It is somewhat of an indescribable thing to find ones self swept up in the midst of a historical event. Reflecting on the times I have volunteered for Obama events or attended a speech by the candidate, I realize that it is the little things that make Obama's campaign feel so epic and historical. It's not just the "props" such as the american flags and campaign signs. Every campaign has that. With Obama, it's the diversity of the crowds that really hits me. I have seen the man speak three times now and at every event it's the same beautiful cross section of the American fabric. I've seen an old white couple standing next to an african american father and who's brought his young son. Not too far away will be a group of young, white professional twenty-somethings next to an old Ethiopian man who himself is not too far from a nice looking east-indian family. Incredible. And almost all of them have the same look in their eye, a gleam of inspiration and awe at the candidate they have come to hear speak. But maybe too it is awe at themselves and the show of unity in the gathering of which they are all apart.
Tuesday, June 3rd was no different. The lines? Staggering in length. The crowd? As wide ranging as ever. However, this event at the Xcel center, the culmination of so much strife and struggle, was the most epic of all I had seen. First, there was the location. For those who don't know, the Xcel Center is site of the Republican National Convention, the event where John McCain will formally claim the nomination and make his case to the American people. I would call Obama's choice to use their venue as the stage on which he proclaims victory over HRC a declaration that Minnesota is Obama country. It's a not to subtle way of saying to McCain, "I drink your milkshake!" (see this link for background on reference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWuGWmM2PAI)
So, given the locale and the circumstance, the crowd was fired up.
There were protesters against the war with large banners bearing sayings such as "Not Another 100 Years." There were media and from all over the world. There were vendors of selling shirts and buttons and hats, yelling to draw attention to their goods. One lady entreprenuer stood on a corner, shirt in hand, announcing "Obama, Obama, OBAMA, OBAMA!!!" like she was selling hot dogs or scalped tickets. It was then when I turned to my roommate Katie and declared, "Congratulations, Obama. You're officially a brand!"
Oh, and there were helicoptors; multiple media helicoptors. A true sign of an epic event. You see, at its longest the line to get into the Xcel spanned almost 2 miles. For those counting, that's almost 20 city blocks. My roommate Emily, who also attended the event but arrived seperately, indicated that she witnessed the line grow at a rate of about a new block every 10 minutes.
Once through airport style security and inside the arena, I saw that the place had been turned into Obamaland! The Obama logo was everywhere! Even on the megatron!
I and my friends were able to obtain access to the arena floor, mere feet from the podium! The seats slowly filled until there was a capacity crowd. Signs were passed out and I passed the time, waiting away the hours for the moment to arrive. I read news updates on my blackberry. Watched parts of a movie on my friend Wilt's ipod. Chatted with strangers and new acquaintances Gregor and Fiona about the election up until now. Waited some more.
Then, an old face from my past emerged onto the stage. Professor Severson, my communications instructor from business school, took the podium and gave a rousing introduction for the man of the hour. And with that, the place went
crazy. I lost myself in a sea of signs and screams as Obama declared himself the victor in the long fought race against the most formidable woman in US political history!
