Obama draws an estimated 22,000 at Penn State
Larry Eichel - The Philadelphia InquirerIssue date: 3/27/08 Section: MCT News
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. _ After two days of visiting sports bars and steel plants and bowling badly, Barack Obama got back Sunday to what he does best.
He held a mass rally in a college town.
On the Old Main lawn at Penn State, on a cold and sunny afternoon, the Democratic presidential candidate addressed an adoring crowd estimated by university police at 22,000 _ a figure that would make it one of the larger rallies of the national campaign to date.
The gathering was the highlight of Day Three of Obama's six-day bus tour across Pennsylvania. The trip _ which has been heavy on low-key, retail politics _ is central to his attempt, three weeks in advance of the April 22 primary, to start eating into Hillary Rodham Clinton's double-digit lead in the polls.
In his speech, Obama talked about ending the war in Iraq, about reforming education and healthcare, and about making Washington a less cynical and more productive place. He also spoke to Democrats' concerns about the nasty turn the race has taken in the last few weeks.
"As this primary has gone on a little bit longer, there've been people who've been voicing some frustration," he said. " ... feel like that initial hopefulness that we had now is kind of slipping away ...
"This has been a great contest, great for America. It's engaged and involved people like never before."
Many in the crowd said they were dazzled by what they saw and heard.
"I'm filled up, and I got chills, which is a good sign," said Quinn Dwyer, 22, of Valley Forge, who's been studying to be an art teacher. "I was undecided, but I think I'm with him."
But her roommate, Stacey Cohen, 22, of Harrisburg, said she thought she'd still vote for Clinton.
"He gives a great speech; he's a beautiful human," she said. "It's a tough decision. But I'm going into nursing, and I think her health-care program is "outrageous"
As he opened his remarks, Obama made it clear he understood the priorities of the Penn State community.
He held a mass rally in a college town.
On the Old Main lawn at Penn State, on a cold and sunny afternoon, the Democratic presidential candidate addressed an adoring crowd estimated by university police at 22,000 _ a figure that would make it one of the larger rallies of the national campaign to date.
The gathering was the highlight of Day Three of Obama's six-day bus tour across Pennsylvania. The trip _ which has been heavy on low-key, retail politics _ is central to his attempt, three weeks in advance of the April 22 primary, to start eating into Hillary Rodham Clinton's double-digit lead in the polls.
In his speech, Obama talked about ending the war in Iraq, about reforming education and healthcare, and about making Washington a less cynical and more productive place. He also spoke to Democrats' concerns about the nasty turn the race has taken in the last few weeks.
"As this primary has gone on a little bit longer, there've been people who've been voicing some frustration," he said. " ... feel like that initial hopefulness that we had now is kind of slipping away ...
"This has been a great contest, great for America. It's engaged and involved people like never before."
Many in the crowd said they were dazzled by what they saw and heard.
"I'm filled up, and I got chills, which is a good sign," said Quinn Dwyer, 22, of Valley Forge, who's been studying to be an art teacher. "I was undecided, but I think I'm with him."
But her roommate, Stacey Cohen, 22, of Harrisburg, said she thought she'd still vote for Clinton.
"He gives a great speech; he's a beautiful human," she said. "It's a tough decision. But I'm going into nursing, and I think her health-care program is "outrageous"
As he opened his remarks, Obama made it clear he understood the priorities of the Penn State community.
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