75,000 attend Obama rally in Portland!

[mystieus]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/18/1036703.aspx

From NBC's Mark Hudspeth
Per the Obama campaign, 75,000 people (60,000 in the gates and 15,000 outside of them) turned out in Portland to hear Obama speak there this afternoon -- making it the largest Obama crowd to date.

Duane Bray, the battalion chief with Portland Fire and Rescue, validated that crowd estimate, the campaign says.

[Coexist]

1. wow!

[Revlon10]

274. I'm so happy

I'm so happy tears are running down my face, thank you to all Obama supporters,
yes we can,
Obama has taken the money out of the hands of the big boys

each and every supper show us, and the world that we, the american people are not stupid, brainwashed, and don't want war
we are all one

GOBAMA

[anonymous171]

2. ...

:wow:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. 75,000! that tells you something!

:toast:

[madamesilverspurs]

172. Yeppers!

They had to take the picture from a distance, didn't want to distress the nation by showing so many "bitter" faces all in one place. . .

[WheelWalker]

307. First sunny day since October 3, 2007.

(That's a joke but you have to live in Oregon to get it)

[oldtime dfl_er]

4. Portland rocks!

That's a massive crowd!

[Kaleko]

169. Can you imagine

what it must have been like for Obama looking out on that sea of mostly white faces cheering him on to finally get rid of the Bush cabal?

Oh, the times they are a'changing. Get hip to it, folks.

[AtomicKitten]

5. Holy shit! I've seen it reported at 30K, then 50K, and now 75K?!!!

Spectacular. :D

[L. Coyote]

248. They just bumped it to 80,000, 65,000 got inside, 15,000 on the outside

McCain is lucky to get 15,000 this month!!

[pdxprog]

308. Bah, McCain...

Minimum of a thousand bucks a pop for a ticket to go see the dude? All other things being equal (although of course we know they ain't), those of us who are neither the Haves nor the Have-Mores are gonna go see the candidate(s) who are welcoming toward our own.

(In droves, I might add. Why didn't I think of taking the kayak?!?)

[GarbagemanLB]

6. There's a reason why Hillary cut her Oregon trip short. This state is going big for Obama.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

I think he'll do well in KY too

now that....

[K Gardner]

7. I guess they misunderestimated at 50K !! Holy Crowd Control !!

[TexasLady]

8. Nuh Uh!!! Really? So, more than the original 50 grand stated?

Yewgottabekiddinme!
:applause:

[NotThisTime]

39. I thought no way would they get 50K, never mind more!!!

[99th_Monkey]

9. Oregon hearts Barack Obama big-time. Together we can kick McSame's ass in Nov. ~nt~

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Wow.... Those numbers mean voters and supporters

I love my neighbors to the north, I think Oregon is gonna be
a bigger blow out than Hillary's win in Kentucky.

Now, that would be an interesting bet.

[Doityourself]

11. WOW!!!!!!!

[grasswire]

12. That sounds impossible for that venue (eom)

[bhikkhu]

44. I lived there for years...its very possible

(and now I am kicking myself for not having been there too!)

[TahitiNut]

58. VERY difficult ... if only because of parking.

People had to have walked a LOOONG ways.

[bhikkhu]

63. True, but the area is served very well by passenger rail

If I remember right, 75k is about the number that commutes into the city every day, and a big percentage comes in by rail.

on edit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAX_Light_Rail - wiki says 100K a day ride the MAX line, besides 300k a day driving to work in the county. Not all of those are heading to work downtown, but certainly a big enough portion.

[quakerboy]

200. Even with the rail

that particular spot is a bit of a walk. I believe thats the same spot where kerry did an appearance last go-round, and people were packed in for blocks around. If you were lucky enough to know someone, or be there early, you might be able to stand on the top of the parking structure across the street and still see the candidate. I can only imagine how it was for someone we are actually enthusiastic about.

[NeedleCast]

97. Mass Transit Here is Great

I bet no more than 1 in 25 people at the rally drove there.

[me b zola]

132. You had to walk forever to find the end of the line

(waiting to get in). It was amazing. The line wound up & down streets and was a least a mile long.

IT WAS AMAZING! :bounce:

[DeschutesRiver]

144. Many streets were shut down

which is standard. Probably walked a long ways, but that isn't tough for an Oregonian - we do that a lot out here. Or they light railed it right to the door.

My husband is at our house in Portland, and he got to watch full coverage on kgw tv. Here in Central Oregon, I got to see it for a few minutes on CNN with the crowd sounds muted by CNN. DH said he really enjoyed hearing Obama speak.

[Ken Burch]

186. That's why God and Neil Goldschmidt created Tri-Met

(the very effective public transit system for Portland).

Makes it easier to get a lot of people to one place without the parking hassles.

[Mme. Defarge]

195. I parked on

S.E. 8th & Hawthorne and walked across the Hawthorne bridge. My destination WAS the Hawthorne bridge, but it got taped off due to security.

[TahitiNut]

196. It ALMOST makes me wish I was still living in the PNW.

But nothing could make me move back to the Dry-Shitties. My fondest times were all the times I visited Seattle, Portland, Eugene, and other "saner" areas ... so much so that I braved some of the absolute worst weather over the Cascades or along the Columbia River Gorge just to get there.

[chknltl]

252. snicker snicker, I haven't heard that name in 30 years.

Left there 30 years ago, went west. Wet side of the hill has it's problems, roving herds of tumbleweeds ain't among those problems.

[Terre]

243. It WAS crowded

but it was not VERY difficult. At least is wasn't for us. Downtown blocks are not that long. I'll admit I was tired by the time we headed back to the car, but I think it was more because of the heat than anything else.

When the adrenaline is rushing, you hardly notice any pain. :)

[L. Coyote]

250. Over 100,000 in walking distance, great mass transit, bicyclists abound in PDX,

The mass transit system extends from near Mt. Hood to near the Coast Range!
http://trimet.org/max/

[Danieljay]

300. Umm... its called public transformation, the lightrail, we call it the MAX and it runs

20 miles in all directions (except south but that is being constructed as we speak).

