The Fierce Urgency of Now ... Barack Obama 3 Days Away from the Iowa Caucus

Last night my husband and I drove 1/2 an hour in the blowing snow on New Year's Eve to hear Barack Obama speak. I've heard him live before, but my husband has not. Kevin (the hubby) asked me why it was so important to come to this live event. Afterall, he's a CNN junkie and listens to all the candidates and their opinions. Mr. Independent (the hubby again) came along kicking and screaming.

I explained the beauty of attending a live event is that you can see the facial expressions, the interactions with the audience, the uncomfortableness and how it is handled. You hear the entire speech - not just snippets on the news. You feel the energy (or lack of) in the room. You can look around and see who is there - are they old? young? black? white? In Iowa, we are fortunate to be able to attend these events. They are usually low scale happenings, maybe 500 people in the room. There is the fact that you actually see the person's face versus watching it on a large screen above your head.

Last night Senator Obama arrived about 45 minutes late. It was attributed to the snow storm and bad traffic. The Student Center at the local high school was full. The new signs stated 'stand for change' and were burgandy in color. Instead of having chairs for people on a dais behind the Senator - there were about 20 people who stood throughout the entire speech - stand for change!

Senator Obama had a three ring booklet on his podium and there were type written sheets in it (once again, the joy of being able to sit close and see). He referred to these pages once before he started speaking. I had received a copy of his speech from the field organizer Brian Brothman for Cerro Gordo county. It was the same speech he gave on December 27th in Des Moines.

Yet when I listened to Mr. Obama speak - I didn't feel like it was a memorized, prepared speech. He engaged the audience, spoke clearly and loud, and soon we were all clapping and nodding our heads. About 1/2 of the audience had never caucused before. The Senator asked for our help in caucusing for him. He said his job was to talk to us about why he should be President.

Obama at the JJ dinner

Credit: Deb Brown

Copyright: Deb Brown