75,000 ATTEND OBAMA RALLY IN PORTLAND

Source: MSNBC

Some 75,000 people flocked to Portland’s waterfront Sunday to watch Barack Obama speak, making it the biggest rally the campaign has held to date. Thousands stood on the lawn, dozens watched from boats and from the bridge stretching across the Willamette River. A few kayakers held their paddles and tried to keep their kayaks straight as they watched the candidate, who stood on a makeshift platform.

Obama hailed Clinton as a “formidable candidate," saying she "has been smart and tough and determined and she has worked as hard as she can and she has run an extraordinary campaign."

He added a few lines to an otherwise typical stump speech, attacking presumptive GOP nominee John McCain for his ties to lobbyists, an issue the campaign is pushing and one the candidate spoke about with reporters earlier in the day. "John McCain now has had to get rid of five of his top advisers because it turns out they’re all lobbying, many of them for foreign governments. That’s because he practices the same kind of politics that we’ve grown accustomed to in Washington," he said, adding that his campaign did not take money from PACs or federal lobbyists and saying he would have meetings on C-SPAN rather behind closed doors with lobbyists "in their Gucci shoes."

He also criticized President Bush for comments he made in Israel last week comparing those who would engage in direct diplomacy with governments like Iran to those who appeased Hitler. Obama's campaign has interpreted the comments as a hit against him and today he called such tactics "Karl Rove" politics.



Read more: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/18/1036703.aspx

---

We love Obama and will be true!
When you're not near us we're blue!
Obama we love you!

You realize anyone who gets that is dating him or herself!

LOL...didnt wanna say bye bye Barack!

article here
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/obama-draws-record-crowd-in-oregon/?hp

We need to seize the day!

a primary contest? Thanks for sharing....

Biggest political crowd I've ever been in was when John Kerry came to Madison, WI the Thursday before the election in 2004. Estimated 80,000.

I can't wait till Obama comes to Madison right before the GE- I don't know where we can have a rally to hold more than that!

The next President of the United States of America...:) What a beautiful day it was in Oregon

A beautiful day.

Yeah, I'm thinking so.

:thumbsup:

"HOPE" on his chest should be a poster, a campaign theme. Look at his face! What are we doing if not giving true hope to that young man and the millions in his generation.

the young boy with HOPE painted on his chest. It fills me with pride and emotion --

They're ALL beautiful and inspiring photos -- thank you!

Holy Schizen!

For what I started to feel a few months ago when people lined up for hours to fill a stadium here in Minneapolis to hear Obama.

Our own Velvet Revolution!

I'm gonna savor those 4 words all day.

Thank you, NBachers.:patriot:

GRESHAM, Ore. — Hours before being greeted by the biggest crowd of his campaign, Democrat Barack Obama quietly told a small group of seniors Sunday that Republican John McCain would threaten the Social Security they depend on because he supports privatizing the program.

Fire officials estimated 65,000 packed into a riverside park for a spectacular afternoon rally at a sun-splashed scene on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland. They said an additional 15,000 were left outside and dozens of boaters could be seen floating in the river.

“Wow, wow, wow,” Obama said as he surveyed the audience. “We have had a lot of rallies. This is the most spectacular setting, the most spectacular crowd we have had this entire campaign.”

While more subdued, his appearance early in the day before about 130 people at an assisted living facility to talk Social Security was a significant attempt to tie the GOP’s presidential nominee-in-waiting to an unpopular President Bush on a pocket book issue that motivates seniors — and also concerns younger generations worried about their own future retirement.

“Let me be clear, privatizing Social Security was a bad idea when George W. Bush proposed it, it’s a bad idea today,” Obama said. “That’s why I stood up against this plan in the Senate and that’s why I won’t stand for it as president.”

Bush proposed a Social Security plan in 2005 that focused on creating private accounts for younger workers, but it never came up for a vote in Congress. Democrats strongly opposed the idea and few Republicans embraced it.

Obama said McCain would push to raise the retirement age for collecting Social Security benefits or trim annual cost-of-living increases. Obama has rejected both ideas as solutions to the funding crisis projected for Social Security in favor of making higher-income workers pay more into the system.

“We have to protect Social Security for future generations without pushing the burden onto seniors who have earned the right to retire in dignity,” he said.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds accused Obama of making “misinformed partisan attacks.”

“John McCain has been clear about his belief that we must fix Social Security for future generations and keep our promises to today’s retirees, but raising taxes should not be the answer to every problem,” Bound said.

It was a day of coastal campaigning for the two Democrats still competing for the party’s presidential nomination.

Obama was in Oregon, where he is favored to win the state’s presidential primary on Tuesday. Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a second straight day in Kentucky, where she is favored to win when its voters head to the polls the same day.

