Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the next president of the United States, speaks at a rally at the Teamsters Local 70 union hall in Oakland last night (top) and then greets supporters (below). I was only a few yards away from Kerry throughout the rally and watched the Reuters photographer taking his photos. (Reuters photos)
Kerry rallies the troops in Oakland
Last night I saw our next president, John Kerry, here in Northern California for the second time. He appeared at a rally last night in Oakland, and there were significant differences between last night's rally in Oakland and the rally at which I first saw him, in San Francisco in September.
For starters, there were, I would estimate, no more than a few hundred people at the rally in San Francisco in September, whereas they reported to us at last night's rally in Oakland that 1,200 people were outside the Teamsters Local 70 union hall, where the rally was held, because the hall was filled to capacity. The Oakland Tribune reports that "Thousands of people crowded in [the] union hall near the Oakland Airport to hear Kerry, a decorated war veteran who has won almost all of the state primaries so far" (18 out of 20, but who's counting?).
At the September rally I was struck by the total lack of security. We were not checked for weapons whatsoever, and as I got to shake Kerry's hand, had I or anyone else been a John Hinckley type, Kerry easily could have been taken out.
At last night's rally in Oakland, all of us had to pass through metal detectors and there were several Secret Service agents around Kerry at all times. I'm glad that Kerry has security now, but I couldn't help but notice how young and inexperienced yet deadly serious the Secret Service agents looked. (It was tempting to try to get one of them to crack a smile, but I've never been locked up and I'd like to keep it that way.)
While I was able to shake Kerry's hand and exchange a few words with him in September, last night I didn't even try, even though I probably could have had I been assertive enough. After Kerry had finished his rousing speech and neared my portion of the crowd -- throughout the entire rally I was standing only a few yards away from Kerry, who appeared on a small stage, as pictured above -- the sharks in the autograph-seeking frenzy squeezed tightly against me in their quest to get a few moments with Kerry, and my brother and I decided to back out of the crowd rather than to try to compete.
Most importantly, when I compare his September rally to last night's rally, I note that Kerry has improved his delivery significantly. While his September speech was inspiring, his speech last night was especially inspiring, and while I consciously make an effort not to become involved in group-mind behavior, even I was drawn into the excitement of the crowd's frequent chanting of "Ker-ry! Ker-ry! Ker-ry!" and the crowd's climactic shouting in unison, at the end of the rally, "BRING...IT...ON!"
Before Kerry took the stage last night, California Sen. Diane Feinstein, former California governor and current Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and other prominent California politicians spoke of their support for Kerry.
California, with its 370 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July, is the largest Democratic presidential prize in the nation. Californians go to the polls on Tuesday -- "Super Tuesday" -- to select their choice of the Democratic presidential candidate to beat "President" Bush in November.
A Field Poll released this past week shows that California voters prefer Kerry to his top rival, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, by 60 percent to 19 percent, about 3 to 1. A Los Angeles Times poll released this past week shows Kerry beating Edwards 56 percent to 24 percent in Tuesday's California primary election.
The Times notes of its polling that "Following the pattern set in other states, Kerry's support in the primary cuts across a broad range of demographic groups. He wins majorities of men, women, liberals, moderates, Latinos, union members and senior citizens, among others.
"Even primary voters who cite the economy or jobs as their No. 1 issue -- a group that has tilted toward Edwards in other states -- prefer Kerry to his main rival, 69 percent to 26 percent, the poll found."
4:51:42 PM 
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