Obama Draws Largest Crowd Of His Campaign At Philadelphia Rally

PHILADELPHIA — Barack Obama was greeted by the largest crowd of his campaign Friday night in Philadelphia. Some 35,000 people jammed into Independence Park to see the Democratic presidential candidate, four days before this state's crucial April 22 primary.

Frank Friel, director of security at the Independence Visitor Center, made the official estimate.

The crowd exceed the 30,000 who greeted Obama and Oprah Winfrey in December in Columbia, S.C.

Obama told the crowd the United States is at a crucial moment in its history, much like what the founding fathers faced in Philadelphia.

"It was over 200 years ago that a group of patriots gathered in this city to do something that no one in the world believed they could do," Obama said. "After years of a government that didn't listen to them, or speak for them, or represent their hopes and their dreams, a few humble colonists came to Philadelphia to declare their independence from the tyranny of the British throne."

The Illinois senator called Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a "tenacious" opponent but said it was time to move beyond the politics of the 1990s.

"Her message comes down to this: We can't really change the say-anything, do-anything, special interest-driven game in Washington, so we might as well choose a candidate who really knows how to play it," Obama said.

Comments

[jus200008]

Superdelegates should really think about if this will all go away if Clinton is the nominee. My fear is that it will.

[GetReal08]

Great Quote:
John Edward once described Hillary as “A Defender of a Corrupt Washington System”

Words that matter!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=exsmFDYyK4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qggO5yY7RAo
I hope he doesn't endorse the “Defender of a Corrupt Washington System”

It’s time we "Declare our Independence” from the politics of the past!
It's time to get things done in Washington! Obama 08

[wolfgirl]

i was at the event last night in philly and it was an event! they did not mention,in the news, that market st. from the constitution hall to city hall was closed to traffic!! we all marched as one chanting''obama'' and ''yes we can'''' and 'yes we will'! it was philly in her finest hour! so i think people are excited and i hope pa. can pull obama to a victory! it would be nice to get on to our opponent.

[EarsOfTheNation]

What an exciting time for you...One you will ALWAYS remember !!!!

I went to the Corpus Christ, Texas rally...20­,000 people and it was pure energy !!!!

But to be in Philly...m­arching down the street,,,,AWESOME !!!

Thanx for sharing that with us !!!!

[WWJD2]

Praise be to Obama and Jesus !!!

[wolfgirl]

yes we are in a very historic time and we will both carry our memories in our hearts forever!!wow 20,000 in texas..coo­l..

[John]

Unfortunately it comes as no surprise that this wasn't mentioned in the news. Do we need any further proof that the corporate media does not want an Obama presidency.

[heal57]

The corporate media and big business do not want Obama as Prez. They are scared to death. Too bad cause he's going to win.

[cramos]

I live in the area and you should be thankful it did not make the news, the vast numbers were black supporters­..........­.which makes the point that he he may just not be the "unifier"

[wolfgirl]

jeez i am white and the crowd was very mixed ,where you there? i could send you some pictures..­and yes we stood there a long time but it was worth the wait just being in a crowd of similiar minded people,there were no problems, only hope . my daughter and i will always treasure that night in philly!! yes we can.. seeing obama was a gift,marching market st. was the dessert!!

[victoriajubilee]

COME ON PENNSLYVANIA ,COME OUT IN FULL TUESDAY FOR SENATOR OBAMMA ON TUESDAY. TAKE A FEW HOURS OFF WORK, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO KNOCK ON DOORS. GET OUT THE VOTE. WORK ,WORK,WORK.

[GetReal08]

"I’m not running to be "changed" by Washington" I’m running to "change" Washington!!

It’s time to "Declare our Independence” from the Status Quo! Brilliant!
Barack Obama 08

[goodbyetoallthat]

For an in-depth analysis of the two Dem Candidates and how they compare/contrast check out the article in the April 17th issue of The New York Review of Books entitled "Molehill Politics" by Elizabeth Drew. It's online; a good read, indeed.