So, totally possible.

[grasswire]

well, John Kerry's 2004 rally was estimated at 40-50,000...

...and then the fire marshal started turning people away.

So I suspect the Obama campaign is "enthusiastic" -- that usually happens.

[sandnsea]

101. I saw pictures of both, this one's bigger - and

There are another 15,000 in boats on the river, on the bridge, and other areas outside the park. 50,000 + 15,000 = 65,000; except they let 60,000 in today and I believe it having seen pictures of both rallies. I would think you would be happy a Democrat was getting so many people excited.

[bhikkhu]

112. Absolutely - the party has grown in Oregon since 04

Thanks to many leaders, and Obama is certainly one of them.

[FrenchieCat]

105. This is a primary rally.......Kerry's was a General Election rally.

There is a difference in measuring enthusiasm for the candidate.

[sandnsea]

116. The May Dean-Kerry rally drew about 5,000

Sean Astin was there, and some musician I can't believe I can't remember his name. So, yes, this is significantly different.

[mwb970]

272. This *was* a general election rally.

The primary is over. Obama is the nominee. In his speeches now he praises Hillary and hits mcSame. That's GE talk.

[sakura]

179. I was at both rallies...

The Kerry one was huge, but this one was definitely bigger.

[here_is_to_hope]

285. Ditto, I was at both and this one was hugh!!!11!!!1!

We skated from 32nd/Hawthorne....

[cliffordu]

113. Actually - there are 100,000 people who live within WALKING distance

of that park -

twice that on bicycles, three times that on mass transit.

PDX is really something else.

I might move back there....

[emsimon33]

223. I lived in Portland, too, and it is very possible

These people are very politically astute and active. I bet FauxNos has very little viewership in Portland.

[FrenchieCat]

13. DAYUM!

Kind of "weird" the way that CNN didn't have this on CNN LIVE for us to watch.....or ever really showed the crowd......

Will it show up on C-Span, cause the local hook up I had was shaky.

IT appears that when Obama has massive rallies, CNN doesn't really want us to "know". They did the same think for Philadelphia.


Now I remember when the were pastorbating, that had no end. Wright Network was on 24/7, with almost no interruption.

Mmmmmm.......

[AllentownJake]

22. They did the same thing for the Philly rally

The only place it got coverage was in PA

[FrenchieCat]

34. Shouldn't we be calling them on this?

Letting them know that we notice this bullshit.

Hell, Hillary and McCain were all that I saw on my TV today.

Here's the contact information for each and every show, including the personalities.....

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/cnntv/

Here's Rick "bloviating" Sanchez contact page: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?98

[AllentownJake]

40. At this point

I'll let it go that they aren't covering it.

Sunday as far as media days go are for political junkies...we picked our horse a long time ago.

[mamalone]

43. Mmmmm.... is right...

Now, I wonder why that is?:eyes:

[FrenchieCat]

85. My letter......

That I sent at this link: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?98

Dear Mr. Sanchez,
Why didn't CNN show more of the Obama rally where 75,000 people showed up to hear him speak? And why was it not on CNN Live online? I had to watch it online via a local Oregon affiliate.

It appears that a few weeks ago, CNN was obsessed with nonstop Pastorbating to the topic of Rev. Wright. However, inexplicably, a political rally reporting 75,000 people attending is only briefly covered. Oh certainly, I got to see CNN reporter at the rally blathering on and on about his views and opinions as to what he was seeing, but I would have much preferred seeing it myself via your camera lenses.

I am very disappointed in CNN, and realize that I can't trust your programming priorities whatsoever. Maybe that is why no one pays attention to you all anymore, in particular when it appears that you have an agenda that has nothing to do with providing true information to your viewers. 75,000 in attendance is a giant deal, and I'm sure if McCain or Clinton would have been the ones to have achieve such, it would have been talked about and shown on CNN for the next 5 days. Meanwhile we are treated to repeated replays of McCain's appearance on SLN as though that is where the story is (since there can only be one story). I find this peculiar.

So due to the oddity of your coverage, I will remember this CNN weirdness, and I will discuss this "strange" coverage priority with all whom I know.

Respectfully,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[mamalone]

98. Good letter:)

My favorite part:
So due to the oddity of your coverage, I will remember this CNN weirdness, and I will discuss this "strange" coverage priority with all whom I know.
and I also liked how you signed it "respectfully";)

You know I just checked their site a moment ago and they had nothing about this on the front page. They did however have a link to an article about how Hillary says that she has the popular vote:eyes:





edited to correct embarrassing spelling error:blush:

[EffieBlack]

164. But this rally doesn't count because it was just black people

Oh . . . wait a minute . . .

Never mind.

(great letter)

[JimGinPA]

311. LOL

[quantass]

261. .

[jbnow]

59. I thought that was strange too. They showed it live

for awhile and it's not like they had too many live feeds going.

I didn't think about the reason you suspect but sure was strange. I stalk Obama via live feeds, thanks to CNN see his town halls all over. BVut they don't show this? (Wonder if they'll show the town hall tonight)

Someone had posted three sites with local feeds. One was pretty weak but the last one was strong and showed a split screen, close on Obama and then showing the crowd. Couldn't tell the crowd size except it was huge.

[knixphan]

168. exactly.

MSM and their 'fair/balanced' approach...

[ej510]

14. Yes We Can!

[quantass]

267. Yes we can!

[PM7nj]

15. OMFG! That is insane.

It puts our measly rally of 45,000 to shame!

[mystieus]

282. lol, i'm sorry

[thewiseguy]

16. Thats bigger than the crowd that turned out to see Pope in Yankees stadium!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

21. more popular than...

[lojasmo]

96. PA rally (30K) was more than the pope

This was twice as big.

[1_cali_dem]

278. i DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

:wow: DAMN!!!!!!!!!! :grouphug: YES WE CAN1 YES WECAN1 YES WE CAN111111111111

[jefferson_dem]

17. "Enough with the speeches...and the big rallies."

