So they go their separate ways for the next few days, to stump in crucial battleground states until their official anointing at the Democratic convention.
Sen. Barack Obama and his newly minted running mate Sen. Joe Biden's first public appearance together was brief.
They shared the stage on the grounds of the Old State Capitol in Illinois for less than half an hour.
But that didn't seem to bother the throng that exceeded 35,000 people of all ages and colors, many of whom waited more than two hours in the muggy Springfield heat.
After that many squeezed their sweaty bodies as they tried to touch Obama, Biden or their wives.
But one veteran political observer described Biden's presentation as flat.
While others described him as on fire.
What do you think? Weigh in here.
Comments (1)
The Major Challenge If Obama Doesn't Choose Clinton As VP !!!
"I was one of the first community organizers who Barack Obama met in Chicago over 20 years ago, and I have worked directly with him throughout his political career. In 1986, I was a city wide coordinator while Barack was the Project Director for Project Vote, a city-wide voter registration campaign that put over 100, 000 new voters on the books, which set the stage for the historic election of Illinois U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, the re-election of Chicago's 1st Black Mayor Harold Washington in 1987, and a new Chicago City Council.
As a former national staff member on Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr's 1988 Presidential staff, and the youngest member of Jackson's Illinois Delegate slate, I watched how many of our key national field staff and supporters did not support the Democratic nominee Dukakis after Rev. Jackson as the number two vote getter was not on the ticket. Rev Jackson made more appearances on behalf of Dukakis than the candidate himself but it was not enough for those who withdrew their support of Dukakis. A clear example was when Jackson was in the primary he had a rally at Arie Crown Theater with over 6.000 people, but when Dukakis came to Chicago as the nominee was not able to fill the Regal Theater. Thousands of people clearly showed their withdrawal of support for Dukakis after Jackson was not the VP nominee.
In 2008, The Democratic Party cannot afford for the excitement and new generation of voters that Obama and Clinton have brought to the process to turn off by the non inclusion of the other candidate on the ticket. A lot of new voters may not understand or will accept why the two top vote getters are not automatically the ticket. Based upon my direct experience of 1988, let me be one of the first to say that I surely supported the Obama/Clinton Dream Ticket, for anything less may be a nightmare. United they stand, but divided the party may fall. Clinton faces a tremendous burden of working hard to convince her supporters not to abandon Obama in 2008 the way Jackson supporters abandoned Dukakis in 1988. Emotions are extremely higher in 2008 than they were in 1988."
Posted by Mark S. Allen, Associate Editor, The South Street Newspaper | August 24, 2008 5:37 AM
Posted on August 24, 2008 05:37