8000 people in the park...

Over 8000 people crowded into Veterans' Park this morning in Manchester, New Hampshire. The draw was Barack Obama, scheduled to speak at 10:30am. By 8am, the line to get in already stretched for many blocks.

Saturday is a day for lots of people to sleep in, recover from Friday night festivities, and enjoy some free time. There is no way to know how many people set their alarms voluntarily, rise, and participate in something bigger than their own lives; today, at least 8000 people descended upon Veterans' Park to be part of just such a thing.

I was collecting signatures for Women for Obama; today, we were asking New Hampshire women to publicly endorse Barack Obama by signing on to an ad which will run in local papers. This task gave me the opportunity to talk to many of the attendees. I met a group of women who drove up from Rhode Island; they left home at 5am, and were planning to stay after the rally and volunteer to canvass. I met a group of UNH students, not originally from New Hampshire, who got up early on Saturday morning to hear Barack speak. I saw families, couples, individuals, school groups, young, old, gay, straight, you name it---people were there. I met a woman who told me she was actually a Republican, but she brought her son because she wanted him to hear Obama speak, as a counter to the negative images of black men he sees in the media. I met dozens of people from Massachusetts, who came north to spend their time volunteering in an important swing state.

Barack gave a great speech; the crowd was energized, positive, and genuinely excited about his message. He was very clear he did not intend to engage in the kind of cynical, sarcastic character attacks central to the McCain-Palin message. He said the Republicans needed to make the race about personality, because if they were to debate the issues, they would lose. He said their attacks are irrelevant, because he has something they don't; "I have you," he told the crowd, which roared in response.

After the rally, the office was flooded with people wanting to volunteer. It was incredible to see how many people were inspired to get involved. Some people said they'd never even voted before, and many said it was their first time volunteering for a campaign. Everyone was hopeful and uplifted and positive.

Beyond the issues, this election is about the mood of our democracy. The McCain-Palin message is about war, evil, fear, terrorism, and money. The Obama-Biden message is one of positivity, engagement, respect, and yes, hope and change. The Republicans have spent an inordinate amount of time deriding this message, saying "hope" and "change" are not policies. I disagree; as esoteric as these terms may be, they have moved people to rediscover the beauty of our democracy. They have made people feel dignified, instead of condescended to.

John McCain and Sarah Palin are wise to spend so much time attacking the message of hope and change---it is unbelievably powerful, the biggest threat to them. They can't tell the American people their real agenda; after all, very few of us are executives at oil or health insurance companies, or hold vast amounts of stock in weapons manufacturers. The best they can do is behave like the kids at the popular table in high school, snark on the people lining up to hear Obama speak, try to belittle them, and hope to herd enough sheep over to their side.