"Shame on you, Barack Obama!"

[Arugula Latte]

123. I think this qualifies as a WHOOP-DEE-DOO event!!

:rofl:

[bhikkhu]

124. ..

:rofl: :rofl:

[tabasco]

149. LOL! Hillary's gonna be PISSED!

[MadBadger]

18. wow

[sniffa]

19. You know who else used to get those numbers at his rallies? HITLER!

Wow, that's f'n impressive. :wow:

K&R

[NotThisTime]

37. Nice tie in there with that one

:wtf:

[sniffa]

65. Thanks

:hi:

[VolcanoJen]

52. You know who else used to get those numbers at his rallies? JOHN KERRY IN 2004!!!!!!

John Kerry Rally in Madison, WI draws 80,000

Nice try, Mr. Short-Term Memory! :eyes:

[sniffa]

75. Thanks

:hi:

Despite what some say, I thought he was a great candidate.

[VolcanoJen]

83. I did, too.

Worked my ass off for him. But they stole Ohio fair and square. :-(

[globalvillage]

120. Nice. My two favorite Senators.

Great that Obama drew a crowd almost as big as JK's.

[DesEtoiles]

175. God! ANOTHER name to my ignore list!

[swishyfeet]

210. NO no no...

Jen's awesome. I think you just missed the joke.

[NCDem60]

176. So you're comparing

Obama's primary election rally to Kerry's general election rally? Apples and oranges.

[quantass]

258. That was a GE Rally..Obama is setting records in the Primaries -- Can you imagine his GE #s..WOW!

[Fire_brand]

275. Um, the article you posted says Springsteen was there

methinks that would make a difference

[Hugabear]

217. You, sir, are a genuine ASSHOLE

Seriously, if you're going to compare Obama to Hitler? Fuck off. I hear the Freepers agree with your evaluation.

[blonndee]

229. Dude, sniffa is kidding.

Really, I promise.

[sniffa]

266. Thanks

:hi:

[sniffa]

265. I love you too

:hug:

[stillcool]

299. My husband just told me a story...

about JFK in Times Square. He said the Democrats used to kick off their Presidential Campaign the day after Labor Day in NYC. He went in to see JFK and said it was like this only bigger. He also said it used to be pretty common place, but with the advent of the media politicians were reluctant to rent out a big stadium, because they didn't want it to be half empty.

[mamalone]

20. Yikes! Help me out here....

This is enormous... bigger than any rally for a single individual I have ever heard of. How does this compare to other "huge" rallies in the past? Do any of you know of rallies with more people than this?

[goclark]

27. I sure don't

:bounce:

[mamalone]

104. Wish I could be there...

Then there'd be a crowd of 75,001! :D

[VolcanoJen]

23. And it was like an ocean of fresh-scrubbed white faces.

This kind of thing really matters to Our Awesome Liberal Media, so I'm sure that on Tuesday night we won't be hearing any more from Pat Buchanan about how Obama can't win the "white vote."

Right? :eyes:

[EmilyAnne]

29. Oh, he's got that covered. They were all netroots, see? Drining their lattes and driving their

volvos and blowing through their trust funds. All 75,000 of them, clearly.

[VolcanoJen]

99. Where's the photo of the Arugula and Veggie Burgers stand??!!???

:shrug:

;-)

[democrattotheend]

255. I have buttons for Arugula eaters, latte drinkers, prius drivers, and more

Check out the new Obama section of my cafe press shop: http://www.cafepress.com/blue_america/5538454

Shameless self-promotion, but I made some cool buttons and other stuff based on some of the insults that have been thrown at Obama supporters during this primary season. Will have more stuff soon, so check back.

[VolcanoJen]

309. Those are awesome!!!

You're a clever one. :-)

[democrattotheend]

310. Thanks!

I'm thinking of adding a section for stuff that says "Hard Working White Person for Obama", but that might be over the top. What do you think?

[sakura]

182. Except for the teamsters, the AFSCME folks, the SEIU, the UFCW, the scads of teachers, etc.

But then again, this is Oregon. We're all latte-sipping volvo drivers here. Actually, allow me to rephrase. We're all latte-sipping, SUBARU-driving, gardenburger-eating, labrador retriever-walking liberals here. And we liked it when Kerry wind-surfed in the gorge.

[redstate_democrat]

50. But I thought Hillary had the "winning coaltion" and the more "broader coalition"

to "actually win"?

:rofl:

Pack it up, Hillary. THE PEOPLE have spoken!

[Barack_America]

24. That is insane.

What do you think the Republican leadership does when they hear numbers like that?

[VolcanoJen]

48. McCain would be lucky to get 750, honestly.

His campaign can't be thrilled when they hear about Obama's rallies just growing in size.

[VotesForWomen]

259. you're right, it is insane. i find it scary, actually. there is something not rational going on he

here. 75K people turn out to see a half-term senator from illinois that 95% of them probably never even heard of a year ago??

[JTFrog]

262. Then go hide in your fucking bedroom and let the adults stay out and vote.

[grantcart]

25. Some were in the Willamete Riv ooh shit were gonna need a bigger boat

[saltpoint]

194. : ) !!

[Faygo Kid]

26. Oregon doesn't count.

West Virginia counted. New Hampshire counted. California counted then, but she couldn't win it if a vote was held again, so it kind of counts, in a time-space continuum kind of way.

Oregon doesn't count. Maryland, where I voted, REALLY doesn't count.

My home state of Michigan counts so long as Hillary gets ALL of her "votes," and Barack gets none, because he followed the rules, and that wasn't fair.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

199. Check out the CUTE guy's expression behind Hill..

That's priceless!!! :applause:

[redstate_democrat]

28. This is incredible. This must be a record crowd for a political rally.

Obama will go down in the history books for a whole host of reasons! GOBAMA!!!!!!

[FrenchieCat]

102. For a primary rally, I'm sure.......

even for a General Election rally.

