Obama Rallies Supporters In Colorado

(AP)  Back in the city where he claimed history, Barack Obama presided Sunday over a Colorado rally so enormous and energetic that even he seemed surprised at his following.

"Goodness gracious," Obama said as he took the stage and peered at the human mass in Civic Center Park. People packed in all the way up the steps of the Capitol, off in the distance.

The Obama campaign released an initial crowd estimate of 75,000 people. That was later upgraded to "well over" 100,00 people, a tally confirmed by a Denver police spokesman.

The setting, on a sparkling day in this battleground state, said perhaps more than Obama did in his actual speech. His campaign is capitalizing on the scope of such rallies to get people to cast votes early, permitted in Colorado and more than two dozen other states.

"How many people have early voted?" Obama said, eliciting cheers from people bundled up in fleece. "That's what I'm talking about. No point in waiting in lines if you don't have to. You know who you're going to vote for."

Polls put Obama ahead in Colorado with the number of campaign days remaining now down to single digits.

It was here in Denver that Obama, in his groundbreaking campaign, accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the stadium where the Denver Broncos play. If elected, he would be the first black president of the United States.

"Do you ever have small crowds in Denver?" a smiling Obama said. Members of the crowd interrupted Obama's standard campaign speech with shouts of "Obama!" and "Yes we can!"

Traditionally, Colorado has gone for Republicans in presidential races, including twice for George W. Bush. Obama is trying to snag a win here as part of a multi-route path to capture at least the minimum 270 electoral votes on Nov. 4. (Read more about the campaign in Colorado)

Colorado offers nine such votes.

Obama also jumped on John McCain's comment, made during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," that he and President Bush share a "common philosophy" of the Republican Party.

"I guess that was John McCain finally giving us a little straight talk, owning up to the fact that he and George Bush actually have a whole lot in common," Obama said.

"Well, here's the thing," he added. "We know what the Bush-McCain philosophy looks like. It's a philosophy that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that it trickles down."

Obama, though, did not quote McCain fully.

The Republican presidential candidate also said: "I've stood up against my party, not just President Bush, but others; and I've got the scars to prove it." He also offered specific examples of differing with Bush, from Iraq strategy and deficit spending to campaign finance reform and climate change.

Obama was expected to speak before another large Colorado crowd later, in Fort Collins. McCain also has campaigned aggressively in the state, as has his running mate, Sarah Palin.

More broadly, Obama is using his record-breaking fundraising advantage to buy up media time and make what he hopes is a closing argument for the presidency. McCain and his team say the race is hardly over, particularly for a candidate who's had his share of comebacks.

Obama released a new TV ad Sunday that describes McCain as Obama often does on the campaign trail - as "out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time." It also says McCain is resorting to smears and scare tactics because he doesn't have a plan to fix the economy.

The 30-second ad will begin running Monday on national cable television outlets.

[aprilfrompa]

jsjcvg - Well written!! I can''t wait until the 4th so that I have the opportunity to do the same. I was a Hillary Clinton supporter but Obama has earned my respect and my vote. I have never seen a politician evoke so much emotion and well%u2026 hope.

[pga39120]

Grouchyjohn- Don''t forget the members of the GOP that are now supporting Obama..Wait.. did you media.. well heck that covers the news papers also.. but apparently this person does not know that McCain and Palin are both terrorist supporters..Oh thats right.. they believe what the mavericks tell them instead of looking up the information...

[jsjcvg]

I voted for my college friends who are Christian, Jewish,

Mormon, and yes -- Muslim. I voted for my grandfathers, who

worked hard in factories and died too young. I voted for

the plumber who worked on my house, because Iwant him to get

a REAL tax break. I voted for four little angels from

Birmingham . I voted for a bunch of dead white men who,

although personally flawed, were willing to pledge their

lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, and used a time of great

crisis to expand freedom rather than suspend it. I voted

for all those people and more, and I voted for all of you,

too.

But mostly, I voted selfishly: I voted for two little

kids, one who has ballet in an hour, and one who has

baseball



practice at the same time. I voted for a world

where they can be confident that their government will

represent the best that is in this country, and that will in

turn demand the best of them. I voted for a government that

will be respected in the world. I voted for an economy that

will reward work above guile. I voted for everything I

believe in. Sure, I filled in the circle next to the name

Obama, but it wasn''t him I was voting for -- it was

every single one of us, and those I love most of all.''

