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The flavor of what it's all about, from Philadelphia Daily News reporter/blogger Will Bunch:
You would have thought for a minute that Bud Selig -- on some bizarre whim -- had announced that he wanted to wrap up the World Series right into the very worst of Mother Nature's Octoberfest here in the Philadelphia area, and to prove his arbitrary nature had also decided to do so not at Citizens Bank Park but on a mud-soaked college quad 20 minutes away. It would be hard to imagine what else -- besides a Phillies world championship -- could draw so many people on a day when rain poured down in chilly sheets, as wind whipped off the Delaware River and the thermometer struggled to stay above 40.
Nobody had to be there on an ungodly day -- but here they were, 9,000 maniacs, lined up around the entire south side of the Widener University campus in Chester, rounding a corner with no end in site, all awaiting admission to a mud-soaked field with no shelter from the elements, all to hear a 25-minute speech by the Democrat who wants to be the next president of the United States. As the growing, mostly young throng sunk into mud that was more than ankle deep in spots, it was a little like Woodstock without the three days of music or the brown acid.
Barackstock. and For a political junkie. the color of such an unusual event outweighed the words -- the eerie glow of the TV lights and the swirl of tiny leaves in their hot glow, as Obama spoke in a black windbreaker and jeans. occasionally competing with howling wind and what sounded like far-off thunder. Unintentionally, perhaps, the energy of the event was a powerful contrast with the news that John McCain and Sarah Palin had canceled an event just an hour away in Quakertown because of bad weather.
The real stars were the people, and their determination of these 9,000 to be there on such a raw and miserable day, to be a part of something bigger than themselves. ...
Some writers have called the enthusiasm for Obama a cult (like ABC's Jake Tapper, who was covering the rally) -- and the 9,000 fanatics may well find come next winter that the subject of their enthusiasm is just another politician who can't deliver all the change he has promised, especially in the face of an economic downturn that is more soaking than the rains over Delaware County.
Maybe so, but in an unforgettable October here in Philadelphia, the fact that thousands of people want so desperately to be a part of something that they think might change this country, regardless of how Obama the man turns out, is, in and of itself, something to be hopeful about, especially on a such a gray and bitter morning. Read it all here.
Kill thy neighbor?
By Joel Wendland
The 2008 presidential has officially sunk to a new low. In addition to widely reported incidents of racist attacks, a new e-mail circulated by a leading anti-choice activist in Kansas, however, has turned such threats and smears in a dangerously new direction.
With the subject line "Response to ANY Christian who is Voting for Obama," Mark S. Gietzen, a top Kansas GOP activist and the head of the Kansas Coalition for Life, based in Wichita, began circulating an e-mail message this week accusing supporters of Barack Obama of "enabling" the killing of millions.
According to Gietzen's e-mail, a vote for Obama, who supports the right of a woman to choose when to be pregnant, is "much the same as someone aiding a person who is planning to do a school shooting."
"A person doing a school shooting will likely only kill less than 1,000 persons, whereas a vote for Obama will enable him enact policies that will kill millions every year, and for years to come!" Gietzen's e-mail read.
The inflammatory e-mail further asks recipients to forward the e-mail to others "to oppose the blatant evil that an Obama presidency would bring upon our country."
The addition of two verses from the biblical book of Ezekiel at the end of the e-mail turned the message in a sinister direction. According to the verses, a "wicked man" – presumably a reference to Obama and/or his supporters – who refuses to turn "from his evil [or] from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin."
While neither the addition of the verses in the e-mail nor the commentary preceding it explicitly threaten Obama or his supporters, the e-mail could provide someone with violent tendencies or mental instability the justification to do so. The verses seem to indicate that God wants evil people to die or to be killed. What higher authority than the "word of God" could possibly exist?
Responding to an e-mail asking for a clarification of whether he thought some of the recipients of the e-mail might use the verses as a justification for violence toward or harassment of Obama supporters, Gietzen wrote, "I don't think so." He added an abstract theological argument about spiritual death leading to physical death for which Obama supporters, presumably, would only have themselves to blame.
Gietzen appeared to believe that all of the recipients of the e-mail would understand the complexities of his view of the theology behind the verses, rather than interpret the verses literally.
Gietzen's Kansas Coalition for Life is well-known for harassing women seeking abortion services or family planning counseling, as well as doctors and health care providers who assist them.
‘Just your average Joe’
Joe Biden pays visit to the Ohio State University-Newark
By Jonny Lippincott
NEWARK, Ohio—Democratic vice- presidential candidate Joe Biden paid a visit to this working class town Oct. 15. Biden delivered a speech to a packed house at the Ohio State University and Central Ohio Technical College Adena Hall.
Newark, Ohio is a small community located about 40 miles east of Columbus. The town has been suffering economic hardships from foreclosed homes, loss of small businesses to layoffs from major manufacturers such as Owens Corning, Diebold and Holophane lighting solutions. Newark has also experienced massive job outsourcing due to jobs being pushed out of town and forcing many residence to commute to major cities for employment.
Thus, a visit from the self proclaimed "poorest senator" seemed like a ray of hope to a near dying community. Among the people attending the rally were everyone from the old to the young and many representatives of the working class including steelworkers, fire and policemen, medical workers, small business owners and so forth. It was with out a doubt that the majority of the crowd was young people thirsty for change from the direction our country is headed in.
The overall atmosphere of the event seemed more like a rock concert or a major sporting event then a political rally. To start things off, Ohio State Treasurer and Attorney General candidate Richard Cordray and Gov. Ted Strickland got the crowd fired up talking about how important of a role the state of Ohio will play in this most important presidential election.
When Biden began his speech, he began talking about his hometown in Delaware and the similarities to Newark. He said, "The American people feel it all over, people are sitting at their kitchen tables and having a conversation as ordinary and as profound as 'Will we have a job next month?'"
Biden also touched on the fact that America's progress will not be measured by the stock market or by the salaries of big business CEOs but by parents’ ability to tell their children everything will be fine in the end.
It seemed the people of Newark felt relieved when the labor issues of the times were mentioned and that someone is willing to solve the problem instead of cower from the true war being waged against the American people, the war of job loss, outsourcing, foreclosure, predatory lending, and the decline of small business.
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