Photos: Holy Cow.Check Out This Crowd In St. Louis, MO

[Hope And Change]

Sat Oct 18, 1:48 PM ET
Supporters cheer for Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



Sat Oct 18, 1:49 PM ET
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., bottom right, at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



Sat Oct 18, 1:49 PM ET
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, waves as he arrives at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



Sat Oct 18, 1:50 PM ET
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, waves as he arrives at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



Sat Oct 18, 1:59 PM ET
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



Sat Oct 18, 2:03 PM ET
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks to supporters under the Gateway Arch as the Old Courthouse stands in the background Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, in St. Louis, Mo.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)



Sat Oct 18, 2:03 PM ET
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks to supporters under the Gateway Arch Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, in St. Louis, Mo.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

[madmax]

1. OMG! This is fabulous. n/t

[K Gardner]

40. Note to those reading this: Please take a sec to REC this up to Greatest !

[madmax]

47. k & r

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

WS Journal says 100,000 (and nice photo)

Obama Rally Draws 100,000 in Missouri

October 18, 2008, 1:48 pm

Amy Chozick reports on the presidential race from St. Louis.

Barack Obama attracted 100,000 people at a Saturday rally here, his biggest crowd ever at a U.S. event.

The crowd assembled under the Gateway Arch on a sunny Saturday afternoon to hear Obama speak about taxes and slam the Republicans on economic issues.

Lt. Samuel Dotson of the St. Louis Police Department confirmed the number of attendees piled into the grassy lawn by the Mississippi River.

To be sure, big crowds don’t always signal a big turnout on Election Day. But Obama’s ability to draw his largest audience yet in a typically red state that just weeks ago looked out of reach, could signal a changing electoral map.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/18/obama-rally-dr...

[spelldmilk]

212. Okay, I'm crying…again. This is amazing.

[trashcanistanista]

213. Oh. My. God. Unbelievable!

[Anwen]

2. That is a breathtaking sight!

Our future president!!

[progressivebydesign]

3. Don't let them say it's 10k people! That's over 50k.. The Rose Bowl holds 10k..

and this is many times that! The news is saying it's only 10k. No freaking way. That is unbelievable.

[madmax]

5. Heard on CNN 100k

[K Gardner]

23. I've had MSNBC on in background and heard nothing so far.

[ChiciB1]

27. MSNBC Did Say One HUNDRED Thousand... Just Recently!! I'm Painting

signs and didn't get a look-see, but they DID SAY IT!!

[Tallison]

185. The local police chief confirmed 100,000 to WSJ today

I caught this link trolling FR today.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/18/obama-rally-dr...

[DarthDem]

25. Rose Bowl Holds More Than 10K!

Actually about 92,000. And that picture does indeed look like 100,000 people - - especially since I was just in St. Louis (one of my favorite cities) a few months back and strolled right through that beautiful area around and under the Arch. Seeing it filled with people like that is awe-inspiring.

[Bluestar]

36. Uh, the Rose Bowl holds 100K, not 10K n/t

[peacetalksforall]

101. NPR saying 100,000.

[tclambert]

158. The Rose Bowl holds 92,000+

Official estimate of the St. Louis crowd was ~100,000.

How many town hall meetings will McCain have to hold to match that?

[JMDEM]

206. They're saying 100K

And the Rose Bowl holds about 80K, I'm pretty sure

[Top Cat]

4. Wow

[Danieljay]

6. People..... We HAVE to win this thing... The polls are fucked. It CAN'T be as close as they say

unless they are preparing for a theft of the election.

I'm a bit afraid.

[Mad_Dem_X]

124. I don't believe for one minute it's that close

And if they try to steal it, we will raise hell. I'm keeping optimistic.

[Paul95]

126. theft of the election

That's EXACTLY what they're preparing for:

• Part of what they're doing now is overt: Disenfranchisement by nullification of voter registrations, which, amazingly, is actually being covered (a little) in the corporate media.*
  
• Part of what they will do in November will also be overt: Too few voting machines in heavily Democratic areas, "ran out of ballots," and so on.
  
• Part of what they've already done will culminate in covert disenfranchisement via vote switching within the vote tabulation machines, which btw use proprietary code so it cannot be inspected by a court of law.
  

* I have finally, finally, figured out the main tactics used by Karl Rove:

1. Using any means possible, attack the spot where your opponent has the greatest advantage over your own candidate.
   

   Example from 2004: Destroy Kerry's reputation as Vietnam war hero to immunize Bush, who went AWOL during Vietnam.
   