[obamauberall]

So we get to make the choice between an old guy whose had cancer multiple times in his life, and a guy whose begging to get cancer by smoking cigarettes HEAVILY.

Barack Obama...STOP SMOKING NOW YOU DOPE!

[specialty8]

grochyjohn,
You will not change me and I will not change you.I am just trying to take the less of the ones we have to vote for.I respect your opinions and hope if Obama is is elected it all works out. History has shown when you have a liberal President and a liberal congress it is not good or vice versa. Good luck to you and To all, all we can do is believe in what they say.

[grouchyjohn]

grochyjohn,
I see it takes you longer to get back. Yes vacationers. At the end of August when we had this oil crisis, Pelosi and her cronies decided to take a 5 week vaction so she could promote her book no body is going to read.

Posted by specialty8 at 10:34 AM : Oct 27, 2008





For whatever you reason, you choose to stay blindfolded by McCain''s lies.

The "drilling offshore" issue isn''t going to solve our energy problems. We''re ADDICTED to oil, and we need to break that addiction.

"Offshore drilling" is like telling a crack addict, "Yes I know that you''re a junkie, but here''s SOME MORE CRACK."

Meanwhile, OPEC saw the price of oil tumble, so they''re cutting production to drive the cost of oil back up. Whether you like it or not, we''re ALWAYS going to buy most of our petroleum from the mideast terrorist sponsoring nations - UNTIL we break that addiction.

And McCain only WANTS to keep us addicted.

Another question for you: "Why did McCain oppose offshore drilling, until June 16th of this year?"

The answer can be found here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601891.html

[specialty8]

grochyjohn,
I see it takes you longer to get back. Yes vacationers. At the end of August when we had this oil crisis, Pelosi and her cronies decided to take a 5 week vaction so she could promote her book no body is going to read.

[grouchyjohn]

grouchyjohn,
Thats the problem, I do know where it will be coming from.The working man.Just as Carter did with all his promises he made to get elected.Sounds good on paper,but Carter never made it to a second term.Now you talk about eliminating waste, what is your plan for that with Reid, Pelosi and that bunch of vacationers running congress? That would be a good place to start to clean up alot of waste.

Posted by specialty8 at 10:19 AM : Oct 27, 2008





Vacationers?!?!

You''ve GOT to be kidding?!?!

During the 108th, 109th, and 110th congresses, they wrote themselves rules, that allowed Monday and Friday to be considered "travel days", and therefore were considered "work days". They worked three days a week for 6 years, in addition to their 8 week summer vacations, and all of the holidays like a week for Christmas, a week for Thanksgiving, etc.

And you''re calling out the democrats for being "vacationers"?


And how much money do you think that the republicans tanking economy is generating for our nation? And how exactly do you propose that we pay for the TRILLIONS in national debt, that the republicans "deficit spending" has created for our once prosperous nation?

[specialty8]

grouchyjohn,
Thats the problem, I do know where it will be coming from.The working man.Just as Carter did with all his promises he made to get elected.Sounds good on paper,but Carter never made it to a second term.Now you talk about eliminating waste, what is your plan for that with Reid, Pelosi and that bunch of vacationers running congress? That would be a good place to start to clean up alot of waste.

[grouchyjohn]

grochyjohn,
If all this is not coming from big oil and big business and the rich,where do you think it is coming from,the good fairy?This is the same old Jimmy Carter plan that was a total failure.Remember Carter, all the things he promised and he was really popular before the election until reality set in. I remember about six months after the election looking at my paycheck stub and I saw where all of this big spending and handouts came from and it was not where Carter said .

Posted by specialty8 at 10:00 AM : Oct 27, 2008




So since you don''t know WHERE it''s coming from, you just assume that it''s going to come from big oil, and that''s what you spout?

Much of it is going to come from savings. It is correct. that his health care plan for example will face a $50 - $65 billion dollar a year shortfall. But how much is going to be saved by the elimination of medicare, medicaid, the government''s prescription drug program, etc? This is just ONE example of how money can be generated, by simply eliminating waste, and consolidating government agencies.

By the way, medicare is going to be broke in 2019, and what is McCain''s response? Nothing. He plans on cutting the benefits being paid, forcing the elderly into emergency rooms, which increases the costs for ALL OF US!! You call that a solution?!?