Kansas Dresners
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Political Fun!
Living in a non-battleground state (as we have for the last seven years), I've kind of gotten used to the idea that we wouldn't really see much political action. We got an email on Friday, though, saying that Obama would be at a rally in Springfield, MO on Saturday, and we all thought it would be pretty cool, so we went.
It was a two hours drive there, uneventful except for the honking-thumbs-up reception we got when we got on the highway. It took a little time to find parking, but we got pretty lucky, finding a street spot about a block from the stadium. We had, however, seen the line stretching from the stadium down the road, a distance that GoogleMaps claimed was six tenths of a mile. We hiked down the line, picking up some t-shirts along the way, and settled in. We brought sandwiches, snacks and some water, and ate along the way. There was some compression, so we moved about two storefronts before the doors opened at six, then it was another hour before the line started moving consistently, and it was after eight when we got into the stadium, through security (TSA-style [TSA-staffed,too], minus the shoe-removal) and found our way to the last remaining obstructed-view bleacher seats. We sat there for another hour, listening to a carefully selected mix of anthemic songs from all genres and generations (Motown, country, 80s rock, 90s rock, etc.). A bit of speechifying, Michelle Obama gave a brief introduction, the whole Obama family came on, then Obama started speaking a bit before 10pm. Max was, surprisingly, still awake, cheering, chanting and having fun; By 10:15, though, the novelty had worn off, the time had caught up with him, and he was asleep on the bleachers. Obama kept going for another ten minutes or so, and it was over.
The crowd was lively throughout, responsive, having fun, very positive. There were some counter-protests, but it seems to have stayed civil. Max was quite excited, Woody was thrilled, and I had a blast. It took a while to get out: it was after 11 before we were in the car, and closer to midnight before we were on the highway. Got back home without stopping after one, and took full advantage of the changed clocks to recover.
I've embedded a flickr slideshow below: if you click through to flickr you can read my descriptions. I also got some video clips: I'd heard bits and pieces of the stump speech before, through the political blogs, but I got lucky and had the camera rolling when he started the Cheney endorsement bit, which was new today. It was a good schtick: easy target (what was Cheney thinking?) but well-done.
And here's a new feature for this blog: Video! This is a bit showing the crowd, and then he started on the Cheney endorsement, which was new that day...
¶ Sunday, November 02, 2008 0 comments
It was a two hours drive there, uneventful except for the honking-thumbs-up reception we got when we got on the highway. It took a little time to find parking, but we got pretty lucky, finding a street spot about a block from the stadium. We had, however, seen the line stretching from the stadium down the road, a distance that GoogleMaps claimed was six tenths of a mile. We hiked down the line, picking up some t-shirts along the way, and settled in. We brought sandwiches, snacks and some water, and ate along the way. There was some compression, so we moved about two storefronts before the doors opened at six, then it was another hour before the line started moving consistently, and it was after eight when we got into the stadium, through security (TSA-style [TSA-staffed,too], minus the shoe-removal) and found our way to the last remaining obstructed-view bleacher seats. We sat there for another hour, listening to a carefully selected mix of anthemic songs from all genres and generations (Motown, country, 80s rock, 90s rock, etc.). A bit of speechifying, Michelle Obama gave a brief introduction, the whole Obama family came on, then Obama started speaking a bit before 10pm. Max was, surprisingly, still awake, cheering, chanting and having fun; By 10:15, though, the novelty had worn off, the time had caught up with him, and he was asleep on the bleachers. Obama kept going for another ten minutes or so, and it was over.
The crowd was lively throughout, responsive, having fun, very positive. There were some counter-protests, but it seems to have stayed civil. Max was quite excited, Woody was thrilled, and I had a blast. It took a while to get out: it was after 11 before we were in the car, and closer to midnight before we were on the highway. Got back home without stopping after one, and took full advantage of the changed clocks to recover.
I've embedded a flickr slideshow below: if you click through to flickr you can read my descriptions. I also got some video clips: I'd heard bits and pieces of the stump speech before, through the political blogs, but I got lucky and had the camera rolling when he started the Cheney endorsement bit, which was new today. It was a good schtick: easy target (what was Cheney thinking?) but well-done.
And here's a new feature for this blog: Video! This is a bit showing the crowd, and then he started on the Cheney endorsement, which was new that day...
¶ Sunday, November 02, 2008 0 comments