   
   

2. After deciding on a means to an end, project it onto your opponent's campaign. That is, find a way to attack your opponent for doing exactly what you are doing or have decided to do. The purpose is to immunize your own (Republican) campaign.
   

   Example from 2008: Paint ACORN as perpetrating "voter fraud" (and attempt to associate ACORN with Obama's campaign), while conducting election fraud on a massive scale nationwide.
   

[IndyOp]

138. Welcome to DU, Paul95! We've been discussing election fraud tactics here since

shortly after the theft of the 2004 election.

[xxqqqzme]

238. I think that election fraud discussion started in

2001 cuz it was still being discussed when I found DU in March, 2002.

[CTyankee]

240. Well, the Obama campaign has geared up for this. We're just not hearing about their strategy.

The way they handled the Ohio case is indicative, I believe. I heard on one talk show that the campaign has lined up 5,000 lawyers to go to polling places where they suspect election fraud at its worst.

They're keeping their cards close to their chest. No way are they gonna lose this one to Rovian tactics. PLUS, the media is onto the game now...

[tclambert]

167. When I was somewhat younger, we had a board game based on electoral voting

No such thing as computer games back then. I think the game was called "Landslide." It was a presidential election version of "Risk." You had to manage your campaign resources and take advantage of certain factors such as "the bandwagon effect," "the underdog effect," "bellwether states," "birds of a feather," etc. The object was to win 270 or more electoral votes. I used to kill at that game because I focused on the electoral votes, while others let themselves be distracted by the popular vote, or winning a state by a larger margin. Winning 40 states by 1% each beat winning 10 states by 10% each.

Senator Obama is playing the real life version of this game very, very skillfully. He leads in the popular vote by a small margin, but his electoral lead looks massive. Well played, sir, well played.

[BearSquirrel2]

229. Good analysis except your conclusion ...

Obama has a reasonably large popular vote advantage. But the war is being fought in only a few close states now: Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, and North Dakota. http://www.electoral-vote.com .

Obama has leads or is trending upward in all but Indiana. It's not over but the fat lady is warming up. Obama has a 7 point lead in Virgina. If Obama holds that lead, he will beat McCain ... PERIOD!!! He could lose ALL the other states. This is an unlikely scenario. What's more likely is that they will split the battleground states and Obama will win by a comfy margin.

The job for Obama at this point is to try to bury McCain in polls in the days leading up to the election. If he can accomplish this, he may be able to keep die hard conservatives away from the polls as they will believe their candidate is sunk. This could help sway some Senate contests and get the Democrats to 60 non Lieberman Senators that we will need to fix things.

[Lubernaut]

7. Whoa!

That's a lot of people!!!

[dchill]

8. St. Louis Police Dept. says crowd is 100,000+

Is that some kind of record, or what?

[ekwhite]

115. In that case, it is probably 200,000

No offense to the St. Louis police, but official estimates are almost always on the low side.

[JimDandy]

241. Unless you're Bush! Then, rally estimates are always on the HIGH side.

[Gore1FL]

157. It is a campaign record, and a Missouri record! n/t

[stlsaxman]

182. 2nd largest Obama rally and largest gathering since 1904 Worlds Fair! n/t

[Tallison]

188. If it's Obama's 2nd largest, but the largest gathering since the 1904 Worlds Fair...

then I'm confused. When and where did O generate a bigger crowd? Do we know of the largest crowd a presidential candidate's ever generated?

[dchill]

239. It's the largest, according to the Obama campaign.

"An estimated 100,000 people showed up in St. Louis Saturday morning to hear Obama speak at the Gateway Arch -- the largest crowd ever to hear Obama in the United States."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/...

[catgirl]

249. His speech in Berlin drew 200,00 (nt)

[Gore1FL]

236. Only second largest?

What was #1?

[Chrisnreno]

9. Absolutely stunning images. Gives one hope for our country! nt

[KathieG]

10. WOW!

[sufrommich]

11. Oh my God!

[gemdem]

12. Holy cow! Indeed!

How many people are at that rally? It looks like the whole state of Missouri (and half of Illinois) showed up.

[K Gardner]

13. NO FREAKIN WAY !! Holy shoot.. never seen anything like this ! n/t

[dana_b]

14. holy s***!!!

turn MO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!

[Blue Diadem]

15. WOW!

[livetohike]

16. This is what democracy looks like! I'm close to tears

Screw McCain/Palin, Michelle Bachman, Rush, Hannity, et. al. This is amazing.

