It was a packed day for the Obamas and the Bidens yesterday in Ohio, as the two families criss-crossed the state and made nothing short of four stops for a variety of events.
The climax of the day was no doubt the Rally in Dublin, at Dublin Coffman High School, where 19,000 people packed both sides of the football stadium, not to mention the sprawl of the sidelines, to hear Barack and Joe. The two Senators were introduced by Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, and Ohio hero and former Senator John Glenn. Pictures from the event, and the rest of the day, are posted below:
Even before Barack took the stage and shouted "O-H!" (to the roaring reply of "I-O"), the energy in the open air stadium was off the charts. Joe Biden aptly explained what's behind all the excitement in his introduction of Barack:
"I watched a guy tap into, just by his very being and his ideas, tap into the age-old American belief that many have forgotten. And that is, you don't have to accept a situation you cannot bear; you can change it."
The rally was preceded by a stop in tiny Marengo, in Morrow County, where Barack and Joe stopped at a sweet corn stand.
Before that, in Cleveland, the families attended the memorial service of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who died on August 20th. Senator Clinton and President Clinton were also present, and though the service stretched to four hours, Barack stayed for the duration, and made remarks as well.
The duo kicked off the morning with some breakfast at the Yankee Kitchen Diner in Boardman, near Youngstown. The stop was caught on video, which you can check out here:
Today, Barack and Joe were in Lima and then Toledo, for a discussion on the economy at the Toledo-Lucas Library. More on those events coming soon...
Anyone who has driven through Ohio and glanced at a couple license plates knows that the Buckeye State is the renowned "Birthplace of Aviation"--the Wright brothers and space pioneer (and former Senator) John Glenn are famous natives of the state.
And John Glenn himself recently endowed Barack's campaign with his Ohio born-and-bred space expertise, by advocating for Senator Obama's NASA platform. The Dayton Daily News carries the story:
Former Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, spent part of his Sunday afternoon stumping for Sen. Barack Obama’s space agenda. On a conference call with reporters, Glenn backed Obama’s plans for NASA, saying Obama’s plans represent a reversal from funding cuts during the Bush administration. “I’m looking forward to working very closely with Barack Obama after he’s president,” said Glenn, adding he hopes that Obama adds more than the one shuttle flight per year he’s committed to in his space plan. If elected, Obama said he would: - Re-enact the National Aeronautics and Space Council to oversee and coordinate the civilian, commercial and military space programs and report to the president. - Go to the moon by 2020 as a precursor to going to Mars. - Add another shuttle flight to help accelerate the development of the next generation space vehicle. - Complete and enhance the International Space Station so it can host the innovative scientific and technological research projects it was intended to facilitate. - Emphasize NASA research to study climate change and advance aeronautics research. - Expand public/private partnerships to develop new technolgoy - Expanded education. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth when he piloted the Friendship 7 around the earth in 1962. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1974 to 1997.
Former Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, spent part of his Sunday afternoon stumping for Sen. Barack Obama’s space agenda. On a conference call with reporters, Glenn backed Obama’s plans for NASA, saying Obama’s plans represent a reversal from funding cuts during the Bush administration.
“I’m looking forward to working very closely with Barack Obama after he’s president,” said Glenn, adding he hopes that Obama adds more than the one shuttle flight per year he’s committed to in his space plan.
If elected, Obama said he would: - Re-enact the National Aeronautics and Space Council to oversee and coordinate the civilian, commercial and military space programs and report to the president. - Go to the moon by 2020 as a precursor to going to Mars. - Add another shuttle flight to help accelerate the development of the next generation space vehicle. - Complete and enhance the International Space Station so it can host the innovative scientific and technological research projects it was intended to facilitate. - Emphasize NASA research to study climate change and advance aeronautics research. - Expand public/private partnerships to develop new technolgoy - Expanded education.
Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth when he piloted the Friendship 7 around the earth in 1962. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1974 to 1997.
John Glenn endorsed Hillary. A famous cool younger OH person needs to endorse Obama, before Tuesday march 4!
Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders lives in the Akron/Summit area, and is for public transport and animal rights, therefore she should logically support Obama. So far, she hasn't endorsed anyone. There is a downside risk that her association with PETA (which is considered a terrorist organization by medical research scientists) could be exploited like his minister's association with Farrakhan, but winning Ohio is step 1.
Hynde could, like the Grateful Dead, do a public show (and youtube) of just one song to create a media whirlwhind for a 10% bump in OHIO.
Then the only problem is figuring out how to contact her. Can Anybody make this happen quickly???
The lyrics to "My City was Gone" could be redone by the campaign, for the OHIO messages, e.g.
I went back to the US But my nation was in flame. The goodwill was destroyed by republicans who had no shame The worlds view of the US has gone down in every eye by its war on iraq started with a great big lie Ooh Ahh Lets elect O-ba-ma I went back to the USthe economy was a con game Enron and Worldcom melted away leaving billion dollar claims The oil guys as presidents have a mind only with one track war disrupts the oil tents so our gas prices get out of whackOoh Ahh Lets elect O-ba-ma
I went back to the USBut all the old jobs been lostNAFTA helps move them overseasjust to save on some corporate costStruggling just to get by,Our families are so deep in debtWhen the mortgage payment jumps so highThe fed help the bank instead!Ooh Ahh Let's elect O-ba-ma
