I went to Chicago yesterday (February 11, 2007) to see Barack Obama speak on his “I am running for president” announcement tour.

I am still not sure who I support, but I needed a reason to go to Chicago and see some friends from Loyola so I took the $5 bus and went.

Being back at Loyola was… interesting. I knew my way around easy enough, and it was something of a breath of fresh air being there, but something didn’t seem right. I felt… disconnected. Like I didn’t “belong” or something.

Maybe I should reconsider going back.

Bah. Or I could have just been too tired and cold. I woke up at 7AM to catch the 8:30 bus, having went to bed at 3AM.

So, Obama. The event wasn’t nearly as packed as I thought it would be. Being so useto being right in the front of just about every event, being in the back of the crowd was… interesting. The speech wasn’t exactly “powerful,” but then again, I did see him speak all of a week ago.

There were some anti-war protesters in the arena that snuck in a sign saying “Obama, Cut The Funding” and yelled during his speech. I don’t know what I think about that. As someone who would staff one of those events, it is a nightmare, but the candidate handled it very well. “We are talking about healthcare now, we’ll get to that in a bit.” Security took care of them after a bit, but he referenced them later on in his speech, saying “It is important those people come out, because it shows how important this war is to all of us” (slight paraphrase there.)

Similar protests were done last week during Hillary’s speech. Hillary was much worse at handling her protesters. Then again, that speech was to a much more impartial audience (the DNC) where many people agreed on how bad Hillary was handling the war issue. When she said she was a steadfast opponent to the war, someone in the back yelled “WHAT?” and the entire crowd found it amusing. Even the press snickered.

I was so tired I decided to get out of Chicago 45 minutes early by taking the $21 train. I got home and went to sleep right away. Woke up this morning to do homework and realized that I am in under my head so I decided to just do my post here.

“If we don’t end this this war by January 2009, I will”

Hillary Clinton started out her speach being cheered as if she was a god among women. Hillary! Hillary! the people shouted.

There was a rule: Only 100 signs could be in the hall for each candidate.
Well, that wasn’t the case for Hillary. Her people were giving away signs at her table, so when she walked out Hillary signs went up everywhere. Obama had no signs, his table was marked by 8 1/2 by 11 sheets of computer paper with “Obama Exploratory Committee” typed in big letters and a quickly made sheet for people to write their names down for the campaign’s contact list.

The first words:
My Name is Hillary Clinton and I am Running for President

When she first talked about how she is fighting against the war in Iraq someone in the back of the room yelled “What???”
And when she talked about bringing the troops home some protesters on the wings yelled for the senator to cut funding.

She also called for Universal Healthcare. I don’t think she mentioned single payer, but it didn’t sound like her normal plan.

She seemed to be playing to the crowd.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich is speaking now.

The republicans would say he doesn’t support the troops. But he says something sensable. Just remove the funding from Iraq.

He brought a part of a missile sent to a village in Lebanon this previous year. Supposedly it is at his table outside.

Hillary Clinton will be speaking right in front of me shortly.

Welcome to John Edwards. He is talking about how there are 2 Americas. Poor and rich. But he added one. A refuge camp somewhere in the world a child’s parents are dead and the two remaining children are responsible for each other.

Quotes I like:
“The American People are The Decider”
Bush and Cheney are counting on us to be “weak”