Too many White Faces to show on National TeeVee though. Might counter the "White vote White" meme that we are supposed to be swallowing as it is fed to us.

[L. Coyote]

251. RFK '68, we filled a Convention Center with over 3,000. We were thrilled

to have such a huge event.

[d_b]

30. kick

for pics

:kick:

[livetohike]

31. Amazing!

I watched some of the rally on CNN, but didn't see crowd pictures and it seems they had the crowd sound muted.

[janet118]

211. I noticed that, too

It was like the Dean scream thing - directional mike. You could barely hear any of the crowd's reaction - so it seemed like Obama was just pausing a little too long between sentences. The CNN coverage I watched reported that there were 50,000 people at the rally. In the middle of Obama's speech, they cut to the reporter and then stopped the coverage altogether.

Here's the thing - can you imagine if McCain had had that many people turn out for one of his lame events? CNN would be covering it all day and night and have their bench of smarmy anchors wax poetic about what an inspirational candidate McCain must be to have drawn such a crowd.

More disturbing, I've noticed a dearth of coverage of Obama on C-Span. Everytime I turn on their "Road to the White House" series, it's either McCain or some panel/forum without any of the candidates. Once in a while there is a Hillary event. Obama? Rarely. What's with that? No wonder people who depend on television for their information think that Obama is an elite, Muslim communist.

Is there any way to monitor the candidate coverage time on C-Span? I know when John Edwards was still in the campaign, his events were rarely covered and I believe his candidacy suffered for it. C-Span is supposed to be a public service station. They should give roughly equal time to all the candidates.

[DU GrovelBot]

32. ## DON'T DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

==================
GROVELBOT.EXE v4.1
==================



This week is our second quarter 2008 fund drive. Democratic Underground is
a completely independent website. We depend on donations from our members
to cover our costs. Whatever you do, do not click the link below!

[Arugula Latte]

33. I'm so proud!! I love my city!!

:bounce:

[Kukesa]

73. You should be proud.

I was fortunate to visit Portland on business a while back and it's a gorgeous city; stayed for the weekend and attended your Cinco de Mayo celebration.

And I see that at least 75,000 of you have excellent taste in presidential candidates.

:yourock:

[Arugula Latte]

82. Thanks!

I'm originally from Ohio and it will always have a piece of my heart ... :toast:

[WheelWalker]

301. Me too.

[elizm]

158. I LOVE YOUR CITY!!!!! SC says thank you!!!! NT

[Arugula Latte]

187. Thank you back! South Carolina helped the Obama campaign get momentum!

:toast:

[roguevalley]

184. I love it too. lived there for a short time with the Grandparents in

the sixties. I'm from the Medford area, Central Point where all the rallies are. Portland rules. Here's some Portlandia for the touristos that might come there: (the only larger copper hammered statue in the world is the statue of liberty. when they barged this in, people ran along the banks of the river cheering and applauding):

damn. the picture posts an illegal code. I will put a link:



Uh, the posted link posted the picture. I will go lay down now. :+

[swishyfeet]

214. Come on... snakeyes!!

She musta stopped in at Chinook Winds casino on the way.

[me b zola]

268. Portlandia!

:loveya:

[CaptJasHook]

226. Me as well. Only city I can imagine living in....

[PseudoIntellect]

35. Nice, that's 2% of Oregon.

[DerekJ]

47. LOL .. Now that's one way to put it.

[slinkerwink]

69. actually, that's 10% of the estimated primary turnout voters

If they all go home and vote for Obama.......that pretty much gets him a 10% lead right there.

[TahitiNut]

88. It's over 10% of the population of Multnomah County, too.

BIG.

[TexasLady]

36. Yall Rec this thing!

Oregon Rocks!

[MadBadger]

38. He should do a stadium tour this Summer

[DerekJ]

41. That's nuts!! Pictures... I WANT PICTURESSSSS ...NOW

[PM7nj]

51. Here is one:

[DerekJ]

68. FUCK!!!!

:wow:

[RichardRay]

106. And the boats on the river were about that thick, too!! n/t

[TexasObserver]

42. Meanwhile, John McCain was meeting with the GOP Women's Auxillary Garden Club in Peoria.

All two dozen members were present.

[VolcanoJen]

74. I heard Myrna couldn't make it, Tex.

Harold's got the gout, you know. }( }( }( }( }(

[TexasObserver]

100. I'm not surprised they inflated the number.

When they say they need "warm bodies" for a McCain, you know they really mean it!! His constituency shrinks every day due to natural attrition.

[VolcanoJen]

110. Your profile quote is spot-on.

Happened in Ohio, too. Same day, as I'm sure you remember. :grr: Hamilton County (Cincinnati) went huge for Obama, and came thisclose to going blue for Kerry in 2004. Clermont County (Cincy suburb, red county) went huge for Hillary, and went something like 70% for Bush in 2004.

Why is it that this rather easy and simple fact never seemed to stick? Hillary's "victories" in Ohio, Texas, and Indiana were inflated, and for the most part, phony.

[TexasObserver]

137. Texas and Indiana were definitely swung by Limbaugh votes.

Ohio was a wider margin of win for Hillary, but it appears that at least 5-7 of her points were Limbaugh crossovers.

If the Limbaugh crossovers were taken out, Hillary would have won several fewer states, including the pop vote in Texas and Indiana.

[JoePhilly]

That's not fair ... it was Bridge night.

[JoePhilly]

161. That's not fair ... it was Bridge night.

[K Gardner]

136. OMG, that's hilarious ! Side by side pics of that would be nice !

[Cha]

45. In the Primaries!

Thank you, Oregon! :loveya:

[Forkboy]

46. I honestly don't think I've ever heard of anything like this.

Maybe it's happened before and I just haven't heard of it, but this is amazing.