[lizziegrace]

111. Me too.

I'm speechless and near tears. Amazing images. Amazing Americans.

[deadparrot]

17. As I said in another thread,

it's awesome to see the Old Courthouse--site of the Dred Scott decision--in the background. Seeing Obama next to it, it's kind of like coming full circle.

[awoke_in_2003]

136. Oh damn...

you're right. That one went right past me.

[tclambert]

175. Holy Cow! Dred Scott? Is that true?

It is! Confirmed on Wikipedia, the article on "Dred Scott v. Sandford" says: "The Missouri cases were argued at the St. Louis State and Federal Courthouse (now called the "Old Courthouse"), part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (the "Gateway Arch")."

For those who are Supreme Court challenged (Sarah, pay attention now), Dred Scott was a slave whose master took him to live in "free territory" (Wisconsin) for many years. When his master brought him back to Missouri and passed away, Dred Scott, aided by abolitionists, sued for his freedom, on the grounds that he had lived in a free state for so long. The case started right there, a few hundred paces from where Barack Obama addressed the crowd. The Supreme Court eventually took on the case in 1857, finding against Dred Scott, and ruling that no former slave or descendant of a slave could be a citizen of the United States.

The 13th and 14th Amendments overruled this decision.

The historical significance of Barack Obama standing in that place, running for President . . . wow, . . . just wow!

Thank you so much for pointing this out.

[wildflowergardener]

189. True

If you ever visit St. Louis - they used to - I don't know if they still do, do reenactments of the Dred Scott trial in the courthouse. I had a summer internship with the National Park Service one year and got to play one of the character - don't remember what - I think maybe I was in the jury. I was working in the library archiving drawings and it was kind of neat to think I was working where all those old trials took place. They also have a good historical museum in the courthouse - I am not sure how many people visit it or know about it.

Meg

[nc4bo]

18. Oh sweet Lord, No WONDER M$M did not want to show this!!!

Does this look like we're losing??!!!!

Thank you so much for the photos!

[rzemanfl]

19. Wow! Just wow. Holy shit! eom

[WillyT]

20. WOW !!! - Portland... I Think They May Have Topped Ya !!!

[K Gardner]

24. Were the Decemberists in St. Louis, too??!!

[DeschutesRiver]

88. Sincere congrats from an Oregonian - you did top us, and I am happy for it!

Swear I have tears in my eyes from seeing such a turnout - it just makes me feel really really good.

[WillyT]

99. Me Too !!!

[Arugula Latte]

116. That's okay! We're happy they did! Way to go, St. Louis!

[alsame]

21. Obama mania!! That's incredible and beautiful!!

[Hepburn]

22. Totally awesome! Thanks for the pics. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

Holy Moly! I hope Obama comes to LA again before the election!

[O.M.B.inOhio]

26. Wow! McCain can't get 5% of that, even when his posters read "Free Beer!"

[LaurenG]

28. If I were McCain, I'd be making a plan B

Awesome crowds - Yay!

Thanks!

[Cha]

49. If you were mccain you would look at those

crowds and start tripling up on the Heinous tricks.

[LaurenG]

51. Ooo, probably. Thankfully I don't think like him!

[NJCher]

83. Plan B for McCain

If I were McCain, I'd be making a plan B

Means "B" for "beer." As in working for Cindy.

After this campaign, he will be persona non grata at the Senate.



Cher

[jillan]

29. Gobama! Gobama! go Bama!!!!!

[bevoette]

30. OMG *speechless*

[Marnieworld]

31. Have you ever been in one of those crowds?

I recently went to the Springsteen rally in Philly for Obama. These are tests of physical endurance. You're hot. You can't go to the bathroom. Your feet and back ache eventually and you can get claustrophobic if you allow yourself to think about wanting to leave the crowd and how hard it would be. You are pressed up against strangers for hours. You have park far away. Blah blah blah. It's not pleasant or easy but you do it when it's worth it. It takes passion to have that commitment. Look at all of that passion! It's beautiful. I wish there was a shot from the crowd POV with the Arch in the background. I am grateful for these shots. I looked everywhere for them on MSNBC's website. Considering it's such a huge crowd there should be at least one there right? Nope. Thanks.

[bevoette]

35. he was here during the primary and i could KICK myself for not going!!! :(

[NJCher]

86. you are so right, Marnieworld

Showing support like this asks a lot out of a human. But there's a payback, too. The excitement of the crowed and the feeling of unity is unparalleled.

