I'm at the Obama rally in Omaha

[StoryTeller]

It's amazing here--at least 11,000 people with more still arriving. Lots of excitement. The band Bright Eyes just got done performing. Really good. I'm here with my DH, 10 year old daughter, and two friends. People chanting "yes we can" and doing the wave.
Only bad part was when we were waiting outside (2.5 hours, 32 degrees) there was a pro life demo with very graphic fetus posters. Totally freaked out my daughter so now will have to deal with that at home. Assholes.
I will try to post photos from the rally later.
This is so much fun!!!

[StoryTeller]

1. update #1

Still waiting for Obama. Daughter is getting a bit restless. She was so funny--every time there was cheering she thought he'd arrived. Very cute.

She wants to say something...

The crowd is going wild. I feel very excited because this is this first time I get to see Obama in person. I think he's a great person and will make a great president because he has lots of good ideas.

OK, Storyteller back. You just heard from the future of our nation. She's got great taste in leaders doesn't she?

We've also seen Sen. Ben Nelson and Omaha's Mayor Mike Fahey. We even spotted Scott Kleeb looking hot as usual. :)

I think he's running late. More later...

[sandnsea]

4. Adorable

Kind of like a national spring cleaning. It would be great to hit the reset button and start the century with Barack Obama! The next generation deserves that, no doubt about it. I'm glad she's excited about our democracy.

[StoryTeller]

9. She kind of zonked out

...about half-way through his speech. Of course a lot of it went right over her head. I've got a cute picture of her asleep against my coat. I don't see how she could sleep with all the screaming and cheering. But she was a real trooper. Totally wiped out by the end between the two and a half hour wait outside and another 2 and a half hour wait inside.

Oh, and my husband talked with her about the fetus pictures and abortion and all that. I think it was just too much for her and she shut down mentally about it and didn't want to talk about it. She was worried about having nightmares about it, though. I just feel so angry about that. Those idiots totally violated my parental rights to educate my children about that sort of stuff WHEN THEY ARE READY. And the thing is, they don't care! And it doesn't help solve any problems or get people on either side of the issue talking or working together. And there was nothing I could do about it. But I'm just heartsick that my 10 year old was exposed to that. She's nowhere near psychologically ready for that. We tried to shield her, but the damn protester was walking through the line of people, basically shoving his obscene poster in our faces. Thank God the police finally made them all go across the street (to much applause), but they had a big truck with the same photos plastered all over it and they drove up and down in front of the auditorium.

If they want to be assholes like that in front of adults, fine, we can handle it. But they hurt my baby girl. They scared her and made her cry and put images in her head she isn't ready to process yet. I was fantasizing grabbing one of those damn posters and ripping it to shreds and beating them with it. *sigh* For those of you who know me, just goes to show I'm not always a model Christian. You mess with my kids and I turn into this mama grizzly bear. OOOhhhh I was SO furious. I'm still pretty pissed about the whole thing--as if you couldn't tell.

Anyway, enough ranting. I think she'll be okay. I just hate it when innocence is stripped away so needlessly like that.

Other than that, she had a good time. When Obama came on stage, I leaned down to her and yelled in her ear, "He's here! Do you see him? Do you see him?"

She was glowing with excitement. "YES! I see him, I see him!!!"

[sandnsea]

18. I've never seen that

I had 9/11 Conspiracy people at our Obama event. Quite a difference. But I've never in my life seen protesters with those fetus pictures. I don't even know what I'd do. And if my child was subjected to it, oh my goodness, I am totally with you, complete mama bear.

That's the part that I know people are referring to when they bash on Obama, what are we going to do about that kind of horrific behavior. The only thing I know is that the only way to get out of dysfunction is to just pick yourself up and get out of it. I think that's what Obama is about, just taking a giant step over the trash heap and leading out the other side. That's not going to happen with somebody who believes you "beat the brains" out of your opponent, she was captured saying that back in the 80's. I'm starting to wonder who started this partisan potshot war.

Sorry your daughter had to go through that, but in another way, at least she has a very good idea of what this election is about.

[ray of light]

2. Thanks for sharing Storyteller. I think my s-i-l is there somewhere too!

[StoryTeller]

10. Cool!

I hope she had as much fun as we did! Does she live in Omaha?

