gobama part 5 zillion

went to the obama event in elkhart with no ticket, thinking I could just stand around and listen to him on the soundsystem; ended up getting into the gym. took a shitload of photos (most of em too crappy to put up) and some video.


gobama from vorgefuhl on Vimeo.

he was supposedly focusing on energy policy, which was perfect. I have to admit that obama's positions on various energy issues has me scratching my head. I did not like that he broached the topic by stating that the oil reserves should be opened ("use it or lose it"). before obama was totally against drilling, but it seems like he's waffling. he says it's a temporary fix, which it is! at one point in the speech he brought up kennedy's seemingly impossible goal of reaching the moon in ten years; exactly what gore had alluded to in his more extreme, but much more realistic, speech. in the Q&A I was thinking of asking about this but of course did not even get close to being able to ask a question. I was annoyed that he mentioned "doubling our use of alternative energy" because that seems pretty meaningless - I mean, I don't know how much we're using now, but it can't be that much. plus, "alternative" doesn't necessarily mean "renewable."

he did bring up some things I hadn't heard, though - high-speed rail, which I honestly hadn't given much thought to, and also reducing the energy usage of the government itself. everything he said was very reform-centered. he literally said he wanted to "rebuild america," and it felt like he wasn't just talking about putting up more strip malls or something.

afterward people passed their babies up to him and he shook hands, and I stood back and just admired the media spectacle that surrounds his every step. at moments I forgot he was standing there, a physical person, because I've seen his image so many times over the last few months. indeed, although it was a great opportunity for me to go see him, even I'm feeling a little bit of obama fatigue (looks like he is too, heading off for hawaii like tomorrow or something).

another thing: it felt, in the gym, like we were listening not to some dude who's trying to be president; it felt like we were hearing from the actual president. people who asked questions and wanted certain things done sounded like they were putting in work orders for someone who's already in power. probably wishful, but I do find myself thinking that mccain doesn't have a chance. also I was touched by how the people were touched, that obama had come, more than once, to a county that no democratic candidate has visited since harry truman.