Strangechord

We attended the Howard Dean rally in downtown Portland today - 5,000 people! People are saying it was the largest crowd yet for Dean, or for any other candidate ever this early in the cycle. Photos and audio here. It was hot as blazes out there with the sun beating down fiercely, but everyone was in cheering spirits. After he spoke, Jeremy and I tried to move into the inner circle of the crowd shaking hands with him, but he and his entourage were moving in the opposite direction. So, although we were standing only 15 feet from Dean for a while, we didn’t push through enough to shake his hand or say something to him.

I wouldn’t say I’ve been some huge fan of Dean or something. It’s not that I have had anything against him, I just haven’t read deeply enough about where he stands on the issues and his background/track record. I went to the rally today to check out the atmosphere, see how many people would show and be a part of something political and positive.

I do find Dean very likeable and intelligent. I think he’s the most winnable of the progressive candidates (i.e. Democrats who are actually somewhat liberal), and after hearing him speak today, I can definitely see getting behind his campaign. The idea of Dean defeating Bush and putting a halt to the snowball of environmental, social and civil rights destruction is one I relish.

Dean is crisscrossing the nation this summer building a following and gathering tiny citizen donations from all over. His Blog for America is a great way to keep up with the hands-on, grassroots tour, perhaps the aspect of Dean’s campaign that I find most inspiring and exciting. There’s lots of news about today’s rally up there. I know that I will make the time to read more thoroughly about Dean after today.