[Big Blue Marble]

3. Thanks for being there.

[StoryTeller]

11. ANYTIME! :)

And I do mean that! And I will be proudly caucusing for him on Saturday. I can't wait!

[Island Blue]

5. Very cool StoryTeller!

Can't wait to hear more about your most excellent experience and seeing your photos after you return home and thaw out.

GOBAMA!

[StoryTeller]

13. On thawing out...

Okay, here's a list of my layers:

Feet: Silk liner socks, two pairs of "smart wool" socks, a third pair of wool socks, and light hiker shoes. My ankles were about as thick as my calves by the time I got all that on.

Legs: long johns, yoga pants, jeans

Top: long john top, turtleneck, bulky sweater, leather coat with faux fur lining

Hat, Scarf, gloves.

Plus, I had those little chemically activated hand warmers, a thermos of chai tea, and a thermos of hot chocolate. Plus snack food because I figured it might end up being our dinner--which it did.

My daughter was pretty much as bundled up as I was.

My husband's idea of layering was to throw on an extra t-shirt under his long sleeved knit shirt and a pair of wool socks. Hiking boots, a wool jacket and some gloves. And he was too warm! *sigh* Why is it that guys can stay warm without even trying? It's not fair!!!

[globalvillage]

6. Hey StoryTeller!

Thanks for the report, sounds like fun. Can't wait to see your pics!

:hi:

[StoryTeller]

14. My pics...

...won't be nearly as good as yours, GV. But I did think about you when I was taking some video with my little phone. You rock! :) :) :)

[beachmom]

7. I love the exciting play by plays!

I think Obama was late for that Boston rally this week, so ... hang in there -- I'm sure he'll be there soon!

(To heck with those pro-life protestors -- they don't give a damn if their stuff is in front of children, some of whom havne't even been taught the birds and the bees. Sorry you had to deal with that with your daughter there)

[StoryTeller]

15. Thanks, Beachmom

I intended to give more play by plays, but something screwed up with my connection and my posts wouldn't go through. It was a lot of fun--my hubby was giving me a hard time because I was text messaging a friend, taking photos and videos, and posting to DU...all with my fun new phone. He said I was turning into a teenager. I guess it's my second childhood already??? (At age 33, am I allowed to start a second childhood that young?) :)

[StoryTeller]

8. Update #2...Home finally

Well, I tried to send another update from my phone while I was at the rally, but it didn't go through. THAT message was a very excited "HE'S HERE!!!" post attempting to give you some more play by plays, but I tried twice and finally gave up so I could watch the speech. Then I went straight from the rally to a writers group meeting and another meeting and just got home. I'm exhausted, and my throat is scratchy, and all I had for dinner was the snack food we brought (and Starbucks later) so I'm jittery and a bit caffeine/carb wired, but it's been a FANTASTIC day!

It was absolutely amazing! He was about an hour late--which I figured might happen after you Bostonians waited two hours for him. Then our mayor and Sen. Nelson both had to do intros, and we were all like "shut up already and give us Barack!" Well, that's what we were thinking, anyway.

And then the U2 music played, and we were all on our feet screaming our heads off and he was there! We got the "I love you back!" line--which I was waiting for. And the crowd was electrified as usual. He made some cute comments about "Don't anyone ever say again that there aren't any Democrats in Nebraska." Damn right! :)

It was funny to look at all the people on the main floor. Almost ALL of them were holding up their cell phones to get pictures. It was hysterical! We were far enough in front of the line that we probably could have gotten on the floor and been either on the rope line or second row behind it, but with our daughter with us, we decided a seat was better than standing for a couple more hours in a crowd. We still had awesome seats but nowhere close enough to have a hope of greeting him. Bummer.

I think the speech was pretty much his standard stump speech. But it was terrific! He got really big cheers for the part about rewarding teachers with better pay so they don't have to work two jobs and pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets. And bringing the troops home and ending the war in Iraq got big cheers as well. Slightly smaller response about energy policy--despite the fact that Nebraska is prime bio-fuel and wind power potential. I don't think people here are as up to speed on alternative fuel and renewable energy as we need to be and don't realize the economic potential it could hold for our state. But my husband and I thought it was fabulous.

