Last night I traveled to a big rally for Richard Burr in Johnston County. It was located where all good political rallies in Eastern North Carolina are -- in a tobacco warehouse. Tobacco warehouses are quite large, and it is a good thing that this one was because the crowd was huge. North Carolina is on fire for President Bush right now. The ticket being pushed, along with all the local candidates, was the statewide ticket, the three B's -- Bush, Burr and Ballantine.
I took several pictures of the crowd in an effort to convey the size of it, but there were so many people, so spread out, that it was hard to do adequately. This is a shot of about a fourth of the room. (I originally posted a much darker photo, but bright reader, Myria, provided me with a lightened version.) However, pictures do not convey the mood of the crowd. The rally was part political and part prayer meeting. Everyone was upbeat and joyous, but also very determined to do whatever it takes to make sure that Bush stays in the White House. The speakers seemed to get the biggest response when stressing what an incredibly important election this is. Billy Creech, the Republican candidate trying to unseat Bobby Etheridge in the Congress, declared this to be the most important election in his lifetime. The crowd, including me, made their agreement with that statement known, loudly. It is late, so I will not post more on this until tomorrow, but I did want to get across the point that the mood of the Republicans in North Carolina that I have seen is energized and upbeat, but there is a solemn determination to it as well. I have heard more than one person characterize this election as something that "has" to be won. The stakes are high and everyone I am talking to knows it.
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