I just saw John Kerry speak in Akron, Ohio. Ask me anything.

[NEOBuckeye]

Nice event at the University of Akron Student Union building. Candidate Kerry covered all the bases -- including Peak Oil and Bush/Rovian scare tactics. Strangely, they were only expecting 1,000 to 2,000 people to show. I'm guessing the final count was very easily double that. I feel lucky to have made it in, as I'm almost certain that the staff had to turn people away due to space constraints. Don't they realize that Akron is a DEMOCRATIC town?

Kerry spoke for a whopping 40 minutes! I say whopping, because we're usually a 5 minute stop on the way to someplace else. Looks like he realizes how much he is going to have to campaign in Ohio in order to win this year. He doesn't have to do much else to win my vote this November, though. Just give Edwards the VEEP spot and Kucinich charge of the new Department of Peace. :-)

[iamjoy]

1. What Did He Say About Peak Oil?

[NEOBuckeye]

7. He didn't actually say "Peak Oil" but he very strongly stressed the need..

to find alternatives. Mentioned President Jimmy Carter's push for alternate energy -- and of course, President Reagan's subseqent dismantling of Carter's programs. Kerry talked about how behind the US has fallen in this area, and how much industry -- and jobs -- we would have today if Carter's programs were still in place. He's planning to make a major push to get away from Oil dependency. Especially Middle Eastern Oil dependency.

[blm]

2. The news shows NEVER report when Kerry talks about Peak Oil.

He has talked about it for months, but, I have yet to see a news clip of it.

[Jane Austin]

13. You must be right

Because I don't recall that I thought it was an issue for him.

[asthmaticeog]

3. How's the weather in Akron?

Welcome to DU.

[NEOBuckeye]

8. Windy. It was somewhat chilly standing outside the Student Union building.

It took 3+ hours for the Secret Service to screen everyone who got in. That's how long I stood in line. For some reason, my fingers didn't start to freeze until the very end. Maybe I was feeling too good to notice? Entertained myself by talking to a few other pro-Kerry, pro-Dem, anti-Bush people (who wasn't?) And, of course, there were a couple of silly FReepers there holding their own Pro-Bush rally. They yelled B-U-S-H! We retalliated with A-W-O-L! :-)

I forgot all about freezing once I managed to get myself stuffed into a big little room with a few thousand other people. :-)

[JPJones]

4. Are you hot?

:)

[NEOBuckeye]

9. I like to think so!

But probably not as hot as the FReepers that couldn't answer my question why "Ohio is Stronger with Bush" after losing hundreds of thousands of jobs. :-)

[HydroAddict]

5. Peak Oil!?!

When I saw him in San Antonio, he barely said a word about the environment, much less energy Independence (peak oil).

Was somewhat discouraged by it.

[NEOBuckeye]

11. He stressed the environment and alternative fuel sources quite a bit.

Out of a 40 minute speech, I'd say he probably spent a good 15% of talking time on it. Since Akron is a big pro-labor, pro-union town, much of his talk was about promoting new industry around development of alternative fuels, which of course would create many new jobs.

I got the impression that Kerry realizes the need for alternatives. I don't know if he knows how dire our situation is without them, but he at least acknowledges alternative fuels as a major issue, and one that will make a big difference in the future of our country.

We can probably credit the other candidates -- particularly Kucinich -- for this realization. At any rate, Kerry seems to have a touch of Dean, Edwards and Kucinich in his platform. And that's not a bad thing at all.

[HydroAddict]

14. Thanks NEOBuckEye...

Perhaps speaking with Dean did have an effect. He was in San Antonio a few days before the Dean meet.

[NEOBuckeye]

18. No problem, Hydro...

I really get the impression (over the past week, though not directly from his speech) that Kerry plans to really work with the other candidates. Perhaps much more so than Presidential candidates have worked with their competitors in the past. It's not hard for me to see Edwards, Dean, Clark, Gephardt and even Kucinich holding major cabinet positions in a Kerry administration.

[King of New Orleans]

6. What is a buckeye anyway?

Thanks for the report

[NEOBuckeye]

12. No problem. I was surprised that no one else posted this.

It doesn't seem that Northeastern Ohio (or Akron at least) is very well represented here at DU. One of you guys from NEOhio please hit me if I'm wrong. Or maybe not many were able to make the Kerry rally.