He got a HUGE response when he said that by voting for him we'd be electing a president who is a former constitutional law professor and who loves and understands the constitution and would abide by it and restore habeas corpus, etc. Yay!!!

As I was listening to and watching him, I kept wishing I could talk with him in a small group because I think hearing more about his views and philosophy of leadership would be fascinating. He is obviously very intelligent, and genuine about his beliefs. It would be fascinating to hear him talk in a casual setting.

But being in an auditorium of 11,000 people was an amazing experience. The energy and excitement were contagious. It was the sense of being part of something bigger than one candidate, part of a shared purpose, something honorable and good and decent. Obama talks a lot about hope, and what I sensed here is that one of the big hopes for his candidacy is that through all this, maybe we won't have to be ashamed of our country anymore. Maybe we'll actually have something to be proud of again.

Remember the "Sorry, everyone" website after the 2004 election? I felt like we weren't just saying sorry for inflicting another 4 years of Bush on the world, but sorry for the entire mess we made of our global reputation. Now we have a chance to do more than apologize.

Now we have a chance to make it right.

That's my big hope, anyway. And I think Obama is the best start to making that hope a reality.

I just got a new PDA phone (which is how I posted earlier this afternoon) and that's what I used to take pictures and some video. I don't know if any of it turned out well. I'm going to go now and try to download the photos off my phone so I can post them here.

[sandnsea]

17. Make It Right

Oh it's so funny you say that. Somebody posted a YouTube with celebrity Obama supporters, to "Man in the Mirror". Putting Michael Jackson aside, I was like yes yes yes. That's why I changed my sig line, again. It's about more than just getting rid of Bush, it's about a 'shared purpose' to Make It Right.

Anyways, we saw him in Portland last year but I bet there is even more excitement now. Can't wait for the pics!

[TayTay]

21. Wow!

This sounds like it was a great experience. (And tell your daughters we all said hi!)

There is just something about being in a crowd that is that full of hope and inspiration. It does renew your faith in America. Thanks for these wonderful reports and I'm so glad you had a great time at the rally!

[JI7]

12. sounds like a really good time

turnout even in smaller states that lean conservative is huge for him.

i'm happy people in your type of areas are getting a chance to see him. i'm sure it's rare for dems to have big national events like this there since it's mostly a red area.

[StoryTeller]

16. It's VERY rare

Sen. Nelson said that the last presidential candidate to campaign here was 30 years ago. The last primary candidate was 40 years ago with Robert Kennedy.

The thing is, I really think the Democratic party could make inroads here...eventually. Nobody around here likes to change quickly. But it's things like this that will encourage people to give the Dems a try. A lot of people here just want to MATTER to somebody. We are such a fly-over or drive-through state--a place that doesn't even get mocked nationally as much as it just gets overlooked. To have a president that actually values us and thinks we're worth something is huge.

There are really great people here, much as the conservative attitudes frustrate me. So it was fabulous to have someone like Obama acknowledge that. He expressed that he needs us, that our country needs us. That is a brand new message for most of us, and one that was quite meaningful and moving.

I hope it will really energize the Democrats here. We badly needed some encouragement and something to rally around. Obama gave that to us today, and we're going to do our best to tell him thank you with a Nebraska win on Saturday. He deserves it.

[rox63]

19. One of my favorite things about the Obama campaign is the "us" and "we" factor

He acknowledges that ordinary people can and must be part of turning this country around. He truly believes in change from the ground up, not from the top down. We all want to feel like we matter, and he has premised his entire campaign on that idea. "Yes WE Can!"

[ginnyinWI]

20. mine too--the WE factor.

It's energizing the young people. It's the message they need to hear after all of these years of corporate presidents. And when you hear Hillary speak, the "I"s just jump out at you. We don't want her to do it for us, we want to be all in this thing together.

[ray of light]

22. IMO-of Nebraska (from my little experience in Omaha) it seems like

the Dems could make inroads particularly among women and teenagers, young voters, college students.

And thanks for your updates! They sound like you had a great time and a great experience with your daughter. She will remember it for the rest of her life!