That's what Obama said yesterday and I swear, I'm starting to believe him. We will know for sure next week!
I joined 28,000 of my fellow North Carolinians at the Obama rally in downtown Raleigh yesterday. It was so wonderful to get to hear him in person! Notice that I said "hear" not "see" because I was very far away from the stage! I took some photos and well, you gotta trust me on this, he’s in the photo below. LOL. The Raleigh News and Observer has a slide show here with some nice close-ups of him.
Like many others, I was just holding my camera up as high as I could and snapping. At one point, I climbed up on a wall and had a very good view but the police came and made me get down before I could get a photo.
Obama is so eloquent and inspirational, of course, but he’s funnier and more informal in person than he is on TV. I loved hearing him laugh!
My favorite part was when he was talking about how McPain wants to privatize Social Security. Obama said, can you imagine if our Social Security money had been invested in Wall St. last month? We would all be walking around clutching our hearts like Fred Sanford, saying "Wheezie, I'm a coming!" It cracked me up and made me think about my late grandfather whose favorite show was Sanford and Son.
Obama also had this great line about being called a socialist:
"By the end of the week, he'll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten. I shared my peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Big cheers for this!
I don't think Raleigh was really prepared for so many people, all of whom had to go through a metal detector. When I arrived, I saw this line of people and then I had to walk 15 minutes to get to the back of the line!
The line snaked all over downtown Raleigh, and it was 1.5 hours before I finally got inside. But it was worth it, and the people I was standing in line with were a lot of fun. The crowd was great with such good vibes overall. I had a great time hanging out with these folks!
I walked in just as Obama was starting to speak. I read in the paper that over 1,000 people were turned away so I was lucky!
This is when he asked us how many of us make under $250,000 a year. Then he told us that our taxes will NOT go up. He explained his tax plans thoroughly and addressed all the Republican "misinterpretations" very clearly.
A few more photos:
Secret Service guys were on top of the surrounding buildings watching the crowd with binoculars.
People leaving after Obama finished speaking. They were playing the song "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" as we left. I hope that's an omen!
A few scenes from the surrounding streets (lots of vendors had set up shop):
These folks from California had a cool van and were selling hand-painted shirts. I think they might be former Dead Heads turned Obama Heads.
Love this scooter!
After the rally, I decided to skip work for the rest of the day and make a "Staycation" day of it. I walked around and took some photos of churches and then went to the NC Museum of Natural Science to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Pretty cool exhibit. I went to 42nd St. Oyster Bar and had some shrimp for lunch and then when school was out, I went over and played with my nephews for a while. They took me on a hike to show me this tee-pee they are building in the woods. FUN!
I think 28,000 people is a GREAT turn-out for a work day. By contrast, 9,000 people showed up to hear McCain on Tuesday. All of us standing in line were joking about playing hooky from work; I said that I had called in "sick of Republicans."
Will NC "turn it blue"? All I really want is for Obama to win, but if North Carolina becomes a blue state, that will be the icing on the cake. I'll be overjoyed!
Comments (11)
Annie, thanks for taking me with you--this is the closest I've been to him. It must have been a wonderful day--unforgettable.
Posted by Jane | October 30, 2008 8:40 PM
Posted on October 30, 2008 20:40
Annie, LOVED your report and your photos!! And particularly loved "called in sick of Republicans." I am so nervous about Tuesday. Please come fast!!
Posted by Chiocciola | October 30, 2008 9:11 PM
Posted on October 30, 2008 21:11
Hi Annie, what an awesome experience to be able to have participated in this rally and to hear Obama speak in person. That's going to be a great memory to have for a life time! I loved all the photos you took. And I had to LOL about Obama's 28,000 crowd versus 9,000 for McCain.
Sounds like you had a pretty good hooky "aka" sick of republicans day. :)
Have a great weekend! Only 4 more days!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | October 30, 2008 9:14 PM
Posted on October 30, 2008 21:14
no comment...LOL
yes, just one... It's Elizabeth not Weezie in the Sanford show.
I'm glad you had a good time. And if he becomes the president, you will have pictures and stories to tell your grandchildren..
Posted by ann | October 30, 2008 9:49 PM
Posted on October 30, 2008 21:49
Thanks Jane, I'm so glad I went!
Chiocciola, I'm nervous too. I wish I felt more confident!
Kathy, only 4 days! It seems like it has been going on for so long but I bet the next 4 days are gonna drag!
Ann, LOL about "Elizabeth not Weezie." Good catch! I didn't even notice that Obama had his sit-coms mixed up until a friend pointed it out after the speech! "Weezie" was the wife on the Jeffersons not Sanford. It's a funny mistake!
Posted by Annie | October 30, 2008 11:17 PM
Posted on October 30, 2008 23:17
Cool report! I love your photos!! I watched most of this rally on MSNBC and CNN (when MSNBC went to commercial). I was hoping to see you :) BUT then you were up on that wall!! The photos you linked to really show the size of the crowd. Again, I looked for you on that wall in their photos :) Thanks for this great blog post!!!
Posted by girasoli | October 31, 2008 1:31 AM
Posted on October 31, 2008 01:31
Happy Hallowe'en! :)
Posted by Leslie | October 31, 2008 8:27 AM
Posted on October 31, 2008 08:27
Girasoli, thanks!
I was so far away that I didn't know for sure if I'd gotten a photo of him until I came home and looked. It's funny because I thought I was getting there early and so many people were already in line when I got there. If I ever go to one of these again, I'll know to go even earlier.
Posted by Annie | October 31, 2008 9:45 AM
Posted on October 31, 2008 09:45
Thanks Leslie, and Happy Halloween to you too!
Posted by Annie | October 31, 2008 9:46 AM
Posted on October 31, 2008 09:46
North Carolina goes blue and we have another retirement possibility!
Posted by Kim | October 31, 2008 10:02 AM
Posted on October 31, 2008 10:02
Kim, come on down! I think that one reason NC is on the verge of turning blue is because of all the folks who have retired here. It IS a great place to live (and the Triangle area already is blue, for sure).
Posted by Annie | October 31, 2008 10:53 AM
Posted on October 31, 2008 10:53