Obama Comes to Michigan

by: rich

Thu May 15, 2008 at 00:45:43 AM EDT

“There is one man who knows in his heart that it is time to create one America, not two. And that man is Barack Obama.” - John Edwards, May 14, 2008, Grand Rapids, MI

This big news, former Sen. John Edwards’ endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for President of the United States, signals what philgoblue of WestMichiganRising said to me right after the rally: “I think the general election started in Grand Rapids today.” He’s right.

In both speeches at tonight's rally in Grand Rapids, Edwards and Obama spent significant amounts of time complimenting Hillary Clinton. They spent the rest of the time complimenting each other, with Obama vowing to make Edwards’ anti-poverty crusade a main focus of his administration. Both speeches were fiery, uplifting, and overwhelmingly positive.

What this means for Edwards, I'm not sure. It's all speculation; VP? Attorney General? Poverty Czar? 

Obama clearly shifted his aim towards blue-collar workers, the ones hit hardest the past decade and a half by outsourcing. He told a story about a man he'd met in Indiana who’d worked at a factory for 20 years and then was laid off when the factory closed. The jobs were shipped overseas. This man’s father had worked in the same factory. The man felt he wasn’t just losing a job, but also a community, a way of life, and an identity. This is a story all too familiar to people in the state of Michigan.

It was my first trip to Grand Rapids. With so many things named Van Andel, Devos, and Amway, I was a bit creeped out. But then irony of the first African-American Nominee for the Democratic Party being endorsed by a Big Friend of Labor right inside the Van Andel Arena (which was packed with enthusiastic supporters) made it all better. Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel must be spinning in his grave.

Democratic Party candidate for the 2nd Congressional District Fred Johnson was in attendance. After the speeches philgoblue introduced me to him and his campaign manager Bruce Kim. Johnson was feeling emboldened by the Democrats' pick-up of an open seat in Mississippi and excited by Edwards endorsement of Obama.  

Before the rally Obama attended a fundraiser in Grand Rapids. After the rally I spoke with philgoblue and two of his friends who had attended the fundraiser. They said it was a big success, with the Obama campaign raking in a lot of cash, cash that is earmarked for the general election, not the primary. Yet another sign that the general election campaign has begun.

Trivia (Some of It Useless) from Tonight

Todd Heywood of Michigan Messenger was kicked off the Press Table to make way for a member of the “Real” press. If a guy who smokes, carries a laptop and notepad, rarely pauses from typing a story, and wears a dark well-worn long coat, isn’t a journalist, then who the hell is?

Xavier Lopez-Ayala says he’ll vote for Obama but he won’t campaign for him. Personally, I would think he’d be too tired to campaign for anyone by now thanks to all the cross-country traveling he’s done for Team Hillary, classes at Aquinas College, and all the blogging he does.

Other titles I considered for this post:
Obama Comes to the House that Amway Built
My First Trip to Grand Rapids
A Night Out With philgoblue

Number of State Trooper cars I saw on I-96 on the way from Lansing to Grand Rapids: 3

Number of dead deer: 2

I did not have time to stop by the Amway Gift Shop inside the arena.