Obama in Baltimore

Just got back from seeing Obama here in Baltimore.

Seeing him live is better than seeing him on television - the energy and enthusiasm is contagious.

The Baltimore Arena wasn't quite filled up, but I heard they stopped letting people in at 13,000. The floor and first and second levels were all full. I heard there were 28,000 at University of Maryland earlier in the day.

Obama's stump speech has changed a little bit since Iowa, and is a little bit less angry than it was in South Carolina, but the basic thesis of hope and non-partisanship are the same. He inspired a solid round of applause for John McCain, shooting down the few naysayers who booed when his name was mentioned, saying he was an American hero and deserves applause for his "half century of service to this nation" (He's casting the election as old vs. new just like between he and HRC). He then went on to say that McCain supported Bush's disastrous economic policies and brought up the 100 years in Iraq comment.

Elijah Cummings - another great speaker - introduced him. We're all hoping Obama wins here in MD by more than he won in even South Carolina. I expect him to get 60-65% of the vote tomorrow.

We were able to get about 150 kids down there from our high school. Most made it on their own, cutting their last two classes and taking the city buses. For some 9th graders, we spent most of the day securing parent permissions (we found out over the weekend, so couldn't plan in advance) and jumping through silly legality hoops. I just dropped the last girl off on the other side of the city. Most were really into it, and when Obama got to the part of the speech where he talked about teachers shouldn't have to work two jobs to make ends meet, my kids started chanting my name. It was real funny. A few who got down on the floor got to shake his hand.

Yes, I'm really inspired and expect to cast my vote before 8am.