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February 23, 2008

Obama Rally

After dropping by the big opening house party last night at Charla's new studio, Marsha, Miranda and I drove to the Capitol area, found a place to park near Brackenridge Hospital, and wandered over to the Obama rally, which had already started by the time we got there. It was crisp, cold, and dark as we walked to the capitol, the moon bright in the sky but tiny, having shrunk as it rose (we had moonrise illusion glowing orange on the horizon earlier as we drove east). As we got closer, I could hear Barack's voice on the wind. When we got there, the dark was shattered by the brightest of showdog lights, really blinding. There was a massive crowd, and you could hear Obama clearly though I couldn't tell you what he said... I wasn't there for the message, I was there for the energy. Blocking the light with my hands, I could see the candidate beyond a sea of people standing, cheering as he hit his points. Mirdanda fiddled with her phone - I think she recorded part of the speech, and I shot some bad photos with the Coolpix. I was thinking how single-minded you have to be to run for president, and how difficult it is to fight the opposition for so many months, then have to heal all wounds quickly to get to the business of running the country. I mostly cringe at the thought of any politician taking the reins at this point, partly because there's such a sorry lot of 'em, but also because I've thinking about politics so long, I have a better sense what it's all about. But Obama makes me cringe less. And unlike Dean, he's had the political savvy and the toughness and character to succeed without the blessing of the traditional Democrats, who clearly support Hillary. (Nothing against Dean, he just didn't have the savvy - he's probably a lot smarter now than he was in 2004). Hillary has many strengths, and if there had been no Obama her nomination would be certain. But Obama is speaking to something that the traditional party can't quite grasp. He seems to be on a different plane, in the world but not of the world, and that's very appealing, especially after eight years of worst case governance. Following the worst president ever, competence and experience aren't quite enough. I think either Democratic candidate could win, given the mood of the country, but who can lead most effectively?

jon posted this at 2:43 PM
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