My son (age 8) nearly got crushed at today's Obama rally. But he's okay with it!

Seriously. We were lucky enough to get tickets from my husband's union (Oregon AFSCME, which unlike all but Illinois AFSCME, endorsed Barack), and we were only about 30 feet away from the dais, about five people back. We are just to the left of the black platform in this photo:

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My son's the one with the curly hair. ;)

It was an absolutely incredible afternoon. The weather was unseasonally hot and sunny (we usually don't get days like this until late June), and when Barack came out my son went wild. He had a great seat on his dad's shoulders.

Barack spoke for about a half hour, focusing most of his talk on McCain, and how McCain's vision for America is not the vision shared by most of us, and was exceedingly courteous when it came time to talk about Hillary's campaign. I was proud for my son to see our future president, a man who has run with integrity and a vision of what our country can and should be.

Here is the not so great part. As he came down from the dais to work the line, the crowd began to push forward. It was like being an a Who concert in the nineteen eighties. My son was on the ground at that point and eager to shake hands, but he quickly lost grip of my hand and was sucked forward. I had to push and push to grab ahold of him again, and then (like salmon struggling against the current) we forced our way back. Happily, he wasn't traumatized by it. He wishes he could have actually shaken our next president's hand.

I was at Waterfront park four years ago to see Kerry. He also filled the park, but it was nothing like this. I know this day will stay in my son's memory for a lifetime. I clearly remember the day my parents took me to see Carter. I was nine, it was a hot day, and I think it helped me to become a democrat.

GOBAMA!

:)

and they carry him around on his back? Major mosh pit action there.

Although there was one woman who screamed out "Obama! I love you!!!!" and the secret service agents, in unison, started moving her way. I've never seen TSA at a rally before, either.

Alright, you have to admit, AP photographer Alex Brandon's shot of 8-month-old Natalie Pankratz-Osborn surfing across the mob at the Barack Obama rally in Missoula, Montana today is pretty awesome. As an aficionado of presidential imagemaking and as a dad, it's thrilling, but for two different reasons: one, it's a great shot. I love all the other cameras in the crowd focusing on the baby as much as they do on Obama. As a dad, though, my first thought was that it looked a little precarious. But since I know something about how such images come together, I wanted to hear what the experience was like from the dad's perspective.

So I emailed him. His name's Scott Pankratz, and he and his wife are conservationists and educators. I've always thought I knew why politicians want to kiss babies, but until now, I've never heard a more inspiring explanation of why a parent would hand their baby to a politician:

DT: Wow, what is going on in that photo?? It looks like you're about four people back from the ropeline. Is that how it felt at the time? What was going on before and after the shot?
SP: Yes, I'm in the blue fleece. I'm 6'5" and was about 4 people back. I was holding Natalie up and Barack noticed and made a little motion towards me. The crowd parted just enough for me to make the hand-off. Since I'm tall and have long arms, I could reach all the way and see her the whole time. I've attached a picture with a little red arrow to show you where we were watching the speech from.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://daddytypes.com/2008/04/05/dtqa_scott_pankratz_the_dad_who_crowdsurfed_his_daughter_to_obama.php&h=221&w=410&sz=33&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=eMykRyavHp3luM:&tbnh=67&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbaby%2Bcrowd%2Bsurfs%2Bobama%2Brally%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4RNWN_enUS252US252%26sa%3DN

:rofl:

And no need to point him out, he looks just like you! :7

so completely fired up about our country and its future. Great things are in store for us. There were so many younger people there, who are finally engaged. It was interesting to hear them talking about how tired they were of Bush, how much of their life has been under a president who is an embarassment, and how they were proud to be part of making positive change a reality. My son is still on cloud nine from the experience. A democrat for life, I hope!

Here's a great interview that Barack gave to a blogger today: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x134227

Would you care to share where you got it?

:)

It's nice to listen to someone who speaks the truth. One of the comments he made at today's rally was that Americans are tired of poll-driven politics and politicians who make every decision via triangulation. I honestly believe he is of a different breed. He's a JFK or FDR, not a Bush or Clinton, cut from a completely different cloth than any recent politician.

This makes me truly sad to hear.

We are on the eve of an historic, very happy occassion.

:rofl:

Seriously, I'm glad he's okay.

I waved at JFK when I was 8 years old and I've never forgotten it! He'll have a memory for a lifetime!

I'm glad my son is okay, too. For a very brief interval I was terrified. Then my mother bear tendencies kicked in.

that's my shirt! I was wearing a white hat, see?!

Unbelieveable...what a turnout.

I've always had a thing for curly hair;)


My 9yo would give his right arm to see Obama in person. I'm sure your son will remember this all his life. Sounds like a great day for the whole family!

but it was totally worth it.

Works great for sunburn- really takes the sting out and prevents peeling too:)

Glad you all had such a wonderful day... I'm hoping we might get to see him later in the campaign!

What a memory he can hold in his heart forever. :hug:

your son got to go and he's okay after getting almost mobbed! Huge crowd!

Weird you mention The Who in the '80's 'cause I looked back(I was way up front, too) at the surging mob in San Diego and thought "I could die here"..and owe it to the Marines, who surrounded me at that moment, for saving me.

Thanks for the pic and the great description of your time at Obama's Rally.

What a great day for your family!
Thank you for sharing this with your son.

I am so excited by seeing all the fantastic photos posted today!
..So proud of the wonderful people of Oregon !!!

Frankly I hate crowds & I'm sure parking woulda been a major hazard.
When I watched the coverage I was soooo glad I didn't attempt it.
We had a fine time by our kiddie pool & had a BBQ. Watched the coverage live.

Glad Y'all are Ok & your son will have memories that will make up for the hassle I hope...

It would have been impossible to find parking downtown, and the crowd was unbelievable. I'm guessing local restaurants had a very good day-- we had to walk for a mile to find someplace to get a cool drink afterward. It was definitely worth it, though.

and walked across the Hawthorne Bridge. My destination WAS the Hawthorne bridge, but they taped it off for security. Ended up on a side street across from Waterfront Park and got to see all of the campaign busses roll in with the police motorcade. Heard a little bit of his speech. Just wanted to be near.

I was at the '04 Kerry rally with 30,000 -- perhaps the largest of the entire 2004 campaign. 70,000 - 75,000 is simply incomprehensible.

I live about 100 miles north, I could of hopped on I-5 and driven down there. Looking at that crowd, I both wish I had and am glad I didn't. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

Your son will remember this all of his life...

I was about 10 and JFK came to a fundraiser or something in our town after being elected. It was a cold winter night but my mom took me with her down to the faregrounds where he was. All we could do is look in the window, but almost 50 years later (gawk!!!) I still remember, it had an impression on me, just seeing the president.

How fabulous for your family!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6022814
the poster must have been right near you and you may be able to get shots of yourself watching the speech

different angle tho
DU was all around you lol
check some of the rally threads and im sure you will find more pics
i saw some nice ones on a frenchiecat post

I was nearly crushed years ago, waiting to get into a concert in New Orleans. We were standing next to a brick wall outside the concert hall and waiting for the gates to open. Only one gate opened, the crowd rushed forward and pinned me against the wall. It literally tore my blouse off and as you can imagine, ruined my concert experience. I never have liked being in large crowds since then.

I was worried that my son would freak out over losing my hand, because I am not one for crowds myself, and he's an awful lot like me. But he was okay, and so psyched about seeing our next president!

Glad for your son too! :hi: