Oh-ba-ma Fires It Up
New York Times | January 05, 2008
By Katharine Q. Seelye
Spontaneous combustion! We're here at the New Hampshire Democratic Party's big dinner and out of the masses of 3,000 people, who have been listening politely to Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson, comes a huge surge of people toward the stage for the next speaker - Barack Obama.
....Mr. Obama is now linking the civil rights struggle with the inclusion of new voters who came out for him in Iowa."That is what is possible in four days time, that is the challenge before you, New Hampshire,” he says, picking up the preacher cadence and clearly responding to the crowd. "If you believe we cannot be stopped, there is a moment in the life of every generation, if it is to make its mark on history, where that spirit, that faith, has to break through. This is our moment. This is our time."
The crowd goes absolutely berserk. And in his crescendo moment, he says that if New Hampshire votes for him on Tuesday, "you and I will heal this nation and repair the world and finally have an America that we can believe in again _ in four days time."
One tiny anecdote will tell you how this went over here. We were seated next to supporters of Mrs. Clinton. They applauded throughout Mr. Obama's speech. Said one:"He almost changed my mind."