[VolcanoJen]

57. Not in a primary, but John Kerry got even larger crowds in the 2004 general election campaign.

For example:

John Kerry Rally in Madison, WI draws 80,000

We hated Bush that bad, even back then, you know. ;-)

[Forkboy]

66. I knew there had to be an example...

and that a DUer would know it. :)

[1776Forever]

49. Wonderful - Bundabar - Maravilloso - Tre Magnifique

WOW - What a party that must have been! Thank you Oregon!!!!

Can you imagine how many people are going to show up for his inauguration?

[aasleka]

171. i've already taken that week off in 09

[MethuenProgressive]

53. "Per the Obama campaign"

And they've been sooo truthful about soooo much...
:eyes:

[PM7nj]

55. Validated by the battalion chief with Portland Fire and Rescue.

BTW:

[Kukesa]

81. That oughta be enough proof for the non-believers. n/t

[MethuenProgressive]

270. "non-believers"

:toast:

[DeschutesRiver]

148. If he said it

then it is accurate - those guys don't play these things one way or another, they just accurately call 'em.

What a wonderful crowd - we still have a place outside Portland (dh is over there right now), and couldn't be more proud that we showed the Obamas a really good time and a record turnout. If Obama liked those turnout numbers, just wait until he sees how big Oregon goes for him tomorrow.

I am going to have "election" finger food for the two of us here, with our dogs, complete with lattes from our home machine to watch the returns.

[VolcanoJen]

60. Good Gawd, even John Kerry got crowds that big in the 2004 General Election campaign.

It's absolutely ridiculous that you would even doubt this. Are your grapes really that sour?

[sniffa]

80. Sour grapes make the best whine

:9

[DerekJ]

64. Ah! The sound of a broken heart .. or was that jealousy...may be fumes out of your ears!!

In all cases, sounds like music to my ears.

[MoJoWorkin]

108. Sorry to burst your bubble, but ABC News reported 75,000 just a bit ago

[roguevalley]

188. you are such a sad sack. this happened. it happened in realityville

where the rest of us live. go show us the home pictures of your gal's rallies. I heard she left Oregon. I wonder why.

[Warren DeMontague]

253. Translation: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

[JTFrog]

263. “Probably the saddest thing you'll ever see is a mosquito sucking on a mummy.

Forget it little friend."

It's over.

[NJSecularist]

54. Look at this crowd

50,000 people.

He lost the state by 10%. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[VolcanoJen]

62. Are you predicting that Obama is going to lose Oregon?

You heard it here first, DUers! NJSecularist is going out on a limb!!!

:rofl: :rofl:

Jealous, much...? Were you this pissy in 2004 when John Kerry was drawing crowds this big during the general election campaign?

[PM7nj]

71. And he won Philadelphia by 30%.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[NJSecularist]

78. You think that entire crowd came from residents of Philadelphia?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl:

[Arugula Latte]

84. Portland/Multnomah County can just about outvote the entire state.

I don't think you'll be laughing about Oregon come Tues. evening.

[VolcanoJen]

89. Oh, trust me, they're laughing at you.

And Iowa, and Kansas, and Virginia, and Missouri, and Maryland, and Wisconsin, and.... ;-)

The fair thing to do here would be to annex more states in order to pacify the Clintonistas. }(

[Yael]

129. The goal posts are on the move. Ecuador -- here we come!

:woohoo:

[VolcanoJen]

134. "Meet Me in QUITO!!!!!!"

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[roguevalley]

203. I will concede them Puerto Rico. Too bad they can't vote in the GE.

[NJSecularist]

94. Not if Obama gets slaugtered in the rest of the state.

He'll be lucky to win Portland by a 60-40 margin. If that is the case, he is going to need to come close to Hillary in the urban areas.

[GarbagemanLB]

103. There is a reason Hillary cut her schedule short in Oregon. You don't do that if you think it will

be close. Just go back to following the KY polls, NJ. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Beregond2]

114. Oh, dude...

No offense, but you really don't know what you are talking about. Oregon is going to go huge for Obama. Even rural Republicans are voting for him, and if he doesn't get at least 70% in Portland, I'll eat my hat.

[davepdx]

119. These poll results may surprise you then.

This May 12th poll (SUSA) shows Obama up 53% to Hillary's 44% in Portland and Obama up 57% to Hillary's 39% in the rest of the state. The previous poll released on 5/1 by SUSA demonstrated the same pattern but the margins were lower for both. Obama's margin is obviously much larger outside of Portland which is contrary to what I had been thinking before I saw the polls.

I'm not "pushing" this poll as being the most accurate but the pattern of who is ahead and where is consistent.

[VolcanoJen]

140. Have you seen FiveThirtyEight's take on this?

FiveThirtyEight has been more consistent than SUSA and ARG, and predicted North Carolina and Indiana almost to a point.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

While Barack Obama appears to have a fairly safe lead in Oregon overall, both SurveyUSA and American Research Group have the race essentially tied among people who have already mailed in their ballots. Should Obama be worried?

I'm guessing not for a couple of reasons.

1. Neither candidate is acting like they're sweating the result in Oregon. While Barack Obama is out there today, he's spent his last couple of days in South Dakota and Michigan. And Clinton has Bill out in Oregon today rather than campaigning there herself.

2. As we noted in North Carolina, early voters tend to be older -- a key Clinton demographic.

3. Turnout is probably easier to estimate in Oregon than in most other states, as it's a closed primary and has a tradition of strong turnout. So, it's unlikely that the pollsters are making wild assumptions with their likely voter models.

And most importantly, the blogger notes Clinton scrapping her Saturday plans in Oregon and high-tailing it to Kentucky. Those expensive Mark Penn internal polls must be telling her something.

[davepdx]

163. The post game show on Tuesday night

will be quite interesting. As I said in another thread, the breakdown of voting patterns in Oregon will probably make Pat Buchanan's head explode.

Thanks for the heads up on the fivethirtyeight.com article. There is a lot of useful information there.

[stevedeshazer]

157. I live in Portland. Obama will get 75%

You can take that to the bank.

[NJSecularist]

162. How much are you willing to bet?

Obama will not get 75%.

[stevedeshazer]

173. How about a $20 donation to DU?

If so, you're on.

