Barack Obama

He was incredible, so much better in person. I had seen him almost exactly two years ago. I was going to college in Illinois and he held a town-hall style event at my school. That was awesome enough, as he is a very well-spoken, well-informed man. Last night was different. It was a victory RALLY!! Everyone was raucous and excited, especially the Senator. The Kohl Center was PACKED!!


That's all three bowls, the floor, and an auxiliary room that had been used to hold the line (see below) to get in as the weather was incredibly shite yesterday.

Since it was a victory speech and not a stump speech, it was electrifying. I was in what would have been, had there been seating, the third/fourth row on the floor, and people continued to press in during the speech, trying to get as close as possible to this man. The biggest applause line was when he said "George Bush won't be on the ballot in November." (7:40 in the video below) The entire arena went ape-shit. If that wasn't a call for change, when 17,000 people are on their feet cheering, I don't know what is. I enjoyed how he called people out (15:30), like Senator Clinton, for calling him a hope-mongerer and turned it around with sincerity and flair to make them look like idiots for spewing such bullshit.
"Hope that in America no dream is beyond our grasp if we reach for it, and fight for it, and work for it. Understand this, hope is not blind optimism. Hope is not ignorance of the barriers and challenges that stand between you and your dreams. I know how hard it will be to change America. I know it won't be easy to provide healthcare for all American's like I've proposed. If it was easy, it would have already been done. I know it won't be easy to change our energy policy. Exxon Mobil made $11 billion last quarter. They don't want to give those profits up easily.
I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that's built up over centuries. I know how hard it will be to improve our schools, especially because improving our schools will involve more than just money. It will require a change in mindset, a belief that every child counts, that it's not somebody else's problem. A belief that parents have to parent and turn off the TV set and put away the video game. And that our students have to raise their standards of excellence. That's not easy to do, changing our attitudes, changing our culture."


To see the speech in its entirety, watch below.

Oh, and after the speech I shook his hand!!