[EdwardTx]

This is the kind of journalism that should be done instead of ABC's journalistic "experimen­t." Too bad more people will not get the opportunity to read it. Of course The New York Review of Books will be dismissed as elitist.

[Marlyn]

ELITE = the BEST

[piffle]

Great article - thanks for the reference. Link is here: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21231

[WWJD2]

Part 2

I think Hillary's the better candidate overall. I know what I'm getting with her and I lived through the 90's which were wonderful times for our country and our reputation in the world. Clinton drew throngs when he traveled abroad. A pitiful sex scandal almost derailed him. And our country was in great shape when Bill left in 2000. Many of the young Obama supporters, particularly the ones in their 20's, were teenagers and don't remember the truly great success of the Clinton administration. Yesterday's Paul Krugman editorial , http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/opinion/18krugman.html
hit the nail on the head by stressing the danger of Obama's blurring Bill Clinton's successes with Bush's failures . That's a blatant rewrite of history. The "bitter" people who Obama talks about did quite well under Clinton.

Based on the concrete actions of Obama in office, all his hope + his emotional rhetoric aside, I don't think he's up for the challenge of the mess he'll be inheriting . When it comes down to it , actions speak louder than hope, words or desire for change.

[Marlyn]

WWJD2 has no CREDIBILITY.

[VFH]

No credibility because WWJD2 is critical of Obama?? WWJD2 has some of the most intelligent posts here. Much truth to the posts: reread them carefully. You might learn something.

[TheAdviceWeAllNeed]

Krugman has no credibility but he seems to have this great obsession with Senator Obama

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/krugmans_latest_attack_on_obam.html

[Marlyn]

I think Krugman is "in the tank" for Hillary.

[aquarius2001]

Problem with your theory is: Hillary ain't Bill. Everything about Bill Clinton that made people like him...Hill­ary lacks. Plus...tim­es have changed...­and it's time for our government to change as well.

OBAMA!!!!!!!!

[Gmoney1]

Old news, old stuff - who cares - 40 plus million of our tax dollars on the sex scandal - no more Bill and no more Hillary - no more lies from Bill or Hillary - we want to move on - who said if you can't run, walk away from bad old stuff and if you can't walk whatever you do just keep moving - we're moving on -

[Pharos]

Investigated, no charges but it's his fault? Is that your understanding of the American system of justice. Oh let me guess, Ken Starr is your hero.

[BrighidG]

While Hillary may (arguably) be the better politician she's not the better candidate. How do I know?

Because she's not winning.

[mbshults]

Yeah, if she would run the country like she has her campaign we would be in trouble.

And NO the bitter people did not do well under the Clinton Administration. Who passed NAFTA WWJD?

You are the one re-writing history if you are going to try and say that Bill wasn't pro corporations and that this didn't hurt working Americans. Look what he is trying to do with free trade now. That is just an extension of previous.

[WWJD2]

Part 1.

2 articles + one Senate vote tally to read before you support Obama :

1. A bill he caved in on re accidental nuclear waste disposal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/us/politics/03exelon.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=obama+nuclear&st=nyt&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

2. His boredom in the US Senate and examples of how he folds when under pressure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=3&sq=obama star&st=nyt&scp=1

3. A senate vote tally re the Kyl/Lieberman amendment declaring Iran a terrorist state. Obama's website said he was against the amendment . But in reality he didn't show up to vote on it. Hillary did support the amendment which I disagree with as it gave Bush an opening to go to war with Iran. But for Obama's web page to blatantly state he was against the amendment when he didn't show up to vote for it is blatant lie in my book.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00349#position

[Marlyn]

WWJD2 ain't got no CREDIBILITY.

Next comment ...

[snowhusseincat]

no credibility. The NYT is a rag that is known for Obama bashing.If you like , I have plenty on Hillary Clinton's record and past crimes I'd love to share.

[Pharos]

Then share it with sources that you have properly checked.

