Kicks off his bid for the presidency in fine Democratic style
In a Democratic tradition that goes all the way back to the campaign of Harry S. Truman, Senator Barack Obama made an appearance in Hart Plaza right in the heart of Detroit, MI to participate and speak at the Labor Day parade which took place there. Sarah, Mark and I had planned on attending this rally in Hart Plaza to see Sen. Obama speak but because of how late Sarah’s birthday party ran the night before (and because of my tight travel schedule) we were unable to attend. Here are a few pics of Obama in my hometown of Detroit yesterday morning:

Barack Obama cut short a Labor Day speech to an expectant, fired-up crowd at Detroit’s Hart Plaza, offering prayer instead of political punches to acknowledge concerns about Hurricane Gustav. “There is a time to argue politics, and there’s a time to come together as Americans,” he said in deference to distressed and evacuated gulf coast residents and a storm that threatened great damage but lost power as it slammed into Louisiana. In his first Detroit appearance as the Democratic presidential nominee, Obama surely disappointed many in the crowd — estimated at more than 20,000 in Hart Plaza and another 10,000 just outside along Jefferson Avenue — with less than 10 minutes of remarks, although people appeared forgiving. Many had waited hours in lines that snaked around buildings to see Obama after the annual Labor Day parade. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan stirred their anticipation in speaking to the crowd before Obama arrived, comparing the event with John F. Kennedy’s Labor Day speech in Detroit during the presidential campaign of 1960. Obama apologized for his brevity and urged compassion and togetherness. He held a moment of silent prayer and asked for donations to the Red Cross. “I want all of us to remember that when we show solidarity with those folks in Louisiana and Mississippi and Texas and Alabama, that we are expressing the true spirit of the labor movement. Because the idea behind the labor movement is that you don’t walk alone, you’re not by yourself. “Each of us are vulnerable by ourselves. … But when we are unified, we come together in a more perfect union.” Still, Obama managed to serve up pro-labor sentiments, telling the crowd that he supports federal legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize. In a lighter moment, he sang a few bars of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools,” while the singer looked on from the crowd. “I’m a labor guy, I believe in the labor movement,” Obama said. “It’s important to have a president who doesn’t choke on the word union. I believe we need a Department of Labor that believes in labor.”
Never fear y’all, I am not planning on regular political coverage, I just really wanted to go to this rally and would’ve made it downtown to Hart Plaza had Sarah’s birthday fun ended at a reasonable hour ;) After the jump, check out a short video of Sen. Obama singing Chain of Fools to the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, who was in attendance at yesterday’s Detroit rally …
READ THE REST OF THIS POST »