Elvis Obama

We were up at 5:45 this morning, throwing clothes on and heading for the car to get down to BSU and stand in line, outside in the cold, for a long couple hours in order to get in to see Barack Obama speak. It was worth every minute of it.

He was introduced by Cecil Andrus, former governor of Idaho who has endorsed Obama's candidacy. When Obama came out on stage, the Taco Bell Arena--packed to the rafters with about 14,000 Northwesterners of all political stripes, with some hundreds more left outside to listen on speakers mounted for the overflow--exploded with energy.

I couldn't believe there were this many people in this city or state who would come out to hear him. But they did, and they were energized and vocal.

He gave what I assume is a variation on the usual speech, hitting many of the points you hear in all his speeches, but adding some detail and some personalized touches for this audience.

One thing is for sure: The man can speak. Even without getting too fired up, getting too inspirational or delving into too much of his now famous soaring rhetoric, there's a feeling that hits you when you see him and hear him. It's an energy I've not felt before--certainly not for a political figure.

One of the highlights of the speech for me was when he talked a bit more deeply about hope. Hope, he says, is not simply blind optimism, or wanting something and sitting back and waiting for it to happen. Hope is a motivating force to envision the future you want and then to work your hardest to make it happen, believing that it can happen. On a national scale, it's been a long while since we've felt this kind of hope. I think if Obama gets the nomination, that force can go a long way.

I also appreciate his call to service, to a more active citizenship. He places a lot of faith in people working for what they want, working to make this country a better place. And for people to get involved and work for it, they need to be inspired. That's the place for inspiration in this campaign. And he's the one who can do it.

I made my mind up a long time ago who I'd support. Shortly after he declared his candidacy I knew in my gut he's the one I'd be working for. He's young, post-boomer, which appeals to me greatly; he's a hometown politician, being a senator from Illinois; I'd read his first book and come away mightily impressed with the things he's done and the person he's realized himself to be. But I think by the end of this speech he'd won over a few more to his side. I can only hope.