I wish more people knew what you say above. Then they would be more polite when we activists come knocking on their door with campaign literature. They would understand that protesters get no financial gain for what they do, and in fact, are financially set back for their efforts.



Cher

[Milspec]

162. Fine post Marnieworld

Wish I could find somthing like that here in Tulsa

[Doug_Orlando]

172. pic from crowd POV

[frogcycle]

204. talking about you:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[JawJaw]

216. Amazing

What a beautiful expression on that kid's face. You can see he's being inspired, and will remember that day for the rest of his life..

[salbi]

203. I saw him in Springfield in Aug. It was in the 90's

We stood in line at 7:00 am for a 2:00 speech, it was hot, people were passing out, but even with the misery, the people I was standing with were great, and I got up next to the stage. He shook my grandson's hand, and it was a memory I will never forget. Well worth it!

[stlsaxman]

225. i was in that crowd and the experience was wonderful!

no one shoving or being rude- sure we were close but everyone had their space.

here is a video i made of my place directly under the Arch-

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[lizzieforkerry]

32. WOW!!!

Where did they all park?!?!?

[wildflowergardener]

130. parking

I'm not sure- there is a lot of parking garages and lots around there because the baseball stadium is downtown and lots of businesses as well. I was lucky because I had my brother's parking pass to park in his office building parking garage downtown - I was glad too because I was worried about finding a place. Also metrolink (light rail) system goes there as well. I was going to take that but then was able to borrow the pass at the last minute.

Meg

[glowing]

33. Wow, see what Hope and Courage look like.. Wow. That's beautiful.

[Shoelace]

34. just posted this too - WOW, DOUBLE WOW!!

I listened to the speech live, got teared up. Our next president!

[Beaverhausen]

37. do you have a link for these pics?

[RNdaSilva]

133. If you were to right click on any pic, click properties and

check out the Address (URL) you'll find your link.

[Waiting For Everyman]

38. It looks like the crowds at Berlin!

Amazing. That's Missouri? "Red" Missouri? Yikes. McC could be in for a bad election night.

A wonderful sight!

[sunnybrook]

161. I'm in St. Louis

This town is absolutely filled with Obama bumper stickers and yard signs... don't count out Missouri

[Waiting For Everyman]

198. Oh, I don't at all. Just remarking on what a turn around it is -

that the "common wisdom" was to count it red, and unwinnable.

GO MO!! It's magnificent!

[greenmutha]

39. OMG - These bring tears to my eyes.

So beautiful!

Thank you for posting them.

[NJCher]

87. me, too, greenmutha

Tears of joy!!



Cher

p.s. I hope the foreign media prints these pictures. I want everyone around the world to know what REAL Americans are like!!!

[DainBramaged]

93. Me too, except for the onions in my salad......

just kidding. I have waited for eight years for this moment. And the Thugs aren't taking it away.

[sellitman]

205. These pictures bring tears to the eyes of Freepers too!

Just for different reasons.

[krkaufman]

218. ouch. nice graphic. n/t

[MidwestTransplant]

41. WHOH, that looks like 100K alright.

[Shoelace]

44. someone there said it was closer to 150,000!!

I believe it!

[tclambert]

177. Well, the picture is right there. One, two, three, four, . . .

[Lugnut]

42. Holy wow!

[monmouth]

43. A nice tribute to Clare McCaskell (sp?) too, she's been such a strong

and forceful advocate for Obama.

[dchill]

45. K & R.

[fishwax]

46. wow, that is an awesome sight

Way to go St. Louis!

[Ishoutandscream2]

48. OMG!!! Look at all those people who hate Murca1111

"Crazy Eyes" Bachmann is probably cowering in a corner somewhere.

[polichick]

50. Amazing! Did any of the networks show the crowd??

[jjray7]

52. I WAS THERE!

The turnout was unf'ing believable. My personal estimate for the crowd is 120k to 150k. The girl standing in front of me was from Arkansas (drove up just for the event). The couple next to her from Illinois. The closest thing I can compare it to that I personally attended was Bill Clinton's first inauguration in 1993. It was that electric. Very smoothly run. Barak was his normal charismatic self. And the different types of people all there as one to support Barak. I'll remember this for a long time. I've never seen a campaign with this much energy.