She attended worship services at a Methodist church in Bowling Green, and happily sang hymns and joined in Bible readings. But her smile faded when the pastor launched into a sermon about adultery, asking his congregants whether the devil had ever whispered over their shoulders in their marriages.

Her mood appeared to brighten by the time she arrived for a rally at Western Kentucky University.

“Now, my opponent said the other day he wasn’t coming back, so I’ve got the whole state to myself,” Clinton said, sounding happy not to be sharing the Kentucky spotlight. “What a treat.”

Later Sunday, the Clinton campaign collected about $150,000 at a backyard fundraiser in Fort Mitchell, a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati. Nathan Smith, the event’s host, is vice chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party and a superdelegate — but he still has not committed to supporting Clinton.

Obama, the front-runner for the nomination, has begun casting himself as the inevitable nominee and using his time to distinguish himself from McCain as he pivots toward the fall campaign. He has scheduled appearances later this week in Iowa and Florida, two key swing states.

He underscored that speaking with reporters in the Portland suburb of Milwaukee, saying he’ll use the Iowa visit as another way to focus on November.

“We thought it was a terrific way to kind of bring things full circle,” said Obama. “We still have some contests left but if Kentucky and Oregon go as we hope, then we think we will have a majority of pledged delegates at that point and that’s a pretty significant mark, that means that after contests in every state, or almost every state and the territories, that we have received a majority of the delegates that are assigned by voters.”

He declined to declare victory.

“It doesn’t mean we’ve declared victory because I won’t be the nominee until we have a combination of both pledged delegates and super delegates to hit the mark,” said Obama. “What it does mean is the voters have given us a majority of delegates. Obviously that’s what this primary and caucus process is all about.”

During the meeting with seniors, Obama was asked why McCain seems to have avoided the enormous press scrutiny the Democrats have gotten.

Obama said McCain has benefited from a Republican nomination process that ended early while the Democratic race continues. He said the attention both candidates receive will grow more intense as the race settles into an Obama-McCain contest.

“It’s very understandable that the press has focused on myself and Senator Clinton because it’s been a pretty exciting race,” Obama said. “The fact is that the press will submit him to the same scrutiny they are giving to me.”

“People will lift the hood and kick the tires with John McCain, just like they do with me,” he said. http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/19/obama-draws-record-80000-to-oregon-rally-attacks-mccain/raveled Sunday with his wife, Michelle.

which is all but over!

Will they find a Maverick?



Or a '78 Pacer Wagon?

I had one. Mind-numbingly terrible car. Unbelievably bad even new.

Let's tie Mc Cain's Maverick label to that hideous car.

Good one, Truth2Tell!:beer:

I love the analogy.

He's doing it just right...

Taking the fight directly to McCain and Bush as well...

He's on his way!

I hope someone doesn't get hurt in the crush one of these days.

I seriously think I walked 4 miles to see the rally today only to never actually reach a security checkpoint. But I digress.

There was no "crush". The people at this rally were smiling and friendly and helpful. I had my two young sons with me and the stranger in front of us saved our place in the 2 mile plus line so that I could take them to Starbucks to use the bathroom. By the time we reached the waterfront The boys were calling our new friend by his first name and holding hs hands as we crossed the street. He was no oddity either. That was the mood. There were no negative statements directed at the line or the heat or anything else. The only real feeling that I got other than the electric excitement was one of shock at the sheer volume of people and the amazing nature of their civility.

This was a peaceful, civil show of support for an exciting phenomenon. Not the candidate (OK so a little bit the candidate), mind you, but the movement he leads, which we are now participants in. I've never seen anything like this.

Look at that crowd. How many Presidential candidates can pull that kind of gathering? McCain?

Of course, it was bingo night and they had an all you could eat fish fry, but there had to be DOZENS of people there.

That was funny:)

and Bill only spoke to 200 to 300 folks.
I didn't bother to get off the couch.


GObama

Bill is losing his legacy over this damn campaign.

ITS OVER. There is so much good they could be doing in the world. GIVE IT UP>

son saw the paper and said "mom how come we didn't go see him?" I felt kind-of bad because of course he is a past president. We did see Obama in Pendleton last night and we all got to shake his hand. Full house of 3,000 people. Very intimate compared to the one we went to in portland two months ago. He didn't know anything about Hanford (which is actually in Washington but close by) and he said that honestly. But he said "you can bet by the time my plane lands in Montana that I will know all about it". Wow such honesty-directness-realness. He started out looking at the crowd and said "They told me that there wasn't supposed to be that many democrats out here in Eastern Oregon!".

At the time, it had just under 450 viewings on YouTube -- now it's over 200,000! The Same Day!

You're right - he's going down.

That should cripple McSame good if it gets out.

We represented, didn't we?

Time to replant that patch of grass, most likely.

