On Oct. 28, I attended the Barack Obama Rally right outside the DIA, and it was an experience I won't soon forget. I had never seen so many police officers in my life. It was a hot day, with nary a cloud in the sky. This would factor in later on.
I rolled out of bed at the crack of noon, and made my way down to the rally. A young and thoroughly bearded Obama supporter told me where the public entrance was and warned me that if I didn't get in shortly, there would be no room. This turned out to be a bit of an exaggeration, but I took his advice.
I found a space in the crowd at about half past noon and waited a full hour for the first speaker to come out. It was a trio of religious figures: a rabbi, a minister and someone of undetermined faith. The drunken firefighters to my left were underwhelmed. These firefighters wore yellow Obama-Biden t-shirts, but openly mocked every facet of the day's events.
New mayor and unquestionably large head-having Ken Cockrel Jr. was the next to speak. He was more listenable than the religious folk, and he seemed reasonable and down to earth. When he spoke of national affairs, such as the economic crisis, however, he spoke largely in stiff talking points and came off as Obama-lite.
After Cockrel, there was a 20 minute lull in the proceedings. I had recently bought a large bag of pizza Combos snack food, but grew tired of holding it and set it down gently on the pavement (I'll get back to this, I swear).
No sooner did an announcer proclaim over the loudspeaker: "And now a woman who needs no introduction. ..." The crowd stirred. Everyone around me began whispering, "Michelle Obama? Jennifer Granholm?" Surely these esteemed women need no introduction, but the crowd elicited an audible "Huh?" when it was Denise Illitch who was revealed to be the speaker in question.
Illitch gave a laughably bad speech that left no doubt in my mind that a sizeable donation was the only explanation for her presence behind the lectern. At least she was the harbinger of the reason everyone attended in the first place, Barack Obama. She introduced the Obama-Biden ticket and their respective spouses, who walked out of the Detroit Public Library to thunderous applause.
Joe Biden spoke for about 25 minutes, and he was funny, engaging and endearingly over enthusiastic at times. He hit an awkward high note, so to speak, when he let fly this rhetorical nugget: "John McCain said he'll follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell. Well, President Barack Obama will follow Osama Bin Laden to the cave where he lives ... and then send him to Hell!" Yes. He actually said that. He implied, for colorful hyperbole's sake, that Barack Obama, as president, would kill Osama Bin Laden with his bare hands. I loved it.
The title of this piece comes from the fact that Biden kept saying things were "literally true." He did this multiple times and littered his speech with "literally this" or "literally that." As an English major, it annoyed me. Mr. Biden, the word you are looking for is "really" or "actually" or "totally" or even "super-duper," but not "literally." The phrase "literally true" is an abomination. Literally true? As opposed to figuratively true? As opposed to verbally true? Agghhh!, Joe Biden, stop making my head hurt.
During Joe Biden's speech/assault on the English language, an elderly woman succumbed to a heat stroke right next to me. She fell backwards and landed on top of my bag of Combos. A few cops came to her aid, gave her some water and helped her up. She was fine. A relative of hers, however, brushed my Combo crumbs off her back as the police led her out of the crowd. Such is life.
Next up was the man in full, Barack Obama. He started off with a winning quip that his wife, Michelle, had opted not to speak on this day, but he was content with her "just sitting there and looking cute." The crowd laughed easily. It was just charming banter of the ultra-confident variety. Not that any of that makes for a better president, but in an alternate universe, Obama could have made easy living as an actor, or at the very least extolling the virtues of Coca-Cola during a Super Bowl commercial.
Obama spoke of his economic plans for the country when another person in the crowd, closer to the lectern, fainted. It seemed to be a recurring theme. In one of those unscripted moments so rare in the day-to-day campaigning of a major party candidate, Obama alerted the police himself of the fainting, then threw his personal water bottle into the crowd to help the woman who had passed out. The crowd erupted in applause.
It put an involuntary smirk on my face when I reflected on what had just happened. Obama was just thinking on his feet, and being a generally alert and caring human being. However, he did it so well that he came across, just a bit, as Obama the Healer.
"Obama will give you water when you are thirsty, Obama will help you move furniture, Obama will drive you to the airport, etc., etc., etc."
Once Obama was done, I walked back to my apartment, Obama poster in hand, and took a well-deserved nap. A naptime I can believe in.
Joe Biden doesn't know what the word "literally" means and other observations at the Obama Rally
Published: Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Updated: Sunday, October 12, 2008
8 comments
Clark Eagling
Matt, I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.With that said, I was there too, and I couldn't believe what Biden said about Bin Laden. The last thing I want to see are the Democratic candidates getting in on the War On Terror action. War is War, and our presence in Afghanistan has been as horrific and fruitless as in Iraq, so far.
liberalisim is a mental disorder
great article - glad to see WSU students involvedNO Experience - NObamaKeep America SafeDefend America - Defeat socalist NObama
Rob
Hey I'm a total moron but I'm gonna give you my 2 cents on how to write anyways, as well as judge you entirely just based on this article, AND accuse you of egotism.
Rob
Hey I'm a total moron but I'm gonna give you my 2 cents on how to write anyways, as well as judge you entirely just based on this article, AND accuse you of egotism.
ghandi
very eloquent but had an acidity in the tone
