Obamarama 8: Chet and Followup

Obamarama 8: Chet and Followup

It's a LOT later now. My souvenir for the night is a CREDENTIALED PRESS ONLY sign that I stole from the media riser. Christmas gift to self: long life laptop battery.

When I was interrupted, Obama was wrapping up Immediate silence as he said the word "Iraq" - everyone wants an answer. But he used the "any of us here would take up arms" line again that excludes the notion of patriotic pacifism. SOme folks had improvised peace signs on paper plates.

Big closing statement: "The American people want their decency reflected in their government - that's why we're seeing this change." He does the victory tableau with Chet and Culver takes over. A few folks drift off, but not very many. He kept it relatively short, gave Mari a smooch, and intro'd the family without having them on stage - John Culver was there but we didn't see him.

Chet pledges a minimum wage hike in his first 100 days. The issue bullet points get big cheers with choice getting as big a reaction as Obama did. The band ends with BTO's You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet which must be on the approved list now - and the crush to meet Obama happens.

Neighbor Sean met him on the way in and told Obama to "kick some ass" - which of course explains everything. My daughter has inherited the political bug from me and the push through the crowd skills from her mother. With a big assist from Tom Harkin, she got to meet Barack Obama, who she pronounced reeealy cute. Hardly a unique observation, but very much in character.

Thanks for the massive traffic, all. I've had several inquiries about election night blogging and I'm afraid I'll miss out on that due to the nature of my work...