Yes We Can!

I made it to the Obama rally today! We waited in a line for over 2 hours that stretched from Portland State University all the way to Waterfront Park. I don't think my photos truly capture the immense amount of people, but I did my best. The latest estimates are that 75,000 people attended, not only the biggest crowd yet for Obama, but also the biggest crowd rallying for any politician campaigning to date. How's that for inspiration?
Fortunately, it had cooled off a bit today: down to 86 degrees or so, whereas it was around 100 yesterday. Many streets were blocked off for the procession of rally-goers; others were filled with satellite vans from various TV stations. Once we got in, volunteers were handing out cups of water and spraying the crowd down with squirt bottles to prevent heat stroke. It was pretty entertaining. The rally was truly a thrill. Obama was exciting and motivating to listen to; it made me very excited to be on the path to becoming a lawyer. Hopefully, someday I will be able to make a difference and inspire people at least a tiny fraction of the amount he did today. I couldn't really see him from where we were standing: he was more like a tiny animated figure in a white shirt behind a tree. But it was him! And I was there! And it was history in the making.
So here are some photos and videos I took:
















The point of the videos below is not what you see, because really, there's nothing to see but the crowd (I was walking while the recorder was running, so it might make you nauseous), but rather what to hear: what you're listening to are clips of Obama's speech, just as I heard it.


Leaving it to the professionals, here's Obama's speech to Portland, courtesy of KGW.com:
http://www.kgw.com/video/index.html?nvid=246496&shu=1

Oh, yeah, and I got to shake hands with David Wu while I was waiting in line. I had already voted for him, and told him so. He said thank you.
An all-around great day!