McCain rally washed out, Obama braves the rain [View All]

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008


"Whether it's rain or sleet or snow, we are going to go out and we're going to vote"



CHESTER, Pa. - Wearing jeans, white sneakers and an insulated windbreaker, Barack Obama delivered his stump speech this morning in a chilly, steady rain in Chester, Pa.

"A little bit of rain never hurt anybody," Obama said, surveying the soaking, umbrella-covered crowd at Widener University, occasionally rubbing his hands together for warmth and squinting through the raindrops.

Obama took the stage less than an hour after the McCain campaign announced it was postponing a rally at 1:15 p.m. in Quakertown, Pa., about one hour north of Chester, "due to weather."

The Obama campaign considered moving its event inside, but couldn't find an appropriate venue, an aide said. An estimated 9,000 people turned out.

read: http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/1008/A_cold_rain_falls_in_PA.html





"If we see this kind of dedication on election day, there is no way that we're not going to bring change to America," the Democrat said to huge cheers at the outdoor rally.

"A little bit of rain never hurt anybody," Obama said, "although I've got to say I saw (Pennsylvania Governor) Ed Rendell back stage and his teeth were chattering.

"This is an unbelievable crowd for this kind of weather," he added, gently ribbing some supporters for holding up signs saying "stop global warming."

"This is probably not the weather to hold up those signs. I'm not into global warming either but it's a little chilly today."

read: http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/081028141942.0hrwev3w.html




"Whether it's rain or sleet or snow, we are going to go out and we're going to vote, because there's too much at stake ... We're going to keep on going until we finish the job."

And the crowd -- under umbrellas, wearing trash bags, stuffed inside giant parkas -- chanted "We want change! We want change!"

Obama gave largely the same speech he did yesterday in Pittsburgh and Canton, Ohio, but he sprinkled in a few different lines of attack. "John McCain has ridden shotgun as George Bush has driven our economy toward a cliff, and now he wants to take the wheel and step on the gas," he said.

"When it's cold, when it's raining, when it's hard -- that's when we stand up," he said. "That's when we search for a better future."

read: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/10/through_rain_sl.html




A new 30-second spot on Barack Obama's Web site is urging voters to "talk to your boss" or professor and then take the day off from work or school to volunteer for his campaign on Election Day.

The "Take the Day" campaign suggests voters sign up to go to battleground states or work in phone banks closer to home on Nov. 4, when they would normally be at work or in class.

"We can't win this election unless every Obama supporter gets out and votes on November 4th. To do that, we need a massive team of volunteers helping us. Can you take next Tuesday off from work, join the final push, and make sure that everyone who supports Barack turns out to vote?" asks the Web page hosting the ad.

On the trail, Obama has been encouraging voters to go to the polls for early voting, and reports from several states are that Democrats are going into the voting booths in larger numbers than Republicans.

"I just want all of you to know that if we see this kind of dedication on Election Day, there is no way that we're not going to bring change to America," he told the shivering crowd.

read: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/28/obama-urges-voters-day-work-help-campaign-election-day/





"After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one week away from change in America," Obama said.

"In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street."

"In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor."

"In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope."

"In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need."





"We began this journey in the depths of winter nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Back then, we didn’t have much money or many endorsements. We weren’t given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits, and we knew how steep our climb would be."

"But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics – one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans."

"Most of all, I believed in your ability to make change happen. I knew that the American people were a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. And I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are."

"Twenty-one months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That’s how we’ve come so far and so close – because of you. That’s how we’ll change this country – with your help. And that’s why we can’t afford to slow down, sit back, or let up for one day, one minute, or one second in this last week. Not now. Not when so much is at stake."

read entire prepared remarks: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/28/happening-now-obama-in-pennsylvania/





new ad, "Take the Day Off" : http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/dayoff


photos: (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jason Reed/Reuters)