Monday, February 18, 2008
Obama Warms Cold Wisconsin Crowd
Beloit, Wisconsin)
At 9 p.m., it was 5 degrees in Beloit, Wisconsin. With a stiff prairie wind, that made the "wind chill" here 20 degrees BELOW zero. Having grown up in Wisconsin I should be used to this, but after nine years in Florida, and another nine in California, I just plain forget.
My fingers froze tonight for the first time in 24 years and I was wearing gloves!
The Beloit Memorial High School Pep Band kept the crowd warm for an hour! They are recent State Champs, and I am not surprised. GREAT band! And we needed it! Good thing its not half time at a football game. We are inside at the "Flood Arena" at Beloit College. My hope is the arena was named after some college donor named Flood, and NOT after a natural disaster. We don't need that kind of karma right now. Bbbbbbbbrrrrr!
At 9:43 p.m., Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) arrived on stage. The arena thawed!
While some polls showed a tight race in Wisconsin, Obama never mentioned his opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) by name, until nearly the end of the rally. He didn't have to. When he said, "I am not running because of what I think is owed to me!" the crowd cheered and knew to whom he was referring.
The crowd was easily 3,000, dwarfing the 300 who showed up for Chelsea Clinton this afternoon, on the very same campus. Granted, one is a candidate; one is a candidate's daughter. But still, it was pretty stark.
Yet I am left to wonder the real differences on the issues. Today both the Obama and Clinton campaigns we're cheered the loudest when they spoke of the war ending; they both spoke of health care for all Americans but letting people who like their current insurance keep it; and they spoke of annual college tuition tax credits ($3,500 from Clinton; $4,000 for Obama). Both spoke of public service jobs to pay back student loans.
The agendas are nearly identical. It was like comparing Pepsi and Coke. But in the end, after all these weeks of watching both, the differences are hard to discern. Likability may turn out the most crucial issue. More people seem to like him, than her. We'll see what the polls say Tuesday!
One difference may matter. "This was an unwise war. I opposed it," Obama said to the loudest cheers of the night. Sen. Clinton supported it initially, but now opposes it. Obama may have the edge, even though he was not in the Senate, when the original vote was taken.
"I will not just meet with our friends. I will meet with our enemies," Obama said to loud cheers, but Chelsea Clinton pledged that on behalf of her mother today too.
Of course the more stark comparison will come when one of these candidates finally faces off against John McCain (R-AZ). But it's unlikely that question will be resolved this Tuesday.
Finally Obama addressed the recent criticism from Hillary Clinton, that his inspirational message was not a public policy road map.
"She is right that 'speeches don't put food on the table,' but for the past 20 years I've worked at it." When he finally mentioned Sen. Clinton by name, there was a smattering of boos.
"Sometime a speech can help people find what they have in common with each other," he said, "I don't apologize for inspiring people!" The crowd cheered wildly! Then he talked about a November opponent.
"I respect John McCain for his service to this country. He's a genuine American hero," Obama said, " But he has defended George W. Bush and he wants to continue Bush's economic policy. I want to have a debate with John McCain. He can debate the politics of the past, because I want to debate the politics of the future," the Illinois Senator said. The crowd roared again.
"I talk about hope a lot, because the odds of me standing here are low." Obama spoke for 40 minutes, much longer than his normal stump speech.
Hope: "That is how this nation was founded," said Obama, "that's how the greatest nation defeated Hitler and lifted us out of the Great Depression. That's what hope is." 
The crowd roared one final time.
The crowd roared one final time.By this time tomorrow night, we'll know if Obama's hope paid off in Wisconsin.
I'll be on at 7:45 with Ross McGowan on KTVU's "Mornings on 2!"
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