This morning at 7AM the troops and I got up, had a quickie breakfast and set off for downtown Portland to attend the John Kerry rally at Waterfront Park.

When we arrived downtown we followed the throngs down to the Park. At first things seemed really disorganized. We couldn't figure out where the gate was to get in. Then when we thought we'd figured it out...we were in the wrong line. This apparently happened to a lot of folks as there appeared to be some confusion for many. But the Kerry organizers eventually got out among the crowd and started getting people headed in the right direction.

The only other poorly thought out part of the rally was the spotlights. They'd placed spotlights on the stage that faced out toward the middle of the stage. One of the lights was really blinding and made it tough to see the performers and the speakers. Besides, why in the world do they need spotlights at noon on one of the hottest days of the Summer?

That said, given the size of the crowd (20-30k) things went pretty well. The campaign seemed well prepared for the heat, passing out free bottles of water quite generously. They also had tons of free tshirts, US flags and signs.

Just before noon, some of Oregon's elected representatives gave short speeches. Then Leonardo DeCaprio gave a short speech...and then Bon Jovi performed. There were rumors that we would see Springsteen but he wasn't there. But we had Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. They were excellent.

Finally, Kerry's buses arrived. First to speak was Teresa Heinz Kerry. She spoke powerfully in her heavily accented and forcefull manner. The most moving part of her speech was her references to growing up in areas of the world where people weren't allowed the democratic process. She was very good. Next, Jim Rassmann (the Oregon man Kerry saved in Vietnam) made some brief remarks. And Kerry was up.

He does give a good speech. It was blazing hot out with the sun reflecting off of the Willamette River. But Kerry held the crowd easily...discussing everything from his service, to protesting, to his 225 page plan to put America back on course.

In contrast to the Kerry event today, Bush was also in the Portland area. This is Bush's fourth stop in Oregon but to my knowledge he has yet to hold a public rally in the Portland area. Today's Bush event was an "invite only" at one of the high schools on the west side. This is Kerry's second event in the Portland region. Both have been free and open to the public.

And I didn't even have to sign a loyalty oath.


Update: According to KATU News in Portland, the fire marshall shut down the entrance gates at Waterfront Park when the crowd reached 25,000. The fire department estimated that there were an additional 25,000 in the streets surrounding the park and on the Hawthorne Bridge.

50,000 people thirsting for leadership. Amazing.