Saturday, March 29, 2008

Sign O the Times

I mentioned in a comment below that Obama will speak Monday two blocks from my house. I want to see this guy speak as much as anyone else who enjoys witnessing history. It has nothing to do with voting; I like to see comets, too, but I don't want to live on one.

That there was going to be some sort of local appearance had been rumored for a few days. But the confirmation, the time and location, and the directions for getting tickets only became public late Friday. Tickets were to be distributed starting this morning at 9 a.m. I went down to see if I could snag one and got to campaign headquarters about 9:40. The line was out the door and around the ample parking lot. I haven't seen such a line since Disneyworld opened. What I saw was at least a football field long, if you had stretched it out, and I didn't even find the end of it.

Now, this is a red county. Though it's shifted a little to the blue lately, it's still more than 2-to-1 GOP by registration. What I saw out there this morning probably equaled the whole number of registered Democrats within five square miles of the building. I don't believe all the people in the line were Democrats, but it was an astonishing sight nonetheless.

The line was moving, too. About every 30 seconds someone would come out the other door with tickets in hand. But I didn't have time to wait in that line. But after I finished my chores around noon, I went back to see if any tickets were left. The line was just as long as it had been three hours before.

Labels: