From Kathy in MO: Our Marisa's Mom!

They just showed Barack's supporters in the big hall at Municipal Auditorium. There were thousands there waiting for him. They filled up the large floor and the mezzanine that goes around it. It looks huge. They also showed him speaking in the little town of El Dorado, KS this afternoon. They had that auditorium packed to the rafters too (in red state KS!) Apparently that is where his grandparents came from. There were all of these little old ladies bragging about being related to him or being friends of his grandparents! Too cute. The roads were terrible here today. They said that between noon and 3 there were more than 250 wrecks reported to police! That is when people started assembling to see him. They have been waiting for hours. It is amazing.

It is so remarkable the wide array of people that Obama gives hope to. We got an email from a repub friend who was quizzing me about Obama at a fundraiser last week. Ironically, he could not decide between Obama and McCain. I asked him if he was willing to fund a war in Iran and pay for permanent bases in Iraq because that is what McCain is advocating. (Did you hear Pat Buchanan, of all people, call McCain a warhawk and say that he is Bush on steroids when it comes to war?) This guy is a fiscal conservative so he didn't want to hear about wasting more money overseas. We talked him into going to the Obama rally today. I hope it doesn't get cancelled. The weather is really bad, slick roads and a snowstorm moving through. I am just sick (literally) that am going to miss seeing Obama. This is what our friend said to Ron:

I have never attended an event like this. These must be desparate times for a lifelong Republican to cross the line this way in search of inspiration, in search of bi-partisanship, in search of an individual with complete command of the English language.

Amazing! See miracles do happen. We can never give up hope. Ron has also taught me something important. I have wanted nothing to do with anyone who says they are Republican these last 7 years. They make me angry. His stance is to win them over you need to engage them, to see what they are thinking, and to make your point in a friendly way. He is convinced that for most of them our goals are not so different. Especially in these times, there are lots of Republicans who are not neocons or evangelicals, but are just conservative when it comes to money, etc. They are disillusioned and feel that Bush has ruined their party. They need somewhere to go. Obama seems to offer them a haven when he reaches out to both sides. I hope he can wrestle this nomination from Hillary.

By the way, Ron offered to fly Marisa to Florida this weekend, but she said she needed to stay in NYC. She said she has too much to do in the city to get people ready for Super Tuesday. She is so committed.