Baracking Key Arena
Unlike the 3,000 unfortunate folks who got stuck outside of a packed Key Arena, those of us who managed to get seats got to see Barack Obama live and in-person. Of course, in my case, live and in person meant that he looked like an ant… but his speech was well-received, as was his endorsement by Gov. Christine Gregoire. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels was not quite so well-received, at least in the nosebleed section, where he entered the stage to cheers and jeers.
While Obama was in the middle of talking about reaching across partisan divides to work together for change, he paused to toss a water bottle to the crowd, for a girl who passed out (whether due to heat, claustrophobia or Obama-mania, I can’t say for sure). Of course, the real scene-stealers were the guy in the white sweatshirt and the girl in the section next to him who had a dance-off during the pre-speech music.
Obama still carried the day, though, to applause so loud that it was difficult to hear most of his speech. At the end, he got roaring applause (my ears are still ringing), and a standing ovation.
If you’d like to see a video of the Obama rally, King5 has a copy.
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I was one of the 3000 "unfortunate folks" who waited outside, and I was about twenty feet away from him when he delivered a mini-speech with a megaphone atop a staircase outside the Key Arena. Sure, it was nipple-erectingly cold, but he certainly didn’t look like an ant from my view.
Whoo! Good for you :)
I flew in from California to see the speech and got to shake his hand at the end, but the floor was like a mosh pit.