I went to the Obama rally in Leesburg yesterday to show support for McCain. I did not actually go into the rally but stood with the other 50-60 McCain supporters outside the entrance with signs. It was interesting to watch the amount of people who showed up. Traffic was horrible and people were still arriving and running into Ida Lee park with less than 5 minutes of Obama’s speech left. But what shocked me the most was the reactions of Obama’s supporters. On the way into the event most people just ignored us on the other side of the street, some were taking pictures, others would yell things such as: “You are so middle class.” “Ready to hear the next president of the United States?” “He (McCain) smells like old people.” “No more war mongers.” And the list goes on. Of course I’m still trying to figure out what the middle class comment was all about because the woman who yelled it was also of the middle class.  

Yes, we were yelling and chanting ourselves, but we kept it civil and somewhat polite. We got cussed out and flipped off a lot, but just kept doing our thing. I was very glad when some Obama supporters came up to us and said “Thank you for coming out and supporting your candidate. And thank you for being so civil about all this.” We definitely need more people like that in this world. One Obama supporter did try to start a fight on his way out but the cops hauled him off quickly. There were also quite a few McCain supporters in the crowd. They would either give us hidden thumbs up or smiles as they walked by, and many came up and thanked us for showing support for McCain cause they went into the rally undercover. Guess that 10,000 estimate will have to be altered slightly due to undercover McCain supporters.

But the most troubling thing I saw was that after about 5 minutes of Obama’s speech people started leaving the rally. And not just a few but thousands. It was a steady stream throughout his speech. Now it was countered by the people running in late, but not by an even amount. And all I could think was what a way to support your candidate. Stand in lines in the cold for 2+ hours then leave right when he was speaking. What was the point? And no one can claim to beat traffic, they sat in it for hours to get there. Why go if you are going to miss the whole point?

And the quote of the day from Obama supporters “John McCain can’t get crowds like this.” Well lets see, the Fairfax rally had 23,000, the VA beach rally had 18-20,000, Richmond had 20,000, and Woodbridge (where McCain was by himself) had 8-10,000. Hmm sure sounds like he can get those crowds. And who cares if a lot of the incentive is Sarah Palin. She’s on his ticket, they are still supporters and votes. I can’t wait for Monday when Palin is in Leesburg herself. And she will beat Obama’s numbers guaranteed.

 

DJStrata