You win, I donate in your name.

I win, vice versa.

Okay?

[Webster Green]

189. Why? It's already over.

How long till you dead-enders figure it out? :silly:

[Diane R]

204. You clearly know nothing about the state of Oregon, do you?

[roguevalley]

205. so, you are an expert on Oregon? You have no idea, but then, I

always get my oregon information from a new jersey person. thanks for the red hot info.

RV, who lived in Oregon half my life and my family has lived there since 1869.

[stevedeshazer]

219. These guys crack me up

Sincerely,

Steve,

Fifth-generation Oregonian, family here since 1870.

:thumbsup:

[ExPatLeftist]

286. Even IF he loses Oregon

So what?

He has the nomination, according to the rules that your candidate signed.

What is your point exactly? To bash the Democratic nominee?

[bhikkhu]

227. They can, but they won't need to this time

I can say from my little corner of Oregon. Obama is the candidate for Oregon, simply put.

[Arugula Latte]

256. That was my impression, too.

It's good to hear that, though, 'cuz I haven't been out of Portland in awhile and haven't been able to gauge firsthand the atmosphere in other parts of the state.

[PM7nj]

92. Well they certainly didn't come from Altoona. nt

[MadBadger]

111. My god, just shut up and go away you little pest.

[roguevalley]

206. there's nothing like an Oregon expert from New Jersey. :)

[VolcanoJen]

79. Oh, snap!!!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Butch350]

131. True...But

Shouldn't you be out collecting money to pay off HC's debts or something - better yet donating
to her campaign. YOU're Soooooo Jealous. ;)

GOD BLESS YOU!

[roguevalley]

202. Penn? Rendell says he will win it in the GE. Laugh that one over.

[TheDonkey]

303. BITTER MUCH?

a little jealous that your candidate is drawing pretty much "dozens" of people to her rallies.

[billyoc]

56. Enough with the big rallies, come to Puerto Rico for a REAL debate!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[VolcanoJen]

70. "Meet Me In San Juan!!!"

}(

[peoli]

107. rofl

[Beregond2]

61. The entire thing was shown

without interruptions on the Northwest News Channel, but I think they were picking it up from KGW in Portland. Maybe it is available on their websites. There were lots of overhead shots of the crowd too.

[Arugula Latte]

93. I mostly watched it on that ... CNN coverage didn't show the crowd.

I would have gone down in person, but I have to do some work and I also was cowed by the potential size of the crowd. I never dreamed it would be 75,000, though! :wow:

[Terri S]

67. They better just close up DC on Inauguration Day ! n/t

[FrenchieCat]

109. I suggest that folks make reservations now for DC January 2009

Cause it is gonna be HUGE!!......I mean close off the bordering states as well. :)

[City Lights]

72. Holy moly, what a sight!

:wow:

[Jazzgirl]

76. Oh my.....

:wow: :headbang: :yourock: :applause:

[Bullet1987]

77. Holy shit!!!

[WeDidIt]

86. It's an Obamopolis!

Where Obama goes, cities spring up!

[Hutzpa]

87. OMG!!!

:wow:

[myrna minx]

90. That's bigger than the entire population of my home town!

:wow:

[ExPatLeftist]

287. Hell, it's about a fourth the size of my entire (current) home country! n/t

[mystieus]

297. OREGON!!!! wooo hooo!

[Willo]

91. Wall to wall people. Go Portland! Go Obama!

[peoli]

95. O M G!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

115. That picture shows only about 18,000.

Let's not go for hyperbole.

Still a huge crowd.

Eta: Until I saw this! Holy shit!

[globalvillage]

126. Damn.

That's a whole lot of Oregonians (I hope that's correct).

[RichardRay]

127. Check the vido clip posted below....

That's a couple more than 18K :-)

[quakerboy]

208. Its what you don't see thats telling

The nearby streets where you can still just hear the speakers if the people around you arent yelling. The bridge behind the camera packed with people, the buildings with vantage packed with people. I remember the 04 Kerry Rally, and this looks at least as big, without accounting for the overflow areas.

Also, one thing I have not seen mentioned.. Its been a bit chilly here this year. Until about the last 4 days, when we got dumped with a lot of heat suddenly. Which means that just about the time people are realizing its time to put the AC back in, they were still willing to go stand out in the sun to see Obama. I would bet that that shadow from the tree, visible in the pictures, was a very popular place.

[JTFrog]

264. I guess the firefighters lied about how many were there, cuz surely they wouldn't

be very accurate in their estimate. :eyes:

[mloutre]

117. Yes. We. Absolutely. Frickin'. Can.

And yes we absolutely will.

We're here, we're clear, we're all out for Obama, get used to it!

[alteredstate]

118. Holy Cow!

[mystieus]

121. A little video here:

http://v.wordpress.com/wp-content/plugins/video/flvplayer.swf?video_guid=S6VDfcPj

[FrenchieCat]

133. Wow....that footage really told a story,

one that CNN forgot to "oops" tell.

[K Gardner]

139. No wonder Obama looked shocked ! WOW..

[mystieus]

155. I missed the beginning.

[Egnever]

191. Wow!

[Bluenorthwest]

122. The Obama campaign has been brilliant in Oregon

And they are going to win big. Big I tell you. Big.

[Zachstar]

125. Oh my god! That is amazing!!!

McCain must be scared shitless at what awaits him November. TOTAL Landslide!

[livetohike]

128. Landslide is what I think too!

:toast: Hopefully, the biggest landslide in Presidential election history.

[quantass]

130. Speechless. Incredible sight,

[mystieus]

135. More photos:

http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=1&language=en-US&family=editorial&p=barack%20obama&ebd=2008-05-17&src=quick#1

Enjoy!

[dempartisan23]

138. WOW!!

GOBAMA

[madrchsod]

141. no wonder the republicans are pissing in their pants...

this is just the start...

madison in 2004....this year it will be thousands more...

