'Biden' Time in Springfield
By kgpatia
At 2:30 AM, early Saturday morning, my cell phone alerted me that I had a text message. I (albeit groggily) read the message from Senator Barack Obama’s campaign letting me know he had selected Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. While good news to me, it was old news, as earlier in the evening word had spread quickly around a gathering of friends that the New York Times had reported Biden as Obama’s vice presidential running mate.
Just three short hours after receiving the Obama campaign’s text message, I was up and off to catch an Amtrak train down to Springfield, Illinois—my hometown—to watch Obama “introduce” Biden to his campaign, and America. The 7:00 AM Amtrak train might as well have been called the “Obama Express.” As I walked the length of the train, I saw a plethora of Obama shirts, buttons, and signs. Despite the early hour, people seemed cheery and enthusiastic.
By the time the train pulled into Springfield at around 10:15 AM, lines had formed around several city blocks. Luckily, I was able to join family in line, although there were probably hundreds of people still ahead of us in line. According to one of the many police officers working to keep the downtown area in order, people had already stated forming a line at the early hour of 3:00 AM, when the officers started their shift. While the prospect of waiting over 12 hours ahead of time for a political event seems shocking, it is heartening to see people devote the kind of time usually reserved for waiting in line to buy season tickets or the latest video game system to the political process.
By 11:30 AM, we had made it through the intense security and secured a spot on the lawn of Springfield’s Old State Capitol. With a fairly decent view, all that was left to do was wait—a feat not made any easier by the blazing sun and close quarters, as people packed in to hear the senators speak.
The last time Senator Obama spoke in Springfield, when he announced his candidacy last February, people struggled to keep warm in the blistering cold. Now, nearly 19 months later, a reported crowd of 35,000 people, roughly twice the size of the February crowd, battled heat exhaustion, dehydration, and sunburn for a chance, as many stated, to “be a part of history.”
When the event finally kicked off at around 2:00 PM, all of the inconveniences of the day were forgotten as the crowd came to life. Springfield’s mayor, Tim Davlin, gave a brief speech, which was followed by a lengthy, but apt invocation led by the leader of a local church. Two members of the Obama campaign followed this, informing the crowd of ways to get involved in the campaign.
After hours of waiting, the crowd erupted when Senator Obama finally made his appearance and began his speech. Although the text of the speech is now available from many news sources, and could be viewed on all the major networks, hearing it in person was quite the experience.
I have long-admired Senator Joe Biden’s work in the Senate, and in the early stages of the presidential campaign, when the three frontrunners dominated the news, I had hoped that Biden might find his way into the winner’s administration, perhaps as Secretary of State.
Listening to Obama detail Biden’s life story, experiences, and accomplishments, I was confident that the senator would greatly compliment the Obama campaign. As Obama noted, because of his experiences, Biden is uniquely suited to be his running mate. For although he has been in the Senate for nearly 36 years, Biden has managed to maintain a reputation as somewhat of a maverick. Biden brings experience, especially much-needed foreign policy experience, to the table without tarnishing Obama’s outsider image. After all, as Obama pointed out in his speech, Biden never moved to Washington, D.C. in all his years in the Senate, instead taking an Amtrak train home each night.
Furthermore, continuing in Obama’s vein of building coalitions and “coming together,” Biden represents a figure with respect on both sides of the aisle. On Friday, I found myself doing something rare: agreeing with the (relatively) conservative columnist for the New York Times, David Brooks, as he outlined the reasons Obama should select Biden as his vice presidential nominee.
Biden does have a history of speaking off the cuff whatever is on his mind, which has gotten him into trouble in the past. However, as Brooks notes in his column, “voters are smart enough to forgive the genuine flaws of genuine people.” There are even many individuals that appreciate him for this perceived “flaw,” rather than in spite of it (as Jonathan Alter aptly summarizes in a piece in Newsweek).
When Biden took the stage in Springfield after Obama’s introduction, he appeared energetic and enthusiastic as the crowd on the capitol lawn cheered his welcome. This represents an exciting start to the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO, which begins this week.
Although I will unfortunately not be attending the convention in Denver, I will post throughout the week with updates and commentary on the convention activities. Shawn Healy, Resident Scholar at the McCormick Freedom Museum, will be attending the Republican National Convention in Minnesota the week after, and will post with updates from the convention.
All in all, it seems that no matter what your political leanings, this is gearing up to be an exciting and interesting election.