[hisownpetard]

89. That is so awesome! And welcome to DU, jray.

(P.S. It's Barack, with a 'c')

[Roy]

217. My grandkids spelled without the C also,

But made new signs with corrections.
They were very disappointed when they were not allowed to take the signs onto the Arch grounds.
But, they thoroughly enjoyed the event.

[hisownpetard]

230. How wonderful that your grandchildren were there, too. Kudos!

[IndianaJohn]

53. From the St. Louis Post Dispatch

http://stltoday.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?ima...

[nichomachus]

59. Look closely at these photos -- what do you notice?

The DIVERSITY of the crowd -- the JOY on the faces of the people -- the HOPE that is palpable.

Not like the Palin/McCain Klanvocations, filled with angry, bitter, hateful, violent, racist goons -- who all look alike.

[DainBramaged]

95. Video from today, really good

http://qik.com/stlpolitics

[VolcanoJen]

Is that in "real" Missouri, or the "un-American" part of Missouri?

[LynnTheDem]

54. Holy...

[LynnTheDem]

55. Sorry, Mccain, what were you sayying about your rallies of "5,000, 10,000, 20,000..."?

Couldn't hear ya over the 100,000 Americans at Obama's rally.

[geckosfeet]

65. More like 500, 1000 or 2000.

[TNMOM]

56. OMG. Jeebus. Now, that is a RALLY.

Mcshame-Failin couldn't get that kind of crowd if they paid people to come. Wow. I'm completely bowled over. What a great day for Obama!

[Texasatheist2]

156. 100K Moose W/ Lipstick

McCrackpot/Palin couldn't get 100k Moose with lipstick there if you gave them feed to eat !!LOL !
(McCRACKPOT/PALIN--THE PAIR TO NOWHARE..slang for us Etexans)

[vaberella]

57. Geez did the whole state show up?! Man..that's gorgeous. n/t

[starroute]

58. More photos at Yahoo

Only a couple are up now, but I expect more are coming. Use this search string: http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?p=obama+missou...

Here's one that's already there:

[BelgianMadCow]

66. That search show NONE of the great pics in the OP...

go figure...

not an attack on you, starroute. Just amazed they aren't there.

[SeattleGirl]

60. !!!!!!!!!

[XOKCowboy]

61. I thought at first that the photo's had to be Photoshopped.........

Nope. That is astounding. The Repugs have their work cut out for them to steal THIS election!

[EC]

62. Wow,

I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees all those people?

[politicasista]

63. That's Awesome!

[TheDonkey]

64. It's beautiful seeing the shadow of the freedom arch over the massive! HOPE!

Gobama!

[liam_laddie]

235. It's the Gateway Arch actually

as in "Gateway to the West." And to Victory on 11/4, I might add. There's a wonderful, Smithsonian-run (IIRC) museum underground there; dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and the "western expansion." Been 25 years since I visited; hope they've added some content about what we white men did to Native-Americans...and continue to do to this day. Ethnic cleansing anyone?

[POAS]

67. Anybody with a strong stomach wanna post these at freeperville?

I wanna hear the sound of exploding heads.

[victory8374]

248. PUZZLED

What do you mean EXPLODING HEADS?

I wanna hear the sound of exploding heads.

smb

[allmyfault]

68. wow

that's amazing!

[Hope And Change]

75. Welcome to DU allmyfault!

[nancyr]

69. Spine-tingling!!!!

Amazing pictures.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

70. McCain in a squeaker.

[Peace Patriot]

71. Superkallifragalistic AWESOME! Is America reborn or what?!!!!

And we're talking about MISSOURA!

My Dad's from that town! He would be so proud, bless his lifelong Democratic soul--voted for FDR, voted for Harry Truman, voted for Adlai Stevenson--with Mom making us all kneel down and pray the Rosary for a Stevenson victory-- voted for JFK, but didn't live long enough to vote for BARACK OBAMA. I just did it for him, and her!

Kudos and laurel wreaths to the people of St. Louis, Missoura! May the Goddess shower her blessings upon you!

[malik flavors]

72. That's crazy.

[Faygo Kid]

73. St. Louis police say 100,000. Barack's biggest crowd yet, except for Berlin.

Amazing.

[NYC_SKP]

74. CALLING SARAH PALIN:

Your fucking turn, sweetie....top that!

[VIC in MO]

76. I Was There!

Beautiful day, dramatic location, historic event!

[IndyOp]

139. Welcome to DU, VIC in MO! It is great to hear your first hand report...

I grew up in the St. Louis suburbs and I love the area in the city around the arch -- especially the Old Courthouse and the Cathedral.