Some pics from yesterday's rally. My Olympus Stylus didn't really pull this one off. Or rather, I didn't do a good job with it. The best shots were outdoors, but even those were terribly out of focus for the most part.
Inside, conditions defeated me. Every time I tried to take a picture, I had to wait for dozens of hands holding cameras aloft to shift and part until I could get off a shot. I noticed that some cameras were getting really nice close-up shots, but mine doesn't have the capability.
Enough of my photographic travails. The rally was full of females of all ages with a hard core group of "Husbands for Hillary" in tow. An old codger next to me said he was there to find out about Hillary's health care plan. "Kucinich was the one who had the real thing," he said to me. I agreed with him whole-heartedly.
I was listening in a detached analytical way to Hillary's stump speech for most of it, until she got to getting rid of No Child Left Behind and then I let out a big cheer. Ditto to ending the war in Iraq. I thought she did a nice job of laying out her points. She was clear and concise, and had a few tender moments with a tale of a young woman who lost her baby and her life due to lack of health care availability in a county in southern Ohio.
Both Senators Clinton and Obama have obviously studied the campaign rhetoric of their colleague, the junior senator from Ohio. We heard about fare trade instead of free trade and bringing jobs back to Ohio. One little request please, dear candidates -- make sure those jobs don't involve polluting the air, water, or soil.
I've taken some unscientific polls among people I know and trust here in Akron, Ohio. Women are going for Hillary in a big way. But so are some men, including one tonight who gave an impassioned impromptu speech for Hillary at the end of a local theatre group's meeting. I think he gave me the final push toward marking her ballot tomorrow. That and the following picture from the rally.
So who am I voting for tomorrow? I am going with my gender demographic. If anybody has a problem with that, then I ask them if they have a problem with 80% plus African Americans going for Obama. Because I don't have a problem with it. They are proud to at last be represented at the highest level. As are these young girls to finally see a woman competing for the ultimate leadership role.
And further more, if Obama wins the nomination, I won't have a problem supporting him. I understand the great excitement within the black community surrounding his candidacy. I feel the same way about Hillary's.
They both have flaws, and they both have strengths. They'd make a great team, but they'd have to get over a lot of ego for that to happen. So may the best person win and may we all pull together to defeat the Republicans at every level in the fall.
Don't forget to vote tomorrow, and if you are living in Summit County, please vote for Issue 8 to maintain the current level of public metro bus service for our citizens. That may be the most important of all your votes.
