Eight years ago we had a booming economy, a budget surplus and respect throughout most of the world. At the end of the second-term Bush Administration it's all gone--a distant and wistful dream. Add to that a quagmire in Iraq and Bin Laden still on the loose and you have a grim picture of the United States current status. Thank God, Bush can't run again.Now, it's up to us to pick the right candidate to revive our economy, extricate our soldiers from Iraq without causing a disaster for either the military or the Iraqi people and restore the luster of the US reputation globally. For the last couple of months, I've been vacillating between supporting Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama. After watching all the debates, I've come to the realization that there is little difference between the two; either one can do the job and do it well. Obama is the better orator, but Hillary is the better policy wonk.
We almost have an embarrassment of riches this year in the Democratic party. I can't remember the last time there were two candidates (three actually if you count the recently departed John Edwards) that I could support enthusiastically. And therein lies my problem: which one will get my vote during Pennsylvania's April 22nd primary?
In an effort to make a decision, I went to the Barak Obama rally today in Wilmington, Delaware. I arrived at Rodney Square around 10:30 a.m. to a line that wrapped around a large city block for the 1:15 pm rally. The gates would not open for another hour, yet those at the front had been there since 8 a.m. These are the kind of lines you see for rock stars, not politicians. Luckily for me just as I completed my long circuit around the block in search of the end of the line, a volunteer told me and a few other to head back to where we began to start a second line. In the end we lucky souls would get in ahead of many of those who had been line for hours since we were towards the front of a much shorter line.
As we waited in line, the excitement was almost palpable. College students mixed with the baby boomers. Parents held their children by the hand, telling them they were there to see history. They came from as far away as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Volunteers worked the lines. "Who can come out and volunteer on Super Tuesday? All you have to do is sign this list. We need to you to make 'get out the vote' calls." Another came by. "Have you signed the list yet?" And yet another. "Who wants to volunteer? We need you. The Senator needs you."
Finally, the gates opened and we made our way through metal detectors and got wanded down after, tripping them. While many made their way down into the square in front of the podium, I found a sunny spot on a concrete parapet with a good view. As the temperature soared into the 50s, my coat came off and I settled in to wait. The Square slowly filled up as around 20,000 made their way in, until they over-flowed into the surrounding streets.
At 1:15, the Senator from Illinois made his way into the Square along the rope line. The crowd went nuts, screaming and chanting; it began to sound more and more like the last rock concert I went to. Finally, Obama mounted the podium and began his stump speech.
Hope was a major theme in his stump speech. He spoke about repairing the damage from the Bush administration at home and abroad, education, veterans rights and extricating us from the Iraq war among other things. His speech was punctuated by cheers, applause and screams from a crowd that was clearly drinking the kool-aid. Below are a few snippets from his speech.
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