30,000 people braved traffic, long lines. magnetometers, and chilly night air to attend Barack Obama's "Stand For Change" rally in Austin Friday night. And stand they did. There was no seating, and so thousands of college students and senior citizens and young families with kids perched on their shoulders filled Congress Avenue, shuffling side to side on their feet as they kept warm and waited to hear Obama speak.
I was volunteering for the campaign, handling calls from elected officials who wanted to attend. We offered them tickets, of course, and even an area set-aside near the stage. They all wanted to know, though, if specific seats would be reserved for them. Uh, no, I explained, to occasional chagrin. Once there, though, everyone seemed happy and festive.
I took some pictures, none of which turned out great. My favorite one was this:
I also took a video of what 30,000 people look like. This scans from the press risers to the left of the stage, then over to 11th Street and around to look down the long sweep of Congress Avenue.
You can see the rest of my photos from the event here.
UPDATE: Here is a terrific video of scenes from Friday night's rally and excerpts from Barack Obama's speech:
2 comments:
I really hope that American people will vote for a good President, because if you elect a good President we, the rest of the world, will be a little more happy.
Salutation from here.
And nice pics. We can feel the energy, all these people believing in change.
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