Today, Beantown was Deantown
Posted on September 23, 2003 at 3:26 pm | No Comments
Presidential candidate Howard Dean, the guy who’s got my support, a little bit of my money, and eventually my vote, made a stop in Boston today for a rally that drew an estimated 4000-5000 people to Copley Square. It was one hell of a crowd, despite gray skies, a building wind, and a threatening storm …
Dean arrived a few minutes late (ah, Boston traffic), and was introduced by a woman named Kelly Fitzsimmons, who described herself as “a mom, a citizen, and a Red Sox fan”. She wasn’t a politician, wasn’t even a practiced public speaker, just someone who believes in Howard Dean. She says she spent the first 37 years of her life uninvolved in politics, and that Dean was the man who finally prompted her to become politically active. She was “no one special”, and at the same time, she was just as special as any of us. That’s the kind of campaign Dean is running… ordinary people are extraordinary, and they can become involved in our democracy at every level, whether it’s by donating time, money, or just their well-informed vote.
Dean came on to raucous applause, a sea of waving signs, and overwhelming cheers. His speech was a much-improved variation on his now-familiar stump speech; historical references and present-day relevance, upping the criticism of our currently appointed president. Head on over to the Dean blog and read some for yourself. There’s some seriously inspiring words in there, and they sounded great coming from a man fired-up enough to take the White House …
Y’know, I’m not a crowd person… generally, can’t stand being in ’em. I’m usually good for about 15 minutes unless there’s a really good band about to hit the stage. I have to say, though, being in this mass of people was different. Those around me were respectful of each other’s space, conversational, curious, enthusiastic, and, well, just damn nice. It was a great vibe, a hopeful one. Made me feel even better about the campaign than I already do.
More of my photos from the rally are here. Enjoy.
Check out this article at Boston.com while you’re at it. Oh, and Go Dean!
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