Traveling Show

Last night I went to the Barack Obama rally on Boston Common. 9,500 people. A couple good speeches. And, of course, the man himself.

I was too far away to get any good pictures, but Barack warped that distance between himself and me. (In my personal experience, he runs a second place only to Bono in his ability to hold a crowd in his hand.)

He Baracked my world, even if I don't agree with everything he has to say. Being in the crowd underscored my belief that he's the man for the job -- because of the crowd's diversity. Here was the black woman affirming each line of the speech with a church-like "That's right. Yes, yes." Here was the white-white college kid whistling for hydrogen cars. What I think America needs, more than any particular policy, is 1) a person who can bring us together, and 2) someone who can help restore our position in the world. "When I'm President," Barack said, "I'll tell the world, America is back!" It was my favorite line.

No, actually, my favorite line was when he mentioned his "cousin Dick Cheney." He continued for a bit, then gave in to the laughter: "We tried to keep that under wraps. Hey, what can I say? There's a black sheep in every family."

For as closely as I've been following the presidential campaigns, this was my first campaign event. What struck me most was how like a traveling show it is, how really old-fashioned it is. In spite of the media blitzes, in spite of the millions of dollars, it all boils down to a person giving a speech, trying to make a sale. One on one. Asking for your vote. It's kind of beautiful, really.