I’ve seen Elvis Presley perform. I have seen Paul McCartney a couple of times along with Aerosmith, John Mellencamp and many others.
But I’ve NEVER seen a political speech before that FELT like a rock concert - until Friday night. Barack Obama rocked Independence Park in Philadelphia. Tens of thousands of people turned out and waited, and waited and waited on the candidate who didn’t disappoint. See a full photo album from the rally here.
Obama gave largely his standard stump speech but opened with appropriate mention of the founding fathers who worked just a short distance from where he was speaking to craft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
He hammered Hillary Clinton harder than I had seen in recent clips – to the approving roar of the masses.
But for me one of the most amazing things wasn’t the speech, the huge crowd, or the amazing setting for this political rally. What I saw afterwards was astounding!
Thousands of people headed south from the historic area, of this most-historic city, to the city’s center. And they simply took over Market Street which leads to Philly’s famous city hall.
Teenagers, older women and everyone in between halted traffic and had something of an Obama march. They chanted “O-BA-MA” or “Yes We Can.” It was joyous – regardless of your politics. And when was joy and politics last used in the same sentence?
I’ve heard pundits for many months now say Obama’s campaign is more of a “movement” and Friday night that became much easier to understand!
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