[femmocrat]

142. Yowza! It'sObama Nation!

Thanks for the photos. Fantastic!

[me b zola]

143. I was there!

:woohoo:

And screw anybody attempting to lower the attendance number. We filled the streets of downtown Portland waiting our turn in line to enter the rally!

[femmocrat]

145. Were you able to see/hear anything?

Amazing.

[me b zola]

152. Yes! We got in!

We were really far away, but we were able to see the stage and the sound system allowed us to hear Obama's speech. The nice lady to my left offered her binoculars for me to see a little better. Portlanders are the best!

[GarbagemanLB]

146. lol...I was walking from 12th street towards the riverfront and when I got to the park blocks

I saw a massive line snaking back towards PSU. We were all like, "this CAN'T be the Obama line?!?". Sure enough, it was. :rofl: :rofl:

I settled for watching it on KGW after scoping out the riverfront area. There were SO many people!

[MrsT]

216. I think I see you in the pictures

Just kidding.

[jakem]

147. Holy crap & R

[Blue Diadem]

150. That's amazing..just amazing

I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be in that crowd..the incredible rush and excitement to see and hear our next President.

[Zachstar]

151. Hell ya!

[ekwhite]

153. Wow - that number was even validated by a Portland official

It is unusual that the powers that be validate that type of estimate.

[LittleBlue]

154. My God

That is :wow:

[tyedyeto]

156. Earlier today, a poster was guess-timating that 30,000 would show up

And was promptly boo-hooed by Hillary supporters.

Where are they now?

[DesEtoiles]

177. in Portland we have a lot of hard-core activists, and they WORK their butts off for their candidate!

They are going to work like hell this fall for Barack.

[tyedyeto]

181. I've tried to stay out of the 'fight' here on DU

But since we're so close......... Go Obama

[L. Coyote]

239. Obama is now the "Presumptive Next President of the United States"

I have remained neutral, but this excitement is contagious. Plus Obama is now the "Presumptive Next President of the United States"

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

159. Where did they all park their limos? Were there enough Lattes to go around?

Did the Birkenstocks damage the bricks?

Hillary wants to know!

[IDemo]

178. The Latte tanker grounded (the captain had one too many bongs)

[L. Coyote]

240. Man, have you never been to PDX or what? The real questions is

Have there ever been that many tie-dyes on the Waterfront before??

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

245. Lived there for 12 years, worked there for 18.

Now across the river with that volcano as a neighbor.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

160. Its the water

WOW!

[Scurrilous]

165. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Terri S]

166. From the AP: numbers given by city fire officials

Sixty-thousand people packed into a park alongside the banks of the Willamette River to listen to Obama, with another 15,000 left standing outside the gates, according to city fire officials. Hundreds more anchored their motorboats, or floated in kayaks and canoes.

That's far more than the 35,000 people who showed up to hear Obama in Philadelphia last month, at his previous biggest rally.

<snip>

In August of 2004, then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry held a large rally in the same location, drawing about 45,000 people.

But on Sunday, Obama topped that without even being the official nominee, speaking to a crowd filled with sunscreen-smeared babies in sun hats, union members in matching T-shirts, elderly ladies fanning themselves under the hot sun and twenty-somethings dancing to his opening act, the Portland-based band The Decemberists.

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/elections-0/1211157248128230.xml&storylist=orlocal">link

[roguevalley]

207. that's how much we want bush gone.

[BlueJac]

167. It was totally awesome

[Rob_4_Obama]

170. Wow!!!

75,000! Dude. That's wild. After getting this kind of crowd I wouldn't be surprised to see a major MASSIVE Obama victory on Tuesday night in Oregon. Incredible.

Go Obama!!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

174. They're just a bunch of eggheads and zombies!!!

LILLY-LIVERED-LATTE-DRINKING-LIMOUSINE-DRIVING-COMMIE-BURKENSTOCK-WEARING-TREE-HUGGING-NAZI-APPEASING-UNPATRIOTIC-UNGODLY-FAG-LOVING-TERRORISTS-APPROVING-NO-FLAG-LAPEL-WEARING...


LIBERALS!!!!! :woohoo::applause:

[TBF]

180. And there's 75,000 of them - hallelujah!

[helderheid]

279. WOOT!!!

:rofl: :yourock:

[uponit7771]

183. OMG!!! ....music artist wish they could do so good.

[mcollier]

185. Not even the pope got that kind of crowd...

America is ready for change! Obama will lead the way... His leadership is evident in the crowds that he draws... McCain's lack of leadership is evident in the crowds he draws...

Check out the song in my sig line...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

201. The pope came to the new Nats baseball stadium last month...

He didn't get nearly as much here in D.C.

[saltpoint]

190. So. This Obama guy. He seems to be kinda popular.

[FrenchieCat]

192. Just a tinch.

ya know. :)

[saltpoint]

193. Hi, Frenchie Cat. Obama is more qualified and inspirational than

McCain is antiquated and unstable.

I'm willing to work for this one awfully hard but I'm feelin' good already.

:hi: :dem:

[Colobo]

197. I'm loving it!

[WA98296]

198. The Pacific Northwest LOVES Obama! And...WOW!!!!

[mystieus]

209. 2 HQ shots from portland.

[swishyfeet]

221. I swear I'm going to find myself in that top picture

White guy... sunglasses... personal space being violated terribly.

I'm not quite as close as it looks from my picture here.

:)

[raystorm7]

235. Thats a lot of white folks! I dunno what Hillary's talking about that she owns the white vote...

Maybe the dumb & blind white vote :p

[L. Coyote]

241. Oregonians sure lack tans!!

[mystieus]

283. It looked beautiful there.

[FightingIrish]

212. OK, nation. How are you going to top this?

[Blondiegrrl]

213. That's just mind blowing.

This is not a campaign. It's a movement!

Our time is NOW.

[pdxmom]

215. They were sort of anticipating the huge number. My son helped work

the set up yesterday and said that they had porta potties for 50,000.

This was amazing! The energy was just great!