As for the Buckeye info, check this out. During the speech, Kerry pulled one out of his pocket. It was a nice touch.

EDIT: URL correction

[cmd]

30. Welcome NEOBuckeye

There are quite a few DUers in NE Ohio. A group of us had the chance to get together and protest Bush* at Richfield on Labor Day. Perhaps we'll meet at a rally some day. Welcome to DU.

[NEOBuckeye]

32. Thanks, ccoalminersdaughter!

But I don't think we should wait until the next rally to meet. We need to organize some sort of a "Northeastern Ohio DUers" team, or something...

[Jane Austin]

15. Buckeye

Isn't it a peanut butter candy? :)

[Eurobabe]

29. i'm a buckeye by birth :)

working on the relatives out in OHIO to get them on board with Kerry

[vitoria]

10. I was there too!

Turnout was awesome! I heard they had to turn away 1,000 people. Not good organization on Akron's part, but hopefully a lesson for future visits. Talked to some union guys in line - they were there in big numbers. Long line/wait to get in and VERY cold....these people were dedicated to say the least.

A very few Bush supporters with megaphones outside the entrance - they were pathetic.

[Jane Austin]

16. This

is a wonderful report!

Thanks for the encouraging news.

[NEOBuckeye]

20. No problem! Hopefully it will show up soon on C-SPAN.

Someone needed to post it here. So I thought, why not I? Anyway, I can't imagine that the event won't show up on C-SPAN at some point during the next week or so. There were enough media officials there to cover it.

Incidentally, U.S. Congressional Representative Sherrod Brown gave one of the introductions to Kerry. Akron's longtime Mayor, Don Plusquellic spoke just before Kerry. I beg anyone to tell me that he wasn't an awesome speaker -- maybe even better than Kerry(!) I yelled out a few times "Plusquellic for Governor!"

[dsc]

21. Plusquelic is a great speaker

and a smooth politician. He squashed a well funded Republican like a bug last year.

[ShaneGR]

80%

We are a machine here, serve up Repugs, we'll crush them.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NEOBuckeye]

17. Kerry's campaign team was responsible for selecting the site...

They were in Akron on Thursday to look for a site, and apparently decided that the Student Union banquet room was the best place possible. As I said above, I don't think they anticipated how many supporters would turn out.

My suggestion would have been Akron U's JAR Arena which comfortably seats around 5,500. I doubt if the Secret Service would've had a real issue with it, either. When President Clinton came to Akron for the Race Relations dialogue, it was the location of the public rally.

On the other hand, maybe the choice was intentional. If you think about it, in campaign terms, it probably would've looked better to turn people away due to maxing out available standing room, rather than risk having an oversized gym partially filled with people.

I agree with you, Vitoria. The republicans were pathetic. I heard that they were actually organized by one of the professors in Akron's Bliss Institute -- studies for Political Science. They probably represented the entire GOP population of Akron -- about 10 people total.

[ShaneGR]

22. Actually, the County Party picked the site

See my other thread!

BTW, thanks for coming!

[vitoria]

25. I hope those turned away weren't discouraged

I witnessed MANY MANY people staking out the long, slow moving lines, then leaving in frustration...the chances of getting in did NOT look promising. And, the cold/windy weather certainly didn't help matters. Turnout numbers would be much higher if all who wanted to attend, could have attended.

Even so, turnout was fantastic. This is a true indication that Kerry rocks in Akron!

[newyawker99]

28. Hi vitoria!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[cmd]

31. Welcome, vitoria

I'm always glad to see another NE Ohioan on board.

[NEOBuckeye]

19. He directly blasted John Ashcroft, too!

I don't recall the exact wording of his statement, but Kerry mentioned Ashcroft by name, and said that Americans need someone much better in his place representing their interests. The audience responded with one of the loudest cheers of the event. It was quite refreshing, being in the presence of so many other people who realize just what a prick Ashcroft is. :-)

[dsc]

24. This is a small thing

but I just got done watching the coverage on Cleveland's channel 5. Please make sure Kerry is given the correct pronunciation of the towns he visits. The only time he said Akron in the quotes they had on the news he butchered it. The town is pronounced Ack-run not Ack-ron. You could see one of the local politicians whince when he said Ack-ron.

[DemPoliticalJunkie]

26. What a rush! I wish I could have been there!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. Ay-Oh Way to go Ohio...