[ABailey]

WWJD, as to your third point, would have Obama's vote made a difference? No, not at all. All of the presidential candidates have missed many votes because they are having to balance their campaigns with their jobs. Obama was advised not to vote because his vote wouldn't have changed the result. He could instead spend his time more productively on the campaign trail.
Unless you are going to vote for Nader, I don't know what you are complaining about. You opposed the Iran declaration, no? McCain supports it and voted for it. Hillary supports it and voted for it. Barack doesn't support it and didn't vote for it. What more could you want out of one of three viable candidates? He is as good as it gets from your point of view on this issue.

[WWJD2]

So will Barack's retort be I was against it before I didn't vote for it? (Kerry 04)
Like I said his web page LIED. You can't say you're against something and then not follow through with an action as simple as being there to vote on it. Oh yes, it's more important to campaign than to vote against giving Bush power to start a war with Iran. Not a smart move Obama.

[WWJD2]

Barack's missed too many votes for a first term senator. And from the one article I cited, the Senate bored him. To most logical people, that shows a cowardice and lack of willingness to take a stand. His votes to continually fund the war are inconsistent with his campaign statements that he is against the war. I assume he thinks that if he votes against funding or for a timetable to bring the troops home, he'll be labeled "soft".

[WWJD2]

Are they from the National Enquirer? ; -)

[WWJD2]

Are they from the National Inquirer? ; -)

[WWJD2]

oops Are they from the National Inquirer? ; -)

[benwha]

While I commend you for actually wanting to start a rational discussion a couple of things come to mind when I see these types of posts.

1. Regarding your quick intrepretation of each event above. How much do you think you personal prejudice (and I don't mean racist, just prejudice to the situation) has effected your intrepretation. Meaning, would a completely independent person have agreed with you or the people quoted in the articles. I mean is Lindsay Graham the sole authority here. Likely not.
2. Do you not think I could do the same thing with HRC? In fact, it has been done numerous times. So what is the end result? They both suck?

[heo]

Don't say too much against the Clintons because I just got banned. b2008 can't post here any more.

[FedUpWithThisMess]

heo,
I know, what the hell is going on HuffingtonPost?

[StillIRise]

I concur.

[AdLib]

If you're banned, how are you posting the news that you've been banned?

[FedUpWithThisMess]

AdLib
The person is saying s/he had another handle (b2008) and was banned.

[EarsOfTheNation]

AdLib...di­fferent moderators, I guess !!!

[SharonB]

Dang, if you folks have been banned, I will probably have Kathleen Willey's jogger running up to my driveway for the things I have posted!

[Sparklez]

They banned me too

I was Toni1920

Dont even know why they did

[EarsOfTheNation]

Anyone ever heard of a Ntive American, peaceful, non-confrontational poster named EyeWanyOneNation ????

Yep..Banne­d !!!


b2008..are you heo now ???

[BlueOnBlue]

I just got back from one of Obama's whistle stop tour events. I've heard him speak before and the stump speech today was only slightly modified to urge people to get out the vote. What was evident, however, was how much fun he and the crowd were having. I don't recall ever seeing him this joyful and it was great to see it on display.

He rode a special car on the back of the train, but instead of hanging out inside during the ride, he spent most of his time on the back platform waving gleefully to people and - from time to time - pulling the whistle cord. Once at the train station, he posed for photos and at the end, shook hands almost interminably (including mine, by the way).

He was also fearless, taking up what seemed like very exposed positions so he could wave to people.

Now, the anti-Obama crowd might think this is a lot about nothing, but damn, I enjoyed myself watching him enjoy himself. Everything else aside, that would not be so hard to take once in a while.

Thanks for reading this. Now, back to your bickering.

[rosal]

Hell-ary, eat your heart out. Now that you smeared the base, you are goind down fast. Start packing. We are tired of your lies, and your calculating ways. You are throwing the base under the bus, and the Repugs hate you, you'll be left with 50 minions.
To think that if you had behaved decently, many of us would have really considered you. Well, you made your bed.......

