I am sorry that I couldn't give live updates. I couldn't get a cell signal because apparently, there were 25,000 other people there--most probably trying to get a cell signal too!
It was a gorgeous, clear, chilly night. It was really incredible, because it was historic. I kept telling my two tween daughter that they were witnessing history. I remember when Obama first campaigned in Iowa during the primary. We saw him then on that same street--in Des Moines East Village!
Iowa is where it all started. Iowans saw something in Barack Obama during the Democratic primary, and the rest is history.
Bruce Springsteen sang a few tunes and spoke about the country and our role in making change. He really is a poet. Then, Michelle spoke and she talked a great deal about what Iowa meant to her family. They often had Malia and Sasha in tow during the primary season, and they spent a lot of time in Iowa. Then the President spoke. He gave his usually campaign rallying cry, but he also talked a lot about what Iowa meant to him.
Just down the street, Obama could see the first campaign office that he opened up for the primary. That's why the campaign chose the downtown Des Moines location.
It is pretty cool. My state of Iowa is 98 percent caucasian. We're a midwestern farming state, so it's surprising to many that we're Progressive. We certainly take our "first in the nation" status serious, with our Iowa caucuses. Most people I know, go out of their way to meet the candidates and to speak directly with them. We consider it an honor to be first and we want to do a terrific job for the nation. So, we aren't happy until we see the whites of the candidates' eyes.
We got to know Obama very, very well--and experience his amazing ground game--which many of us became a part of. He won us over. We delivered a win for him in the Iowa caucuses and...the rest is history!
Obama talked about the campaign being over--his last campaign. He said, "It's out of my hands now. It's in your hands" and a tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away. I mean...Wow. That was emotional. It must mean so much to him, to know that he fought the good fight and that these moments in Des Moines would be his last on the campaign trail.
Barack Obama is a good man. A really good man. I think he's experienced incredible challenges as President, sometimes from his own party. I can only imagine the corporate interests, the powerful banks and the pressure he must get from the neocon types who beg constantly for more war. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been--dealing with Republicans who delighted in trying to destroy him and deny him any successes, simply to hobble him during his re-election campaign.
I told my children tonight that Barack Obama was a once in a lifetime President, "I know I'll never see another like him, but maybe your generation will." I told my children that someday, when they are living in Paris or New York City--that they will be able to remember and tell friends that they lived in a swing state during the 2008 and 2012 elections--and that they saw President Obama give his last campaign speech. They were so tired and groggy, but I told them, that they would never forget this and that they would always be so glad that seeing President Barack Obama's last campaign speech--is a part of their life story.
I'm sorry that I don't have any great pictures. I took some, but you can't really see a lot. We were literally swallowed up by this crowd of 25,000 people. I just couldn't get a shot that really showcased the power and energy of that crowd.
There was so much energy and love in that crowd tonight. It was wonderful. It was also very bittersweet.
The President was right. Tomorrow it is in our hands. He fought like hell for all of us during this campaign, and now it's up to us.
See you tomorrow at the polls!
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