20,000 Obamacons Come Out in Norfolk

Numerous news stories and commentators are saying that in order to "close the deal" and carry Virginia - he'd be the first Democrat presidential candidate to do so since 1964 - Obama needs to carry the Hampton Roads area. He is already polling in excess of 60% in Northern Virginia, so a significant win in Hampton Roads will close the deal. Obviously, if Obama can carry Virginia, McCain's hopes to win the Oval Office are dim indeed. Recognizing this, Obama held a rally in Norfolk last night and will hold another rally in Virginia Beach on Thursday. To my knowledge, Obama is the only national candidate to EVER mention gays and seek their support in public appearances in Virginia covered live by the media. Generally, the GOP uses us as bogey men and implied child molesters. The difference between the parties could not be more stark. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot about last night's event:

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Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told a shivering crowd of at least 20,000 people Tuesday night at Harbor Park to not “believe for a second that the election is over” and urged them to get out, knock on doors, convince neighbors and work for the “change we need.”

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“If we come together, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, disabled, not disabled,” Obama said, punching out the words like he was calling attendance. “If we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of the status quo in Washington.”

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Tuesday’s speech was his ninth Virginia appearance, a testament to the state’s battleground status. He will return Thursday for a rally in Virginia Beach, and his Republican opponent, John McCain, has scheduled a Saturday visit to an as-yet unannounced Hampton Roads location.

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People filled the 12,000-seat ballpark’s chairs up to the highest seats, then packed themselves shoulder to shoulder down on the ballfield. A few minutes before Obama spoke, they flooded through an opening in the centerfield wall and filled most of the outfield.

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They roared approval every time Obama unwound one of his well-practiced setups and landed the blow. One of his biggest themes was the national economy. “It’s getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even pay electricity at the end of the month,” he said. “At a time like this, the last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired old worn-out theory of John McCain and George Bush that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope the prosperity trickles down to everyone else.”

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“The American story has never been about things coming easy, it’s been about rising to the moment,” he said, pausing, his voice booming, “when the moment was hard. It’s about seeing the highest mountaintop from the deepest of valleys. It’s about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose.” He spent plenty of words throughout the speech distinguishing himself from McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. He said the stakes are too high to play political games or to try to divide the country by class, region, or “by who we are and what we believe.”