ROCHESTER POST-BULLETIN: OBAMA PACKS MAYO CIVIC AUDITORIUM
The Twin Cities media has been consistent in reporting that yesterday's rally drew over 1000 people.
PB's Matthew Stolle's story tells how many over a thousand in Sen. Obama packs Mayo Civic Auditorium:
Riding a wave of political fascination almost Kennedyesque in its fervor, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois stumped in Rochester on Monday for DFL Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar and congressional candidate Tim Walz before a sign-waving, cheering throng estimated at 3,000 people.
Last week, First Bush drew fewer than a 1000. MPR cited Gutknecht campaign-supplied attendance figures of 700. For yesterday's rally, KTTC-TV also estimated an attendance of 3000.
Stolle continues:
“These are serious times,” Obama said in a 25-minute speech that ranged from the war in Iraq to America’s health care crisis. “If we don’t deal with these issues, we may be the first generation passing on an America that’s a little poorer and a little meaner than the one we inherited from our parents. And that’s unacceptable.”
Yet Obama’s speech, which came eight days before the Nov. 7 election, projected a tone of hopefulness based on what he called the innate decency of the American people.
“This is all goodness. When the American people pay attention, good things happen,” Obama said.
Obama was in Rochester to lend his growing popularity to the candidacies of Klobuchar and Walz, both of whom shared the stage with Obama at Mayo Civic Auditorium. Polls have consistently shown Klobuchar with a double-digit lead over GOP candidate Mark Kennedy, while Walz is surprising political observers with his strong campaign against six-term GOP incumbent Rep. Gil Gutknecht.
“I think part of the reason that they’re doing so well is that they just feel real,” Obama said of Klobuchar and Walz. “They’re not blow-dried and poll-tested and sound-bited. They sound like your neighbors and your friends — people who you trust.”
Since being elected to the Senate in 2004, Obama, 45, has been featured on the covers of Newsweek and Time magazines and has been the subject of fervent speculation about his presidential ambitions. Two weeks ago, Obama finally said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was considering a run for president in 2008.
His speech at Mayo Civic Auditorium had the cadence and rhythm of a sermon, almost conversational in tone. And local Democrats were clearly hoping that the growing fascination and speculation surrounding Obama would send a current of excitement through the Rochester area and help deliver more DFL votes.
After the event, a large circle of admirers gathered around Obama to have him sign copies of his new book, “The Audacity of Hope.” A half-dozen or so people held up camera phones over the crowd to snap pictures of him.
“I thought he was just great,” said Kristen Bertling, a 23-year-old Mayo Clinic employee who had just taken a picture of Obama on her phone. “I was just telling my friends. It’s almost like he’s your uncle giving you advice on something.”
There were a number of high school students in the largely packed auditorium. One student said that while the name Kerry or Clinton might register a blank on many students’ faces, Obama has name recognition among them.
“You say ‘Obama’ and people actually go, ‘Ohhh,’” said Sam Hagedorn, a 16-year-old Mayo High School student who called Obama an “amazing speaker, a real poet almost.”
Members of the Somali community in Rochester were also present at the rally. Abdifatah Abdinur, a 28-year-old part-time Somali TV anchor, noted with pride that Kenya, where Obama’s deceased father was born, and Somalia neighbor each other. Obama is half white and half black.
“It is a connection. It’s like a man from Rochester becomes president or senator when you are from the same area,” Abdinur said.
PIONEER PRESS: THRILLER
The Pioneer Press offers the condensed version of yesterday's Rochester rally:
ROCHESTER, Minn. — With a week and a day until the election and a visit from one of their party's biggest names of the moment, Democrats in Rochester were feeling good Monday.
"I feel a wave forming. I think this is a seminal year for Democrats," said Sharon Vandenorth, a Mayo Clinic employee who joined a huge rally for U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar and 1st District congressional candidate Tim Walz that featured U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
The crowd of more than 1,000 Democrats gave Obama a rock star's welcome, reflective of his growing national stature and possible 2008 presidential ambitions.
"I need you to knock on doors. I need you to make phone calls. I need you to volunteer," the senator from Illinois told the crowd. "And if you do that, on November 7th we are going to take America back."
