Rally Girl

For those of you who were wondering, the rally yesterday was effing awesome. It was the third political rally I have ever attended and for me it was the best experience of the three.

The first one I ever attended was a rally for Paul Wellstone, who was running for re-election when I was a senior in high school. I was still too young to vote, but our high school let us take the day off and provided buses to the Target Center because that day President Clinton (also running for reelection) was campaigning along with Senator Wellstone. That was likewise a very memorable experience if for no other reason than I got to listen to President Clinton, who was (and still is) a person whose presence was palpable, a remarkably charismatic man. The interesting thing about seeing Senator Wellstone was in the context of my own political experiences. I knew what I believed but I wasn't necessarily in tune with the greater political atmosphere then and comparing what he was speaking about to the direction in which we ended up heading as a nation is stunning. What Senator Wellstone spoke about seemed perfectly reasonable to me and completely aligned with my core values and beliefs. It was only in later years, after becoming more politically savvy, did I realize that people saw Senator Wellstone's views as progressive and somewhat radical. To me, they were what I expected and hoped for from my government. It wasn't until his death that I realized exactly who Minnesotans and the Senate had lost, and what it meant that Norm Coleman, the newly-minted neocon had won Wellstone's seat in the aftermath.

The second rally I went to was a John Kerry rally, which had all the desperation one might expect from a Democratic campaign in the fear-laden climate that was post-9/11 America. He didn't fill up the Sundome and I think everyone there knew he was doomed. Granted, Florida Democrats, I've noticed, generally have a much more defeated air about them than Minnesota Dems. What I enjoyed about the rally, that I didn't get around my school mates eight years earlier, was the sense that I was with among people with which I had so much in common, without ever having to open my mouth. I felt self-conscience going by myself (many of my lab mates are apolitical because they are international students and unable to vote anyway). My embarrassment was quickly alleviated when strangers started talking to me out of blue because we already knew what we could talk about, a phenomenon that rarely occurs in public outings. In social situations one learns to veer away from politics, unless a rogue bumper sticker or refrigerator magnet gives away one's leanings. Political rallies, where you can make profound assumptions about the core beliefs of the people surrounding you, are a lot like how I imagine church might be if I actually bought what organized religion was trying to sell.

That is why I felt no qualms about going to the Obama rally by myself yesterday. Since it was at noon on a Wednesday, Dean had to work and I didn't even ask many of my friends who have real jobs. Besides, as I alluded before, rallies can be quite, well, political and I didn't want to cause any later awkwardness for dragging someone along who may not be on board. As I expected, I talked with people in line around me and enjoyed seeing the plethora of creative Obama t-shirts ("Obama - he had me at common sense" was my favorite). The rally was extremely well-organized. We were let in nearly an hour before gates were supposed to open due to the lines and the approaching heat of the day. There was not really anything different in his speech from what I had been seeing snippets of on CNN. But it didn't matter. I was roughly 12 rows up and simply seeing him in person was awesome. We just exploded when he came on stage, and it was several minutes before he could speak through all the commotion. He even had to urge us to sit down so we could actually listen to what he wanted to tell us. The arena had this electric feel, like we all knew we were a part of something big happening. This connection with voters is what has fueled his campaign and that feeling was what made the event special. The feeling that I am participating in a political process where so much is at stake and where I feel like the people have a real shot at starting to take back our country.

Tampa has a very large African-American population, and if I wasn't in the minority at the event, it was close. Of course I've been listening to pundits and pollsters break down the black vote, the white vote, the female vote, the educated vote etc. etc., but it wasn't until I saw all the elderly African-Americans at the rally who had obviously lived through segregation and the civil rights movement that I was rendered speechless by the magnitude of Obama's candidacy in the African-American community. I support Obama because I feel that even though he is inexperienced, he has sound judgment, fresh ideas, fair approaches and brings a different type of politics into the race. I feel he understands the plight of the average American and can reach out to new voters, independents, and Republicans to unite our ailing country. I know that politics will change him, that I am being idealistic, that what he will actually achieve will fall short of the promises. But heck, sometimes it feels good to put your faith in someone, and I feel good about the guy I'm backing.