[VFH]

Hillary's revenge will be when Obama makes a big a@@ of himself if he makes it into the white house. You'll be wishing for her then!

[AntonBursch]

When Clinton had his cigar fiasco, I thought that nobody could make a bigger idiot of themselves in the white house.

Then came George Bush and dancing and speaking and naming his left and right hand and I thought then that for sure nobody could make a bigger idiot of themselves in the white house.

Then came Hillary Clinton claiming that she took her daughter into sniper fire in Bosnia.

There is zero chance that I'm going to vote for someone who is that stupid. Not after Bill and George. I've learned my lesson about overlooking idiots.

[FedUpWithThisMess]

VFH,
Well at least you admit hillary ain't winning ans won't be going to the White House, sweet!

[tiredofhillary]

For those of you don't understand. We are not talking about a radio personality or the idiot Bush.

For any candidate to draw 35,000 people is something to talk about. It is a big deal. Hillary supporters, has your candidate had that many people come out hear her cackle at night or even in the day time? Hell, has she drawn that many people at any point in her political life?

Hill and Bill are trying to find out what happened to their campaign. They can't that Sen. Obama is leading this thing and that she will loose to him. Denial is a terrible thing.

[JohnKemp]

I mean really.

The Pope just drew 46,000 in DC not counting the overflow crowd outside.

Obama, the new Messiah? The reincarnation of JFK & MLK rolled into one?

35,000 is all he draws in one of America's bluest cities?

And that's his largest turn-out yet?

Failure, not success.

[pertello]

OBAMA'S IQ

Is Obama's IQ The Highest Certified Of Any President Ever?
As was noted earlier hits morning on Sirius Left, the former
Guidance Counselor of Obama's private Hawaiian school
has supplied The Washington Post with a certified copy of
Obama's Stanford-Banai IQ Certification, one of which was taken in 1966 when he was a kindergardener in Hawaii before moving to Indonesia, and one which was taken as entrance protocol as a freshman in his private Honolulu private high school.

His IQ was clocked at 172 and 166 respectively (IQ's normally have a fluctuation of 6 or 7 points from test to test so that discrepency is normal).

That puts Obama in the certifiable clinical genius category.

Obama's campaign is apparently NOT HAPPY about The Washington Post preparing to disclose this, because they fear it adds to his reputation as no an "everyman" and being too "professorial".

But that aside...if elected, does this make Obama, the retainer of the highest certified IQ of any president in American history?

[Marlyn]

I'm expecting Tom Brokaw to make a Special NBC Report on how GW Bush has a higher IQ than Obama.

[EarsOfTheNation]

As someone posted earlier today:

What's wrong with having a President with a brain for a change ??"

I'd vote for the man no matter what !!!

[heo]

You're right. Better to have someone who knows what they are doing than not.

[heo]

bellsouth.netellsouth.net - email me please. I've been banned

[JohnKemp]

Not even close, that is if one can believe Jimmmy who claimed his IQ to be 186.

Having said that, this is one of the libs' most laughable gaffes; they equate intelligence with leadership & success.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The original W? Andrew Jackson? Teddy R? Reagan?

None would have claimed to be super-intelligent, but all proved to be super-effective.

[Marlyn]

The original W? What's that. GW before he abused drugs and alcohol?

[shockmagog]

Reagan again. He's currently acting in his greatest role: As a rotisserie main course in Hell. While he was alive, he was effective in running our nation into debt, and starting its tailspin into what we see it become today. Other than that, his greatest acting role was that of president of the United States.

Intelligence doesn't equate into leadership or success, but it sure helps.

[FedUpWithThisMess]

JohnKemp,
If I remember well, Reagan couldn't recall lots of things, and never came across as particularly smart to me.

[John]

"Having said that, this is one of the libs' most laughable gaffes; they equate intelligence with leadership & success."

Oh I see. That's why universities use standardized test scores (IQ tests) as their most important basis for admissions, by far. High intelligence is an absolute requirement for leadership in the modern world.

