The Biggest Rally Yet

Just got back from Obama rally in Portland.  We knew he could get huge crowds but this one looked like those old pictures of the Woodstock Festival (minus the mudslides and brown acid -  I hear that lattes and something called "Meth" are the drugs of choice in these parts).

The crowd, with 60,000 inside and another 15,000 on the edges, filled a natural basin leading down to the Williamette River. Yachts (including a big one with a hand-painted sign reading "Oregon loves Obama") and kayekers watched from the waterside. His first three words were: "Wow."  "Wow". And, er, "Wow."

It wasn't Obama's best speech. His voice, usually so powerful, got lost in the open air.  And his message, honed in defeat through states like Pennslyvania, Ohio and Indiana, was a bit long on the hardscrabble economic issues like petrol prices and a bit short on the emphemeral hope stuff which attracts liberal audiences like this one in Portland.

But it still felt pretty final. This was not a Get-Out-The-Vote operation which you might see in a tight fight. This was a celebration, even coronation, for the presumptive nominee.

PS I couldn't help wondering as my last clean shirt was flooded by my armpits in this unseasonal 85 degree heat, how Obama stays so dry. He really does look immaculate on all occasions - irritatingly so. Even Tony Blair used to sweat like a pig during Labour conferences. I guess if this politics thing doesn't work  out, Obama could get a job doing anti-perspirant adverts.