11.05.08
Obamapalooza at Grant Park: Pics and Thoughts
Last evening was allegedly the largest public gathering in the history of the city of Chicago. Regardless of any political affiliations, this was an event I was not going to miss. Here are some pics and thoughts from Obamapalooza ‘08.
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| In addition to campaigners, street vendors were out in full force all over downtown last night, selling everything from T-shirts to buttons, to Barack Obama victory towels. Special shoutout goes to whoever made the “Barack to the Future” T-shirts. |
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| I arrived outside Grant Park by around 6 pm, and crowds had already begun pouring in. |
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| Events like this always seem to draw protesters out of the woodwork. Some in good taste… |
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| …others not so much (but equally hilarious) |
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| The skyline of Chicago was lit up nicely for the event, with several buildings displaying election themed messages via office lights. |
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| Grant Park was divided into two separate areas, one for those with tickets, and one for those without. At 7:30 I finally scored a ticket (using the same method that got me into 14 Olympic events this summer) and made my way inside the park. |
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| This was my first view from inside the. The Chicago authorities had been preparing for armageddon, and crowd control was tight. Before entering the park, there were three different crowd gates, presumably to prevent a stampede. At each gate, a crowd of several hundred would have their tickets checked and then were allowed allowed to pass through. Before the next gate would open, the crowds were held back for about twenty minutes, so that the group in front of them could get through first. While crowd control measures were tight, security was not. Throughout the evening, blaring announcements had proclaimed that all attendees would need to pass through a metal detector. However, metal detectors were nowhere in sight. Nobody frisked me either. In all reality, I probably could have been brought in a rifle, a 2-foot bong, and a pouch of grenades, and nobody would have known. |
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| Throughout the evening, the jumbotron behind the stage played the live election coverage from CNN. Whenever the announcement came of a state which had gone for Obama, the crowd roared. When a state went for McCain, everybody booed in unison. The loudest boo (and accompanying laughter) went to Utah, which the announcers specifically mentioned, had no chance of going for Obama anyway. |
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| Once inside the venue, the crowd was further split off into barricaded sections. Those who got in earliest got to be in front past the barricades. I was in back, which meant the view wasn’t so good. But I did have the luxury of being able to breathe. |
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| The largest cheers came during John McCain’s concession speech when everybody realized that what everybody already thought was going to happen, had in fact happened. |
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| About a half hour after McCain’s speech, the man of the hour took the stage. However, in the interim was a string of speakers which I can describe only as odd and unexpected. First was a clergyman (Joe the preacher?) who gave a mini-sermon asking for God’s blessing to Barack Obama and the country. Following that was the always Orwellian pledge of allegiance led by a former military man whom neither myself nor anybody else in my vicinity could identify. Just before Barry O. came out was a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, sung slightly off key by a woman who inadvertently replaced the words “whose broad stripes” with “with broad stripes.” I had not previously equated a vote for Obama as a vote for Jesus, patriotism, and bad singing, so hopefully this was just an isolated incident and not indicative of times to come. |
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| After the conclusion of Obama’s speech, (and fifteen minutes of Obamas and Bidens hugging and kissing on stage), the crowd began to file out. Jubilant crowds packed downtown and horns blared throughout the night. A Chicago man was on his way back to the White House. |
Tex
said,
November 5, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Who is the other Chicago man to go to the Whitehouse? I can only think of Springfield…
Jiang
said,
November 5, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I’m very curious about the campain. They sold tickets? How much did you buy it? If you are a McCain’s supporter, can you buy it?
Tourist
said,
November 6, 2008 at 2:53 am
How is crime in Chicago? Isn’t it getto just like Detroit? On your pictures I surprisingly saw a lot of white faces.
DaveNYC
said,
November 6, 2008 at 10:45 am
Thanks for the first hand coverage. It was an amazing night to remember.
Benjamin Ross
said,
November 7, 2008 at 1:08 pm
@Tex
I think I may have jumped the conclusion gun on this one. I did a brief check online and couldn’t find another Chicago president. As you alluded to, you could argue Lincoln was from Illinois, (though he was born in Kentucky), but not as much case for Chicago. Thanks for pointing that out. However, I think we can be fairly certain Obama is the first Hawaiian-born president. I’d also say it’s a pretty safe bet he’s the first president who grew up in Indonesia as well. Here’s some more fun presidential-first food for thought. Was this the first election in which both candidates (if not one of them) were born outside of the continental United States? Any history buffs out there?
@Jiang
The tickets were free. But you had to sign up for one on Obama’s website, and they sold out quickly. Tickets were sent via e-mail and would come with the holder’s on it. To get in to the event, an ID had to be presented (to prevent scalping), and each person with a ticket could bring one guest. I got in as somebody’s guest.
@Tourist
Chicago is an extremely segregated city. There are areas which are very high in crime and areas which are very low in crime. There are areas which are nearly 100% black, and areas which are nearly 100% white, or Mexican, or Polish, or Russian, or Indian, or Chinese, for that matter. Chicago is like Detroit in the sense that they are both industrial cities, which since the 50’s have seen a good portion of their jobs go overseas, thus leaving a hole of poverty (and thus crime) behind. The difference is that Chicago has seen widespread gentrification of many of its neighborhoods over the past few decades. Other Rust Belt cities (especially Detroit) have not been so fortunate.
The neighborhood I live in is called Wicker Park. Fifteen years ago, Wicker Park was where you would go to buy crack or pick up a cheap hooker off the street. Now Wicker Park is where you go to eat out at overpriced sushi restaurants and buy designer brand baby strollers. There are still many areas of Chicago which you could describe as “ghetto” but also many others which are more desirable places to live.
Jiang
said,
November 7, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Did you chant “Yes, we can!” that night?
Low Carbon Home
said,
November 19, 2008 at 12:33 pm
It really was an amazing night. They say the world changed on 9/11 and I have never felt that was true. It was just used as a means to justify madness. On November 4th, 2008 the world really did change and it will take us a long time to understand just how profoundly.