:wow:

Just wow. I don't know what else to say. That's the most amazing crowd I've ever seen for a political rally.

it is twice as large as the John Kerry rally I attended in '04 at the same location. I believe that was the largest Kerry rally of his campaign.

But yeah good luck seeing Hillary with a rally like this.

Rp

that's fantastic! Hope you were there.

They are both moving and inspiring.

It also to me at least destroys the talking point that Kerry couldn't connect with voters and that he lost that election.

You never saw in either 2000 or 2004 a crowd even approaching a quarter of that size for Bush.

Rp

I used to live out that way. I know exactly where this happened. Unbelieveable. If the Dems don't nominate this guy, they don't deserve to win anything ever again.

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Looks like Obama's the one bringing them out.

I just LOVE these pictures. I hope the republi-CONS are looking at them, and sweating bigtime!

Congratulations on being young and so aware!

:yourock:

stopped and talked to some nice folks manning an Obama booth on Venice Beach boardwalk today. A LOT of activity there....

hold his meetings on CSPAN instead of behind closed doors. That would truly be open government. It would be wonderful to have everything on the record like that.

Got there 3 hours before gates opened, with about 4 blocks of line ahead of me. The Decemberists opened for him. ABC just reported on my teevee that there were 75,000 people. It felt like it. Hung out with a group of Canadians who took the 6hr trip to see him.

How are the McCain turn outs been?...lol

But it looks as if you got a good spot close to the stage.

Good pictures.

K&R

wildtown united

For McCain, a big woe on the waterfront.

Very damned impressive turnout in Portland.

I'd be scared stiff, if I were him. With Obama at the top of the ticket, I think we'll sweep out the old, and sweep in the new (hopefully).

Gordon's been put on notice already and the turn-out today in Portland for the top of the ticket could spell doom for the poor dear.

O yes I love it.


:thumbsup: :hi: :dem: :dem: :dem:

kinda teary here, seeing this people actually stoked about politics. :patriot:

They only succeed when the only ones stoked are their core base that are easily manipulated by wedge issues. If this enthusiasm can be sustained, the GOP meets a tsunami in November.

It is not easy to maintain this energy for 6 months. However, we can bet Bush will continue to be a dumbass and will keep reminding the public why we must do this.

isn't it?

You're working this thread with your naysaying like there's no tomorrow.

Sounds like a wise choice. I have only taken one of my ignores off the list. The other 90 seem to offer nothing of value to this forum and I doubt this will change once Clinton is officially out of the race.

Even the 50 or so who showed up to support the war in Washington last year. (chuckle chuckle):rofl:

:rofl:

Poor McCain!

thats about all I can say. Hope they all got their ballots in.

rv, whose granny and grandpa lived there for years in Portland.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

His only comments about Hillary were very kind and the crowd was very respectful (hardly any booing at all). You could hear those Clinton supporters far away outside the gates cheer when he brought her up. Too bad she could never get a crowd like this.

she could get 1000 reporters though.

His first term will reverse all these years of wrong. GOBAMA!

it'll take until his second term to reverse all these years of wrong.

GOBAMA!!!!

People shouldn't expect the government to magically fix all of their problems overnight. Bush has spent 8 years creating a huge mess that won't be fixed overnight.

:thumbsup:

"I can feel it coming in the air this Fall, Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment, all my life, Oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air this Fall, Oh Lord, Oh Lord"

:silly:

:hi:

to the USA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5g8CA5ltR8

:bounce::hi::bounce:

for the link.....it was great!

By November the voters will think they're the same person.

Big wind comin' through :thumbsup:

but it seems that it would make sense to work Cheney into that list of synonyms. After all, CHeney is the only politician more despised than Bush, and he has been at the center of all of this.

I don't know if the average person knows who Rove is, but they all know Cheney.

Drudge and Huffington Post both linked to the story on the Portland rally...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/18/record_obama_crowd_the_size_of.html

The message board is all a-flitter. Makes GD : P look like the idle chatterings at a sewing circle. Throw in your 2 bits.

That says it all!

pnorman

Time for WaPo to go.

Of all the present candidates with the running chance now, he is the only one that doesn't insult my intelligence, I trust we have a better future.

You made me spit tea all over my monitor!!!

White people that read DU?

:hide:

I keed, Appalachia. I keed.

There were mass crowds when Kerry was here, I knew it would be even worse (better!) today. :)

:beer:

They showed a few seconds of the crowd from an aerial view. It was huge.

See? I knew I could resist.

We're so lucky to be part of something so huge and wonderful.

I'm sure they'll have to put up a few extra chairs for the inaguration in January.

My man. Gobama.:dem:

:headbang: :yourock:

That's just crazy!

They're so far off their rockers, so far from anything reality-based, that they wasted no time in comparing it to the Nuremberg rallies.

(Yes, they ARE that screwed up.)

