The More or Less Weekly Camel: Our News & Ideas from the Front Range: Barack Obama Rallies in Golden, CO

But if you want real change – if you want an economy that rewards work, and that works for Main Street and Wall Street; if you want tax relief for the middle class and millions of new jobs; if you want health care you can afford and education so that our kids can compete; then I ask you to knock on some doors, and make some calls, and talk to your neighbors, and give me your vote on November 4th. And if you do, I promise you – we will win Colorado, we will win this election, and we will change America together.

Barack Obama
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO
September 16, 2008

Why, you may ask, did Barack Obama choose to speak at the Colorado School of Mines? There are several answers to this question including:

Colorado School of Mines, among other activities, conducts research in the field of alternative energy and, more traditionally, oil extraction;
Colorado is a swing state;
Jefferson County, where the School of Mines is located, is considered one of the pivotal counties in Colorado because of the considerable quantity of undecided voters;
Colorado is poised to become a leader on the alternative energy front;
Governor Ritter and Denver's Mayor Hickenlooper have a track record of leadership on energy issues.

While I still think that the electoral college stinks like a rat, I am very pleased to be living in a state that matters in the 2008 presidential vote: a purple state. In Vermont, where I have done the majority of my voting, I, like all Vermonters, knew I had very little influence over the national election because Vermont was a blue state and that was that.

Here in Colorado, I feel like I can do something. Colorado is purple, thanks to the rapidly shifting demographics of the state, and no county is believed to be more pivotal than Jefferson County, just south of Boulder County, where I live. I am going to take Obama's closing comment to heart and knock on some doors, make some calls, talk to neighbors and do my part to create greater opportunity for myself, the U.S., and the planet.

The media is at the ready and the moon was still up when I arrived.

Waiting in line.

The campaign offices handed out two tickets to each attendee. I had no takers on my spare ticket, crazy as that may sound. I spoke to the Arvada campaign office about the extra ticket and was told that Lynda, a public school teacher and Obama volunteer extraordinnaire, who narrowly missed her opportunity to attend the Democratic National Convention, didn't get tickets to the Golden event and really wanted to go. I gave her my spare ticket and a ride and we had fun airing our liberal views and taking in the event.

Massive conservative protest on the grassy knoll. I believe that the sign on the left says something about "no socialists".

An Obama campaigner generously offers this McCain supporter a Job to Elect Obama. (See pamphlet.)

Lynda and Rachel. Rachel has been volunteering with the Obama campaign since June. We linked up while standing in line.

Moi as the bleachers were filling up.

Lynda with Karen, the volunteer organizer who suggested that I give Lynda my spare ticket.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter

The lead campaign organizer for Jefferson County spoke after the Governor. While this may have been arranged this way to allow Governor Ritter to move on to State business, I like to think that allowing a young upwardly moving field organizer to speak after the governor was an organizing tactic, an effort to highlight the grassroots nature of the campaign. Maybe.