Obama whips up crowd with speech

If all the world's a stage, Barack Obama sure knows how to use it.

In an electrifying political rally yesterday, Sen. Obama (D-Ill) and a bevy of Maryland's political big shots fired up a packed amphitheater outside the Stamp Student Union, igniting waves of whoops and hollers from the Democratic crowd as they bashed Bush, called Republican policies into question and declared unanimous support for U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin in his bid for the U.S. Senate.

Obama's appearance was the second event in a week that scheduled a high profile Democrat to speak on the campus, but yesterday's rally was far more energetic than Monday's fundraiser with Hillary Clinton. In front of an audience that some estimated exceeded a 1,000 people, Obama displayed the inspirational oratory skills that have made him a popular figure in the Democratic party.

Most seats were filled well before 9 a.m., and by the time State Del. Melony Griffith (D-Prince George's) got the show started with a soulful rendition of "God Bless America," the crowd made up of students, activist groups and supporters from around the state had to peer over the UM-Shuttle bus terminals that line the edge of the theater to get a glimpse of the action.

After a brief introduction by College Democrat president Lee Fang, who helped bring the event to the campus, Sen. Barbara Mikulski let everyone know what she expected in the remaining six weeks before the elections: "We can raise hell!" the feisty senator from Baltimore yelled to the crowd.

With nearly 50 Democratic leaders behind her on stage, including retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes, House minority whip Steny Hoyer and a slew of state legislators, Mikulski spoke highly of the "world class" primary between Cardin and former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, both of whom she had arranged to attend the rally months ago, regardless of the primary's outcome.

After praising his character and his ability to play Scrabble, Mikulski introduced Mfume, who did not show any bitterness from his defeat two weeks ago.

"I would have been a damn good senator," Mfume said. "But Ben is the nominee and the nominee we support."

He added his friendship with Cardin was the main reason he was able to recover from his primary loss earlier this month. As he continued his speech, he called on the crowd to aid in the cause of addressing civil rights issues in the state, which includes putting more women and minorities in office.

"We must talk about our warts and wrinkles as much as our beauty and fanfare," Mfume said, displaying the type of emotion he's become known for around the country.

Mfume then introduced Cardin, who spoke highly of Mfume and others but ignored Mfume's message to refrain from demonizing Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and instead tackle the issues. After Cardin echoed many of the issues expressed by Mikulski and Mfume, his speech mostly consisted of pointing out everything Steele would not hold President Bush accountable for.

Cardin campaign posters, T-shirts and banners were littered throughout the crowd, reminding observers that the event was held for him and not for the nationally acclaimed Obama, who many said they came to see.

"How you doin' Maryland?" Obama said to the crowd, flashing his famous grin. "I am fired up!"

Obama's charismatic style captured much of the crowd's attention from start to finish as he took them through a wealth of topics ranging from his decision to go into politics to his respect for Cardin and Maryland legislators to the problems plaguing America today.

"We've got a president who says we have an addiction to oil, but doesn't want to go through the 12-step program to cure our addiction," he said. "We've got the presidents of Iran and Venezuela mocking us because we send them our oil money."

In addition to the energy crisis, Obama discussed universal healthcare, affordable education and Iraq. He said the solutions don't lie solely in putting Democrats in office - but also in addressing problems head-on.

"The days of ideological bickering has past. It is time for us to come up with some common sense solutions," Obama said.

Though the content of Cardin and Obama's speeches may have been similar, it was Obama who some called a rockstar. Others said Obama was scheduled to speak at the end because he was the main event.

But not everyone was impressed.

"In terms of his material, he's about as good as any other politician is at a rally. He points out the problems but doesn't say what the changes should be," senior environmental studies major Greg Hazzard said. "It points out that he's more of a politician than a leader of the issues."

Despite Obama's impression on the crowd, Fang said the event was clearly Cardin's show.

"It's not like one over shadowed the other," Fang said, noting that Obama's oratory skills were the only difference between the speeches.

Still, students gushed at Obama's presence. One girl, who caught Obama on his way off stage, coaxed him into taking a picture with her. After retaining her poise during the picture, the girl screamed excitedly as she hopped and skipped away, happy to get her photo with a political star.

Contact repeater Owen Praskievicz at praskieviczdbk@gmail.com