Presidential Campaign visits embiggened...

The pictures of the vast swarm of people at Waterfront Park yesterday to see Barack Obama were amazing. I've been involved with public events, including events back during the Clinton campaign, and so I have a sense of scale, I think. At Pioneer Courthouse Square as the first Clinton campaign unfolded, tens of thousands of people came, shut down Sixth street and filled the sidewalks on either side where Max runs in order to hear the candidate speak. If my memory serves me, there were estimated to be around 20,000 people in attendance. Looking down from a security post high in the Jackson Tower, the scene was stirring. Obama's crowd this weekend surpassed that and then some. As I looked at the pictures, I thought 'are all those folks voting for Obama?'. My suspicion is that they are not, but clearly the fresh and unique character of his personality and his message, is something people are yearning for. I hear it everywhere I go---people are tired, bone tired, of the way things are. Many of those people are not sure that Obama can translate his message into actual change, but they would be happy if he could. The vast throng yesterday may be more a harbinger of our national hunger for a way of life that matches our ideals than a specific outpouring of voter support.