On the eve of Super “Tsunami” Tuesday, more than a dozen Choate students flocked to Hartford’s XL Center to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama address a crowd of 17,000 in one of his final “Stand for Change” rallies before the polls opened the next morning. Heading the pack as the faculty adviser for the trip was Mr. Zachary Goodyear, long time politics teacher at Choate, seven of whose Effecting Political Change students were among the Choate contingent.
“Wow!” Senator Obama said after taking the microphone for the first time. “Look at all of you. What a magnificent crowd.” The crowd was composed of people from all walks of life—black and white, rich and poor, young and old. The one thing that the audience members had in common, however, was their excitement and energy. At around 5:20 p.m., just before the start of the rally, people jumped out of their seats and threw up their arms to do “the wave”.
In an atmosphere resembling a rock concert more than a political rally, Senator Obama first explained the basis for his candidacy: “As I talk with the American people, they’re desperate for change. … I submit that the American people desperately want something new, that they are hungry for something different.”
Rally attendee and avid Obama supporter Alex Hillbrand ’08 observed, “There was a positive vibe in the air. People were excited and were looking to be inspired. They were looking forward to someone who can get them excited and get their hearts pumping about politics, which is for many Americans something that doesn’t happen very much.”
In anticipation of the arena quickly reaching its maximum capacity, people began arriving at 1 p.m., three and a half hours before the planned 5:30 p.m. commencement. At least 100 people were refused entry into the event because the arena reached its carrying capacity of about 17,000.
The rally began promptly at 5:30 p.m. with the arrival of U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro, John Larson, and Christopher Murphy, all of whom had endorsed Obama. Pre-rally rumors floated that Connecticut’s senior senator, Christopher Dodd, a presidential candidate himself until shortly after the Iowa caucuses, would also endorse Senator Obama. Senator Dodd has remained neutral in the Obama-Clinton face-off.
“Feel the moment! You are part of history. …This is something you will remember all of your life,” Larson announced to the crowd as the first speaker of the evening.
After all three U.S. Representatives addressed the crowd, Caroline Kennedy and her uncle Sen. Edward Kennedy arrived on stage. Only a week before the rally, Caroline Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama by publishing an op-ed in the New York Times titled “A President Like My Father.”
Caroline Kennedy rose to the podium and compared Obama to her father, President John F. Kennedy. She said, “JFK made us believe…that we can do great things.” She continued, “Barack Obama will be that kind of president.” Her Uncle Teddy, the man that Obama called the “master of the Senate,” roused the crowd.
He said, “Tonight, here in Connecticut, I ask each and every one of you to do for Barack Obama what you did for John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. Will you do that?”
Hillbrand remarked, “Ted Kennedy really got people up in arms and just about jumped and yelled for ten minutes there. I was excited listening to Ted just as I was listening to Barack Obama on his website.”
Senator Obama finally rose to speak at around 6 p.m. to a much-energized audience. In his 48 minute speech, Senator Obama defended his campaign by addressing his critics and briefly outlining his policies—specifically, his plans for altering healthcare coverage, withdrawing from Iraq, and establishing a more equitable distribution of tax cuts.
“They say Obama’s not realistic enough. He talks about hope too much,” Obama exclaimed. “I talk about hope out of necessity. …My father left when I was just two years old. Raised by a single mother and my grandparents, I wasn’t born into wealth or fame. All I had was love, an education and some hope.”
Although Senator Obama did not mention by name his chief rival Hillary Clinton, he implicitly criticized her on numerous occasions.
Denouncing Clinton’s initial support of the Iraq war, Obama said, “When I’m the nominee, John McCain won’t be able to say, ‘You supported the war just like I did,’ because I didn’t support the war in Iraq.”
Known for his charm, Obama excited the Connecticut crowd. Hillbrand observed, “Obama’s speech was very effective. It roused 17,000 CT residents. Just about everyone got to their feet and cheered and basically let out their support for all of the ideas that he put for all of the changes to the system that he seems to represent. He definitely did a good job in trying to mobilize these people to vote and also to spread the word. There is no doubt that his charisma is one of his strongest suits in terms of his candidacy for the oval office.”
Although he enlivened the audience, Obama neglected to mention many programmatic details.
Hillbrand said, “I felt as though I needed more details. His speech threw around a lot of lofty goals and presented excellent propositions as far as policy and programs are concerned. However he omitted many of the details. As in any speech that is intended to rile the crowd a lot of the boring details were left out, details that people like Mr. Goodyear and I would probably want to hear.”
At one point, about half way through his speech, Senator Obama stopped to ask for EMT support and water for a woman who had apparently fainted in the standee section directly in front of the stage. Michael Selberg ’08 who attended the rally found this swift action very revealing of Obama’s character. He said, “Evidently, Obama pays attention to what is going on around him, to his constituents. He was watching to see how people were reacting to his speech. He was a very powerful speaker and evidently he overwhelmed one person.”
To respond to criticism regarding his ability to win a presidential election against a Republican candidate, Obama recited one of his favorite lines. He said, “I try to explain to people. I may be skinny, but I’m tough. I’m from Chicago and we know how to play politics.”
Although he may be tough, Obama has set forth a very ambitious list of goals. Hillbrand realized, “After the rally, my understanding grew to encompass the fact that what Obama stands for is an extraordinarily difficult fight. He must realize that all of the very respectable things that he promotes will be very difficult to accomplish. Although my support for him has not waned one bit, it is important for us to realize that even if he can achieve a fraction of we will see him as a success. [The rally] thus truly brought me down to earth.”
The tough guy’s ambition has paid off thus far, as he proved his might after the Super Tuesday primaries. He carried 14 of the 22 contested states and remained within striking distance of Senator Clinton, trailing by fewer than 100 delegates. That evening, he carried Connecticut, 51% to 47%.
Neck-in-neck with Clinton, Obama may have to take his campaign all the way to the Democratic convention. Hillbrand said, “I’m willing to give a lot of tenacity and a little bit of hope for Obama in ’08.” But will people across America do the same?
Other students on the Super Tuesday trip included Amanda Ratner ’08, Caitlin Condon ’08, Christina Adelakun ’09, Jake Didden ’08, Omid Nasser-Bigdeli ’08 and Michelle Jahnke ’08.
Obama entertained Hartford crowds before his Connecticut victory. PHOTO/ZACHARY GOODYEAR
