Stumping for Barack Obama in Arkansas

On Tuesday, February 5^th, voters in 24 states will undoubtedly shape the face of the presidential election in November of 2008. Super Tuesday, or "Tsunami Tuesday" according to some political pundits, will answer many questions pertaining to each of the major parties front runners. If you live in a large city, you have probably at least driven by, or heard about a political rally, event, or a meet-up. Not only have I attended these, but I coordinated a rally myself back in 2004 for Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who dropped out of the race for the democrat nomination last week.

Here in northern Arkansas, there usually are not many political events to speak of. Back in 2004, I held the only one in my area. This year, there have been several for Senator Hillary Clinton, several for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and one for Barack Obama. I went to the Obama rally in my home town of Mountain Home, Arkansas. I was expecting to be greeted with a crowd that consisted of loud college-aged students, but was pleasantly surprised by an older, more calm and assertive group of about 15 men and women. They all seemed very knowledgeable on his platform, and even talked about what Obama could do for me on a personal level.

This was a change from the rallies and meet-ups I'm used to attending. My rally for Kucinich included loud music, yelling, signs such as "ALL BOMBING IS TERRORISM" and a few elderly men who felt we were infringing on their rights as we had a rally in a public place. This was a very laid back meeting, and the only yelling I heard came from the thoughts in my head as I bit into a cookie that tasted a week old. No angry visitors at this event either.