The growing city of Rochester is a linchpin of Democratic hopes in Minnesota this year.
The DFL Party two years ago unexpectedly picked up several legislative seats in the onetime Republican stronghold and transformed the area into a key swing region. Walz, once considered a long shot against Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht, has in recent weeks surged onto the list of possible Democratic pickups this year.
STAR TRIBUNE: TENSION MOUNTS IN TIGHT RACES
The Stribune looks at the close statewide and federal races this morning. We read this about the First:
The race so far: Republicans hadn't counted on having to defend the seat of a 10-year House veteran. Then came Army Reserve veteran Walz, part of a national "Fighting Dems" cadre of ex-military Democrats in mostly Red districts. Walz, who advocates a change of course in Iraq, has steadily gained momentum, money and national prominence, forcing Gutknecht into an unexpected ad war.
Actually, Gutknecht's been in there twelve years, but since the Strib hadn't counted on covering this race, we can forgive them. So long as voters in the First remember Gutknecht's 12-years-or-vote -me-out pledge.
SWING STATE PROJECT: MONDAY INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
James L links to a little more spending by the NRCC in MN-01.
MANKATO FREE PRESS LTE: MR. NICE GUY
Phyllis Johnson tells another first-hand account of Tim Walz in Walz known for showing genuine concern, helping:
Tim Walz, along with a group of us, biked the Red Jacket Trail a few years ago. One in our party had tire trouble on several occasions. Walz was always there to help her.
She was very frustrated, which Walz sensed and said, “You take my bike and I’ll ride yours.” This is an example of what a gentleman Walz is. He shows the same concern for his students. He listens to them and includes them when he teaches, which I’m sure he’ll do for his constituents.
Walz spent more than a year teaching in China. How appropriate to know that we could have a congressman who knows China.
We don’t have to vote straight party lines Nov. 7. We can vote for the best person. That person would be Walz.
Mark Halverson is able to see Gutknecht's personal charm, but wants someone who will represent the district in Gutknecht’s voting record has been very disturbing:
At first glance, Gil Gutknecht looks like an appealing candidate. He’s well groomed, personable and as with most incumbent members of Congress, very good at speaking eloquently while not saying much at all.
During his several years representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District, he has not rocked the boat. He has done nothing controversial. He hasn’t done much of anything, it appears.
While one might be inclined to leave such an innocuous representative in Congress, thankful that he has largely avoided public scrutiny, there is one very disturbing fact that tells the true story about Gutknecht’s tenure. He has voted with the Bush administration over 80 percent of the time.
The Bush Administration represents the worst in politics. Both individually and collectively they are cynical, arrogant, dishonest and incompetent. They have gotten us in a terrible war upon false pretenses and without an exit strategy.
They have rolled back civil liberties at every opportunity. They have made great strides towards increasing the distance between those few who are very wealthy, and the rest of the population.
They have even rolled-back environmental protection, in the face of compelling evidence that we are on the brink of environmental disaster. A vote for Gutknecht in the upcoming election is nothing more that a vote in favor of the Bush administration. Make no mistake about it. It is time to move in a new direction. It is time to elect Tim Walz as our First District U.S. House representative.
WORTHINGTON DAILY GLOBE LTE: A VETERAN ON GUTKNECHT
Simon Koster of Worthington believes Gutknecht doesn't care about veterans:
I just listened to an ad by Congressman Gil Gutknecht bragging about his support of U.S. soldiers. I’d like to set the record straight.
Because of Gil Gutknecht and our current administration, George W. Bush and crew, I and approximately 700,000 U.S. veterans cannot — and I repeat cannot — use VA services. They don’t have the funding to do what’s been promised veterans. The U.S. is $8.4 trillion in debt and going backwards fast. To save money, cut off veterans!
My letter, and I know of others that have receives similar ones, states I have to prove that the medical attention I want is because of military service. Yes, I have to prove. How? Why? I received $25 per month when into the Air Force in January 1964. I served honorably, but I’m not being treated honorably.
My vote goes to Tim Walz, a military man who understands the problem and isn’t a political robot like Gil Gutknecht.
We'll post the netroots update in the afternoon.
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