That is, I must say, absolutely amazing.
Via MSNBC:
Per the Obama campaign, 75,000 people (60,000 in the gates and 15,000 outside of them) turned out in Portland to hear Obama speak there this afternoon — making it the largest Obama crowd to date.
Duane Bray, the battalion chief with Portland Fire and Rescue, validated that crowd estimate, the campaign says.
*** UPDATE *** Here’s the dispatch from NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones… Some 75,000 people flocked to Portland’s waterfront Sunday to watch Barack Obama speak, making it the biggest rally the campaign has held to date. Thousands stood on the lawn, dozens watched from boats and from the bridge stretching across the Willamette River. A few kayakers held their paddles and tried to keep their kayaks straight as they watched the candidate, who stood on a makeshift platform.
That’s amazing, and this is just the primary. Unbelievable. Here’s some pics:
There’s more pictures over at Flickr. Amazing stuff.
There’s just no way that John McCain can bring that sort of a crowd… It just cannot happen. I must admit, as much as I disagree with some, but not all, of his politics, I am quite impressed with his ability to draw a crowd.
I don’t think that I’ve seen anything like that, on the Conservative side since Ronald Reagan. I believe that people just want change, and they see Barack Obama as the last great hope for America. I just hope he can deliver.
If this is any indication of what the General election is going to be like, I suspect there’s going to be a handy defeat, and it is not going to be the Democrats.
Update: Crunchy Con says it’s the GOP’s fault.
More Thoughts at @ Memeornadum
