In Oregon's Embrace, Obama Strikes a Victor's Pose

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: CAMPAIGNING
In Oregon's Embrace, Obama Strikes a Victor's Pose
By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 11, 2008; Page A12

BEND, Ore. -- Sen. Barack Obama probably did not need to make a surprise appearance Friday at the Twilight Meet at the University of Oregon. The liberal college town of Eugene is already his territory, and the subset of fleece-clad runners' families that filled the grandstand is probably even more reliably his crowd.

But such is this moment for Obama that it seemed natural to indulge in a little affirmation. As his bus pulled up, he strode onto the handsome old track just as the women's 5K was ending. A murmur went through the crowd, the public-address announcer confirmed his arrival, and the action came to a halt as 5,000 track fans rose as one to cheer the senator from Illinois who appears suddenly on the verge of claiming his party's presidential nomination. The javelin hurlers dropped their equipment, and the 400-meter hurdlers paused in their warm-ups as a waving Obama made his way around one of the country's most famous tracks bathed in late-afternoon sunlight -- a victory lap.

"You guys are just so fast. I congratulate you," Obama said as he reached the finish line, where the 5K runners still waited -- as if the applause was for anyone but him.

For weeks, Obama campaigned in a nerve-racking limbo, maintaining a seemingly insurmountable lead in delegates, yet unable to shake the threat that sundry controversies or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's critiques would yet convince Democrats that he was not their best standard-bearer. But after his strong performance in Indiana and North Carolina produced a marked shift in the narrative -- he finally surpassed Clinton in endorsements from party superdelegates on Saturday -- Obama is allowing himself, at long last, to breathe easier and savor his achievement....

***

He is officially on guard against seeming overconfident, saying at every turn that he is still running hard against a tough primary opponent. His campaign is well aware that he faces the prospect of a thumping in the upcoming primaries in West Virginia and Kentucky.

Yet here, in a state where he is strongly favored to win, his stump speeches seem less like bids for votes than a chance for fans to see their hero and hear his pitch one last time before he moves on to the next stage. At an outdoor rally on the university campus after his visit to the track, Obama declared that the state's May 20 vote could be the one that gives him a clear majority of pledged delegates....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/10/AR2008051002259.html?nav=hcmodule

[Trajan]

1. I have stayed away from choosing ....

But this man is so impressive .... I am SO glad of his achievement .....

Congratulations Mr. Obama ....

[saltpoint]

2. Great post.

Also I second the praise Trajan offers for Obama.

[Rene]

3. Everything about obama makes me want to puke. He's another empty suit...false flag

a manufacutred product from king-makers. very think resum, nearly no record to speak of in Congress. We've got another front man/preacher being fiercly pushed onto the forefront long before his time. I'll never vote for someone I never even heard of 12 months ago. This fawning over the man is absolutely nauseating.

[Diogenes2]

4. Why don't you take your nausea elsewhere...

no one wants to hear about your stomach disorders. Your entire post is fact-deprived, intelligence-deficient, and "manufacutred" nonsense-- Obama is a self-realized individual, no "king-makers" invented him. You are way off in wacko-land with your remarks.

[99th_Monkey]

5. Obama's a "false flag"?? WTF are you smoking?

what's that supposed to mean? If you weren't so filled with hatred, oh well..
never mind.

[satya]

7. Too bad you didn't watch/attend the 2004 Dem National convention; he gave the keynote address.

Here's the link:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2004/barackobama2004dnc.htm

[Cieran]

8. Haha, exposed him for the pseudo-Democrat he is! n/t

[FightingIrish]

6. I think Oregon is going to Hillary's farewell embarassment

Here in southern Oregon, the Obama signs are everywhere. I have only seen one Hillary sign and it was in a neighborhood where her poor uneducated white demographic is entrenched.