Obama Does Iowa City

3 hours ago, at 8pm, the Iowa Democratic Party wound up their long tour through Iowa at a rally in Iowa City. For guest star Barack Obama, it was the last stop on a three week tour stumping for Democrats all over the country.

Highlights below.

1) Patty Judge was the first woman to hold the position of Secretary of Agriculture 8 years ago. People wondered if a woman could do it. She's now running for Lt. Gov., and hoping to hand SecAg off to another woman, Denise O'Brien;

2) Tom Vilsack dealt mostly with partisan concerns: If Culver's elected, Democrats will have set a record for control of the governor's office. If they retake the Iowa legislature, it will be for the first time in 42(?) years. Mentioned the Democratic candidate for SecState (Culver's the current occupant), warned about Iowa becoming another Ohio if Republicans take that office;

3) Dave Loebsack has gone from dark horse to local hero. He took the stage to a roar of applause and chants of "Dave! Dave!" (which they took up again every time another speaker mentioned his name). He emphasized that he would be a vote for new leadership, but his biggest applause line (and there were many) was when he said he'd look Donald Rumsfeld in the eye and say, "Mr. Secretary, you are the worst Secretary of Defense in [rest drowned out by applause]";

4) Tom Harkin dropped a couple of bombshells: 1) He said that Dems will control the Senate; 2) Dems will not impeach Bush for fear of President Cheney, but they will provide "adult supervision" for the last two years of his term. For the climax of his speech he relied on Firedoglake/Blue America's "Had Enough?" slogan; Introduced Barack Obama by cracking a joke (paraphrased): "They said they couldn't get Bono, so they got the second biggest rock star in the country, Barack Obama. I had to ask, ''who's Bono?''"

5) I can now see exactly why Barack Obama is the phenomenon he is. He is a orator of Clinton's skill and caliber. As he began speaking a female student turned to her friend, smiling ear to ear, and said "Aren't you getting all tingly?" There was no process talk, just a great speech on how America consistently demonstrates "the audacity of hope" via the Revolution, Abolition, Women's Suffrage, Unions, Civil Rights, etc. Said that most Americans are "decent people" and aligned "decent" pretty firmly in Democratic territory. He tied this neatly into a message of hope for a Democratic landslide; Quipped about how the Bush energy policy was to lower gas prices for elections, and then advocated solar and wind power and biodiesel;

6) Chet Culver had a tough act to follow, but he did well. He stayed on issues for the most part, getting his biggest reactions from promises to sign a minimum wage increase in his first 100 days, to fund stem cell research, to not interfere with women's health care (e.g., abortion), and to raise wages for teachers;

7) Local institution Dennis McMurrin and the Demolition Band provided the music for the event. At the end, Dennis said "Be sure to watch Nightline tonight. I think... this is going to be on Nightline. Yeah, you're with Nightline. I watch you guys all the time."

It was especially heartening to see a broad quorum on which issues were important: Health care. Education. Stem cell research. The war. Also, the need to retake Congress and rein in the Administration loomed large.

•  Nice diary!

  I tell you, I'm impressed by Obama's efforts on behalf of candidates this weekend.  I was at the St. Louis Dem. rally this afternoon about 5:30 listening to Obama.  And I think he had come in from Tennessee.  Then on to Iowa.  He's doing the right thing by making these appearances.

  by maryb2004 on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:26:20 PM PDT

  •  That's where Obama really impresses me

    Even when he was just the candidate for his current seat, he was out tirelessly helping out other Democratic candidates with appearances and with money. If tonight was any indication, his appearances really help.

    I noticed something else about him: His facial features are so clear that you can make out even subtle changes in his expression from 200 feet away. I think it adds considerably to his skill and power as an orator that (unlike certain speakers who I won't name) his face doesn't turn into an oddly shaded oval under lights.

    by oldjohnbrown on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:33:10 PM PDT

  •  He's here, he's there, he's EVERYWHERE

    In the last 48 hrs: MN, MO, NJ, MD, PA, TN, IA

    Phew!!

    by Al Rodgers on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 11:43:08 PM PDT

    •  oops I left out VA !

      by Al Rodgers on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 11:43:41 PM PDT

•  Tip Jar

  It was a remarkably upbeat rally. But as several speakers stressed, some of the races (like Denise O'Brien's) are very close, and we have to get out there and vote.

  I already have, and so I've been dedicating as much time as I can to GOTV efforts. It's fun! Even if you're an introvert like I am who hates cold calling! The trick is to get together with other people and bring popcorn.

  by oldjohnbrown on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:29:52 PM PDT

•  My buddy in Iowa City

  missed out on this to watch Battlestar Galactica season one at home with the wife.  He's only lived in Iowa City for two years, and he's already unimpressed by famous politicians coming to give speeches.  I think Newt was also there giving a speech this weekend.

  by gogol999 on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:38:20 PM PDT

  •  He missed out

    I can follow his logic, though. I've lost count of the number of times John Edwards has been up this way.

    by oldjohnbrown on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:50:07 PM PDT

•  I drove over from Des Moines

  I was very surpised by the size of the crowd.  I was expecting maybe a thousand at the most and there were easily 5 times that number.  Pretty impressive when I hear that the republican candidate for governor had only 70 supporters yesterday in dsm.  

  I am feeling upbeat here in Iowa, I hope we can make it happen in the closing hours.

  by DU9598 on Sun Nov 05, 2006 at 10:43:07 PM PDT

•  Inspiring Event

  I also went to the rally, and I have to say it was inspiring to see so many people turn out for it. I stopped by the Democratic office today and made 150+ GOTV phone calls. Hope it helps

  by rwclark on Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 07:02:24 PM PDT