A 'Once in a Lifetime' Opportunity for Barack Obama in Portland, Oregon

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Fri Mar-21-08 02:09 PM
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A 'Once in a Lifetime' Opportunity for Barack Obama in Portland, Oregon

Edited on Fri Mar-21-08 02:43 PM by bigtree

PORTLAND - The cheers were deafening as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama walked into the Memorial Coliseum Friday morning, rallying for support.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president during the Portland event just before introducing the candidate to the mass of screaming fans in Portland.

In advance of a Portland speech, Barack Obama took some exercise and had some advice for those in a region thick with sneakers, bicycles and walking paths: "Stay fit."

That came as he left a downtown Portland hotel Friday morning accompanied by his Secret Service detail. He told KGW reporter Jennifer Iveson, "I'm going to have a good workout."

A frenzy developed on the Portland Craigslist Web site in the hours after all the Portland tickets were given away.

Desperate posts began to appear on Craigslist, including a teenager who just came of voting age, pleading for the chance to hear a presidential hopeful. On the other side, there was a lucky ticket-holder who offered to give up his seats in exchange for an X-Box 360.

Thousands of early risers and overnighters wait before dawn outside Portland's Memorial Coliseum to hear Sen. Barack Obama campaign for the presidency, March 21, 2008.

He had warm words for Hillary Rodham Clinton, but Bill Richardson has enthusiastically thrown his support behind Barack Obama.

At a campaign event in Portland, Oregon, the nation's only Hispanic governor endorsed Obama for president, calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for the nation to elect a "once-in-a-lifetime leader."

A presidential candidate himself just a few months ago, Richards also served as U.N. Ambassador and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton. But he said while his affection for the Clintons would never waver, it's time for a "new generation of leadership."

Delivering some of his words in Spanish, Richardson said the party has a choice between two great leaders, but that it's time for Democrats to stop fighting among themselves.

He urged the crowd to get behind Obama's candidacy and prepare for what he called "a tough fight" against John McCain.

9:54 am (Aaron): They're here! They're here! And Bill Richardson has an awesome goatee! He begins by discussing Tuesday's speech on race: "Senator Obama could have given a safer speech. He is, after all, well ahead in the delegate count in our party. Instead, Sen. Obama showed us once again what kind of leader he is. He spoke to us as adults." Hey, isn't that Jon Stewart's line from The Daily Show?

9:57 am (Ben): Addressing Hispanic voters, Richardson says, "Este es un hombre que nos entiende y que nos va a respetar." This man understands us and will respect us. Is he already appointing himself VP? Will his endorsement steal the Hispanic vote from Clinton?

9:59 am (Bill Richardson): "I trust him to do what is long overdue: end the Iraq War and bring our troops home."

10:00 am (James): There's a very real chance that Richardson's goatee will steal the show.

10:03 am (Aaron): "Your candidacy is a once-in-lifetime opportunity for our nation, and you are and once in a lifetime leader... And I am very proud to endorse your candidacy for the presidency of the United States!" A chant of "Yes we can" breaks out across the Coliseum. Richardson shoots back: "Si, se puede! Si, se puede!"

10:09 am (Ben): "It is my pleasure to introduce mi buen amigo, the next president of the United States, Barack Obama." The cheers are a little frightening in their volume. Obama takes the stage. Says he likes the "beautiful Pacific Northwest."

10:30: Obama's speaking about our soldiers, who he says have "performed magnificently, doing everything that was asked of them," a mother in the second tier of seats cries, "Bring my child home." Obama keeps right on rolling.

"This week a great man gave a great speech," Richardson told the crowd of several thousand. (http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/03/richarson_si_se.html)

"Senator Obama could have given a safer speech," Richardson said. "He is, after all, well ahead in the delegate count for our party's nomination. He could have just waited for the controversy over the deplorable remarks of Reverend Wright to subside, as it surely would have. Instead, Senator Obama showed us once again what kind of leader he is."

As an Hispanic, he said he was "touched deeply" by the words, citing the demonization of Latinos over the issue of illegal immigration.

Richardson, who held two Cabinet posts in the Clinton Administration, saved his praise for the Clintons for last saying that the Democrats "had two great leaders."

Obama, perhaps buoyed by the endorsement on a day that his comments to a Philadelphia radio station have caused a ruckus among cable news outlets, was in rare form, giving one of the fieriest speeches he has delivered in weeks.

"It's not just a change in parties," said the IL Sen. " It's not just putting forward a bunch of 10-point plans. It's restoring a sense that this government is working for you and fighting for you and is of and by the United States of America."