I kindly corrected her on the spelling.

did the same damn thing. hmm
i am blown away by this - obama's gonna win.

and we'll steer it right into Nuremburg Trials for the war criminals of the bush administration and the republic-hang party.

and he is amazed too. We are in our 50's and have never seen anything like this.

and pay back, let's hope, is a bitching mo' fo'

Plus we're helped by the fact that McCain still hasn't realize how much of a drag Bush will be to his campaign. He should have rejected and denounced the President a long time ago.

All his hard work is paying off.

More to come too.

Good for him.

Better for us!

Ouch.

Or were there more?

This is 75,000.

Back when I covered the 2005 anti-war march in WAshington D.C., the media was estimating anywhere from tens of thousands to 100,000 people. in fact there were closer to half a million people present, filling 16 square blocks as they marched over a five hour period.

Anti-war events are consistently under-estimated by the corporate-owned media, to the point that it must be intentional.

same age as you I suppose. I've seen the lies before about how many were supposed to be at various rallies, etc.

I strongly suspect there were likely well over 3X that amount in Portland today.

However, a GREAT day for Sen. Obama and America!

OBAMA '08

:dem:

in Georgia (I think) compared McCain to Jesus. Let's just say that the analogy fell flat. :rofl:

His wife, Cindy, does look "posessed". Whatever you do, don't look directly into her eyes!

She's almost as bad as he is! The icy cold stare, the Leona Helmsley wealth attitude. Yuck. She creeps me out, big time.

Despite this rally, Obama seems to be losing ground in Oregon. He leads Clinton by just 4% now:

http://thepage.time.com/2008/05/19/new-oregon-kentucky-numbers/

;-)

Is this some sort of all-time record??

As in "It goes without saying that Obama will do well among the earthy folks there."

Sounds like code for "dirty hippies who don't count." :eyes:

is increasingly popular, among people who discover they live on it.

:thumbsup:

:eyes: What a tool.

Tribe of the mud-bathing clod-hut dwellers.

Stupid me!

JFK drew 1/2 million in Galway, Ireland when he was president. As for the USA, I don't know the answer.

:kick:

people are just starting to get to know him

it's over for him. West Virginia was a blowout for Hillary!

Even if he lost Oregon, he will still be the nominee. Is Hillary's goal to win this primary season or to just keep her campaign afloat?

...check. Yep, you fit the profile....

Does that mean if he loses 'Oregan' he can't do any Italian cooking?

Five years and two months ago, I was in that very spot along w/30,000 thousand other people and I thought that was a huge crowd. The crowd today had to have been three times that size.

This state is going all of the way for OBAMA!

I hope you find a way to accept what is happening so you can be part of it.

"I make this look good!"

:wow: :toast:

k&r

GoBama GoBama!!

...I estimate several thousand from the aerial photo.

:shrug:

that probably is not too well known outside the Pacific NW. They have a local following, but they aren't exactly a household name.

I have to ask - are you insane? How can you possibly believe that at this point, Hillary Clinton has the tiniest chance?

And I don't know why you think 75,000 people came to Portland to see a free concert. They were here for Barack Obama - sorry to burst your bubble, but only an idiot would insist that he will not be the nominee.

Especially in the same city. There'd be plenty of parking around the McCain site and the helicopter photos would be hilarious.

kicking, screaming, Gucci little piggies

Well I came across a child of God, he was walking along the road
and I asked him tell where are you going, this he told me:
Well, I’m going down to Yasgur's farm, going to join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land, set my soul free.
We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
and we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Well, then can I walk beside you? I have come to lose the smog.
And I feel like I'm a cog in something turning.
And maybe it's the time of year, yes, and maybe it's the time of man.
And I don't know who I am but life is for learning.
We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
and we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong,
and everywhere there was song and celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bombers jet planes riding shotgun in the sky,
turning into butterflies above our nation.

We are stardust, we are golden, we are caught in the devil’s bargain,
and we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

I Was in Eugene, visiting my stepdad at Sacred Heart Hospital on Saturday morning
Obama stopped by there, and was 2doors down from my stepdads room, and we missed him, I was this close to
meeting President Obama.........:woohoo:

:hi:

and the hateful packing.

Wow, look at all those white working-class people he's just not connecting with.....

biggest rally in primary season EVER.

Don't let this fool you though, I've canvassed out in Oregon before, Portland & Eugene are very different from the rest of the state (politically).

outside of Portland and the Valley, and you've got to be a Dem to vote that ballot in the primary. That being said, he drew a good crowd, as well, in Repuglick'n stronghold Roseburg on Saturday. I really don't expect the Dem's in the hinterland to be much different than those in the urban areas. It looks like Oregon goes to Obama with both feet from where I'm standing. He could get 75% of the vote.

Diebold style-though it looks unlikely he would be able to pull it off. Not this time!!