for an end to the Iraq war, saying "we can't continue this occupation" because America has got "business right here at home.''

Obama used his forum in this loyal Democratic stronghold -- home to Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee - to hammer home his long-standing opposition to the war in Iraq, taking the opportunity to draw a contrast with his two leading Democratic rivals, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

"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."

Obama was not a U.S. senator at the time of the vote authorizing the war in Iraq. Edwards has since apologized for that vote and Clinton has said that she regrets it, but has never specifically apologized

Obama also talked about the recent scandal regarding poor treatment of Iraq war veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, saying that "for all the problems with this war,'' America has failed to meet its obligation to its veterans.

With his voice rising in anger, he said the nation must ensure "that we treat them right ... that we're getting them the treatment they need,'' and "they don't end up homeless because nobody's looking after them.''

"Don't stand next to a flag and say you believe in supporting the troops when you forget them when you come home,'' he yelled, as the crowd cheered.

Obama's campaign speech -- delivered on a gloriously sunny day with the elegant backdrop of Oakland's historic City Hall -- drew an enormous crowd that snaked for blocks throughout the downtown and filled the plazas and streets nearby. And the mood had the feel of a community picnic, with merchants selling Obama T-shirts, rap musicians hawking their wares, and a wide range of supporters, from curious Democrats and loyal grassroots activists to families trailing their kids.

[saltpoint]

1. This guy is a Democrat. This guy is possessed of unlimited talent and

charisma.

And this guy is saying things which suggest the Bush administration is a pack of clueless no-goods.

And ten thousand people in Oakland stopped what they were doing yesterday to go hear him.

I wonder if there's anybody in the White House who took notice of this.

[Ethelk2044]

2. News

The news came out and said it was over 12,000.

[saltpoint]

3. Twelve thousand it is.

[saltpoint]

4. Ethelk, I keep waiting for more folks to chime in here on your

thread but so far, there's no takers. So let me jump in again and add a comment.

In a lot of political talk we get updates on how much money each candidate has raised.

So-and-so has raised this much, So-and-so that much, and so on. It's a single issue, and of course it is important, but it dominates too much of the dialogue.

Another gauge should be energy. Obama generates a very energetic response. The article describes the tone and nature of the streets during this appearance, and it seems to me that that kind of energy is worth quite a bit in a presidential campaign.

[Colobo]

5. Great stuff!

People are responding to Obama... they are listening to his message... good stuff indeed!

[bigdarryl]

6. the big question is will that translate into votes

[Colobo]

7. True; I would like to see him reaching to the base

Energizing those who will show up to the polls and vote...