You, like so many in this country, are the product of a culture so dumbed down, so intellectually lazy, so self-centered and morally crippled, and so delusional that you cannot face the fact that ability matters, over all else, in qualifying one to be a leader at the level of President. You would like to think that someone like yourself (a selfish, myopic bumpkin like Bush, for example) can do the job of President. So what do you do? You vote for that corrupt dumb@ss. In fact, you even vote for him a second time, in the face of all the predictable disasters that were obvious by the end of his first term. Your idiotic choice has wrought havoc on everyone in this country and on the rest of the world. So no, it is no 'laughable gaffe' that equates intelligence with leadership and success. Intelligence, while not the only thing necessary, is a minimal requirement for Presidential leadership.

[SusanRen]

My brothers IQ is right up there too. Hes a brillant man with no common sense.

[barrista]

Sounds like you're jealous of your brother

[HopeGirl]

Yeah, he is probably out curing cancer and you are posting here.

[StillIRise]

As an Obama supporter, I have no problem at all with Washington Post disclosing this. It is one more commendable attribute that Senator Obama brings to this campaign and will bring to the presidency. I recall when President Clinton's IQ was also noted as among the highest IQs of our presidents, and most intelligent people applauded the fact that we had an intelligent president, just as we will have one in Senator Obama. Unfortunately, we've missed that over the last seven years! Intelligence or lack thereof is neither a predictor nor a detractor of one's relationship with himself, with others, and with one's world view, but I would much sooner welcome an intelligent president than one with no intelligence at all, like our current one. However, I think many people are intimidated by Senator Obama's intelligence and even by his humanity; it's like his very presence takes on the form of a mirror in which they are forced to think about what's in their own head and heart, and they blame him for what they see in themselves! Senator Obama is phenomenal in every way, and he is everything America needs ... intelligence and all!!!

[JohnKemp]

35,000?

Hell, Reagan drew that many at a cocktail party.

Rush draws 35,000 when he shows up to sneeze.

[BWonka]

Yet another pathetic post by the Waco Wacko, ForrestKemp. Typical fearful, cowardly Rethuglican. Poor (sic) WOW-boy.

[JohnKemp]

Hope you saw today's news which the mighty HuffPo for some strange reason failed to even mention.

TX authorities, under cross examination, admitted that none of the boys or girls taken into custody had ever been abused; even admitted that the mothers were gentle, caring parents.

Nevertheless, the "court" ordered DNA testing for ALL "involved" while mothers remained separated from their OWN children.

WOW!

[Marlyn]

Ah, the halcyon. days of Reagan ... heh

[StillIRise]

Since Reagan is deceased and Rush isn't running for president, let's compare these numbers to Hillary's rallies. That would seem a bit more relevant to this topic.

Still I Rise

[FedUpWithThisMess]

JohnKemp,
Please name an even we can verify where Reagan, Bush and Limbaugh was greeted by such a crowd? Minus the inauguration, which is expected for a president even as stupid as bush.

[JohnKemp]

In 2000, Rush drew 40,000+ in WA state for a campaign rally for a Republican STATE office candidate.

Hell, the Pope drew 46,000 with an overflow crowd outside at the Nationals Stadium just a few days ago.

35,000 in Philadelphia? - The story here is that that small of a turnout is obama's biggest.

[manualfordemocracy]

What cocktail party did Regan draw 35,000 people to? Was it the one where he sold Weapons of Mass Destruction to Iran or the one where he laundered the money with Oliver North to the contras?

As for Rush Limbaugh… I’ve seen his show a few times, he’s lucky if he has 350 people in the audience… and that’s with empty seats… 35,000 at a Rush event? Where and when, in your Neo-Con dreams?

[Marlyn]

"Was it the one where he sold Weapons of Mass Destruction to Iran?"

No, it was the one where he sold Weapons of Mass Destruction to Iraq.

[RussT]

"Our nation is at war and our planet is in peril"
No politics of fear in that speech! LMAO!

[vickic]

How is it not the truth? War in Iraq...glo­bal warming.