At 2:30 AM, early Saturday morning, my cell phone alerted me that I had a text message. I (albeit groggily) read the message from Senator Barack Obama’s campaign letting me know he had selected Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. While good news to me, it was old news, as earlier in the evening word had spread quickly around a gathering of friends that the New York Times had reported Biden as Obama’s vice presidential running mate.Just three short hours after receiving the Obama campaign’s text message, I was up and off to catch an Amtrak train down to Springfield, Illinois—my hometown—to watch Obama “introduce” Biden to his campaign, and America. The 7:00 AM Amtrak train might as well have been called the “Obama Express.” As I walked the length of the train, I saw a plethora of Obama shirts, buttons, and signs. Despite the early hour, people seemed cheery and enthusiastic.
By the time the train pulled into Springfield at around 10:15 AM, lines had formed around several city blocks. Luckily, I was able to join family in line, although there were probably hundreds of people still ahead of us in line. According to one of the many police officers working to keep the downtown area in order, people had already stated forming a line at the early hour of 3:00 AM, when the officers started their shift. While the prospect of waiting over 12 hours ahead of time for a political event seems shocking, it is heartening to see people devote the kind of time usually reserved for waiting in line to buy season tickets or the latest video game system to the political process.
By 11:30 AM, we had made it through the intense security and secured a spot on the lawn of Springfield’s Old State Capitol. With a fairly decent view, all that was left to do was wait—a feat not made any easier by the blazing sun and close quarters, as people packed in to hear the senators speak.The last time Senator Obama spoke in Springfield, when he announced his candidacy last February, people struggled to keep warm in the blistering cold. Now, nearly 19 months later, a reported crowd of 35,000 people, roughly twice the size of the February crowd, battled heat exhaustion, dehydration, and sunburn for a chance, as many stated, to “be a part of history.”
When the event finally kicked off at around 2:00 PM, all of the inconveniences of the day were forgotten as the crowd came to life. Springfield’s mayor, Tim Davlin, gave a brief speech, which was followed by a lengthy, but apt invocation led by the leader of a local church. Two members of the Obama campaign followed this, informing the crowd of ways to get involved in the campaign.
After hours of waiting, the crowd erupted when Senator Obama finally made his appearance and began his speech. Although the text of the speech is now available from many news sources, and could be viewed on all the major networks, hearing it in person was quite the experience.
I have long-admired Senator Joe Biden’s work in the Senate, and in the early stages of the presidential campaign, when the three frontrunners dominated the news, I had hoped that Biden might find his way into the winner’s administration, perhaps as Secretary of State.
Listening to Obama detail Biden’s life story, experiences, and accomplishments, I was confident that the senator would greatly compliment the Obama campaign. As Obama noted, because of his experiences, Biden is uniquely suited to be his running mate. For although he has been in the Senate for nearly 36 years, Biden has managed to maintain a reputation as somewhat of a maverick. Biden brings experience, especially much-needed foreign policy experience, to the table without tarnishing Obama’s outsider image. After all, as Obama pointed out in his speech, Biden never moved to Washington, D.C. in all his years in the Senate, instead taking an Amtrak train home each night.Furthermore, continuing in Obama’s vein of building coalitions and “coming together,” Biden represents a figure with respect on both sides of the aisle. On Friday, I found myself doing something rare: agreeing with the (relatively) conservative columnist for the New York Times, David Brooks, as he outlined the reasons Obama should select Biden as his vice presidential nominee.
Biden does have a history of speaking off the cuff whatever is on his mind, which has gotten him into trouble in the past. However, as Brooks notes in his column, “voters are smart enough to forgive the genuine flaws of genuine people.” There are even many individuals that appreciate him for this perceived “flaw,” rather than in spite of it (as Jonathan Alter aptly summarizes in a piece in Newsweek).
When Biden took the stage in Springfield after Obama’s introduction, he appeared energetic and enthusiastic as the crowd on the capitol lawn cheered his welcome. This represents an exciting start to the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO, which begins this week.Although I will unfortunately not be attending the convention in Denver, I will post throughout the week with updates and commentary on the convention activities. Shawn Healy, Resident Scholar at the McCormick Freedom Museum, will be attending the Republican National Convention in Minnesota the week after, and will post with updates from the convention.
All in all, it seems that no matter what your political leanings, this is gearing up to be an exciting and interesting election.
(photos taken by author)
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