[mystieus]

271. Thanks to your son for helping!

[workinclasszero]

218. The rethugs cannot change the course of history!

Our next President will be Barack Obama!:toast:

McWar is a dead man walking and the republicans will go back to the permanent minority status they so richly deserve this fall!

[IamyourTVandIownyou]

220. O for O in O8

.

[jmpnfool]

222. I saw this on Drudge

and the right wingers were all worked up. This has to be killing them. What kind of turnouts is McBush getting? Just curious.

[BlooInBloo]

224. Wonder if there has ever been a bigger gathering in PDX?

[mystieus]

225. Pics from in the crowd:

The crowd behind me.



Obama and his family take the stage.





The man himself. :D

[sfam]

232. I'm jealous. Congrats for being a part of this! nt

[stillcool]

302. Wow..you were pretty close...

every picture tells a story. Thanks!

[briv1016]

228. GOBAMA!!!

:wow: (New member, first post ever. :hi: )

[PretzelWarrior]

230. welcome to DU posting

[briv1016]

233. Thank you

[Kool Kitty]

246. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[briv1016]

247. Thanks

[mystieus]

293. Hi there!

[briv1016]

294. Hello

:hi:

Quick question: (and I'm sorry if I'm hijacking) How many replies do I need before I can post my own thread?

[thewiseguy]

231. Updated numbers from AP: 80k

65k inside the gates and 15k left outside the gates

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24696575/

[cascadiance]

234. Boy, one more reason for me to want to move to Portland!

Damn! I'll be there a week late for the fireworks!

[IndependentDem]

237. my thoughts exactly!

but do they have southern California weather...

[cascadiance]

244. Nope! And I bet as a result that fire insurance for housing is a LOT less!...

A friend of mine who just told me she's putting her house up for sale said that her insurance doubled from the fires last year.

;-)

Just need to find a good Middle Eastern Restaurant in Portland that has a lot of variety and I might get more sold!

[IndependentDem]

249. i have been having that debate with myself for years now...

ca is getting way to damn expensive, especially diego... but its a damn nice place to live.

[cascadiance]

257. Nice weather, but corrupt as hell, and too damned expensive and right wing...

Yes, it is turning more democratic every day in terms of registered voters, but they still tend to be way too conservative for my tastes. Even many of the Democrats.

And this Steve Francis just might get voted in over Jerry Sanders for mayor *MASQUERADING* as a progressive. He just touted that he's been endorsed by the Sierra Club for goodness sake!

This guy has probably spent more money on the last two mayoral campaigns than any other candidate has around here, and basically dwarfs everyone else's campaigns with what I feel are LIES about him "cleaning up the corruption", etc. He's a bought off Republican to the hilt, and I'm betting he's probably got all of the developers in his pocket now!

If you think some things are bad now with Sanders running the shop, wait till this guy takes over.

An all Republican Board of Supervisors I think has screwed up the rest of the county for the last decade or so. It is through them that the latest bozos heading up the Voter Registrar's office have been hired (Deborah Seiler of Diebold, and Michael Vu of Cuyahoga's election adminbistration in Ohio). I can't think of two worse people for these positions. Thank god at least we now have Deborah Bowen that can make sure that things don't get completely out of hand here now.

And Brent Wilkes, Randy Duke Cunningham, Mitchell Wade, etc. are just the tip of the iceberg of what lurks below the surface here... I suspect the book will eventually be thrown at Duncan Hunter too, though not while the current crowd is in office.

[iamthebandfanman]

236. i cant wait for the GE to be underway,

noway mccain can get that many people out at once to hear him speak

[L. Coyote]

238. VIDEO = KATU Portland: Obamas on the Waterfront w/ 75,000 in the crowd

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x134390

Run time: 02:35

[L. Coyote]

254. Oregonian PHOTO Gallery link = 50 photos

Barack Obama visits Waterfront Park
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theoregonian/sets/72157605128051788/


fair use cited

[Eurobabe]

242. Amazing!

Thanks for posting that, you've made my morning!

[Sunnyshine]

260. Somethin' like a phenomenon! Got Hope 08?

:woohoo: :woohoo:
Barack is THE best.
Dear Oregonians,
:yourock:

[Perry Logan]

269. Known to history as "The Last Rally."

[me b zola]

273. This morning msnbc is reporting that it may have been 80,000

:toast:

[mystieus]

277. yeah, here's the link,

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24696575/

[2rth2pwr]

276. I remember the record crowds that came out in his last few losses.

I wonder if a lot of those people are just showing up for the spectacle and the chance to pick up.

[helderheid]

280. That must be it!!!

:eyes: :rofl:

[cui bono]

298. LMAO!!!

Cuz Obama's all about spectacle and booty.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[sonias]

281. Beautiful mass of people

:wow:


Stunning aerial photos!

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

Yes We Can!

Sonia

[Shoelace]

284. NY Times, Record crowd of 75,000 at rally in Oregon

and that probaly doesn't count the hundreds of boatloads of folks on the river that were there! It was astounding!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19campaign.html?em&ex=1211342400&en=c0110e086f5ae1bc&ei=5087%0A

[mzmolly]

292. Stunning.

:toast:

[nichomachus]

288. Wow -- how much Kool-Aid did they have to make to force those people to come out?

:sarcasm:

[OneSelf]

289. Incredible!

Those pictures are amazing.

[David Zephyr]

290. Oregon!

I may just have to move there!

[mzmolly]

291. Unbelievable!

Wow!

[Imagevision]

295. also...Warren Buffet the richest man in the world today said he supported Obama...

too much!

[Generator]

296. As goes Oregon so goes the nation

Ah yes, it is true. (damn! we are smug! also got to tell TWO Hillary phone workers today-"We already voted for Obama"-a dollar late and a few years short Hill!)

[angie_love]

304. shhhhiiieeeeeeeeeetttt

[JackORoses]

305. They have come to hear their next President

Hip hip hooray!

[WheelWalker]

306. Nobody told me there'd be days like these. Strange days, indeed.