Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Obama Cleveland rally

I am in the Heroes Bar and Grill here in Cleveland, the Obama event is due to start in a couple of hours. It’s been a fantastic drive from Washington, the weather has been warm all the way, and traffic was non-existent. It’s also a beautiful day here on the shores of Lake Eerie, and it looks as if the crowds gatherng to see Obama and The Boss will be far larger than the rally in Virgina Beach last week.

I will update on Twitter, and upload some photos almost as soon as the event is over… hopefully.

Update: You can look at my photos and videos of the event over here.

On the road again

Tomorrow we hit the road again, on an ambitious schedule. We leave DC for Cleveland, Ohio, where Barack Obama is rallying the troops with his wife Michelle, and where Bruce Springsteen makes a guest appearance.

If we time it right we might make it to Indianapolis for a McCain rally, before making directly for Chicago. Chicago is where the Obama camp is hosting an “historic watching party” for the results. It should be an interesting night.

Obama in Virginia Beach – videos

I did a couple of quick videos at the rally, from the press gallery. Here is a sense of the crowd before Obama arrived on stage:

In this one you can see the start of Obama’s speech, with the press looking on. The BBC was doing a live broadcast while I recorded.

After the event we came across this Pentecostal Christian who was demonstrating against the policies of Obama and preaching his beliefs. The crowd did not receive him well, including two young people play acting around him.

Obama rally in Virginia

I have uploaded some initial photos into a Flickr set you can see here. I had access to the press gallery so was able to take some reasonably good shots. I took some of the press corps themselves, including some of BBC journalist Jon Sopel, who was doing a live broadcast for the BBC 9 o’clock news.

Here he is just before the broadcast;

IMG_1723

IMG_1781

IMG_1777

And the man himself:

IMG_1800

And here was a fighter jet passing in the distance, with what looks like a press helicopter hovering.

IMG_1713

I have some videos too, will upload them once I get some sleep.

Washington sights

Well following a weekend off from blogging, I had a look around Arlington Cemetery today, where I watched the changing of the guard at the memoral of the unknown soldier. I took a good few photos, I hope they turn out ok.

Tomorrow I plan to attend an Obama rally in Virginia Beach, outdoor and by all accounts it should be huge. Saturday, McCain has a rally just south of DC, so I might try and get to that too.

IMG_1530

General Lee’s house:
IMG_1543

View from the upstairs bedroom in Lee’s house:

IMG_1540

Robert Kennedy grave:

IMG_1547

John F Kennedy’s grave:

IMG_1555

IMG_1557

IMG_1556

Tomb of the unknown soldier:

IMG_1578

Changing the guard at the tomb:

IMG_1594

Washington bound

Tomorrow I head off to the US for a couple of weeks, and it is certainly an interesting time to be going (and an interesting contrast to Georgia two weeks ago). I will be in Washington DC for the majority of the trip, but will be calling to New York and do a quick jaunt to Canada while I’m there. I will be shacking up with the Examiner’s US correspondent and intrepid traveller Conor Ryan (he’s not blogging, yet).

Hopefully I will be able to catch up with old friends of the blog, Steve Clemons and Jonathan Smith (former blogger and a reader). And who knows who I else I might meet…

I have been to Washington before, and managed to get in many of the sights. On this trip I will finally get out to Arlington Cemetery and visit the enormous Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for my time in Washington during the election? Any people I should meet?

Seven Questions for Larry Wilkerson

FP ask some questions of Colin Powell’s chief of staff on Powell’s endorsement of Obama.

I like these two:

FP: What’s your take on the tone of the campaign?

LW: I was fully expecting the grand wizard of the Klu Klux Klan to arrive from Maryland and endorse McCain. I was becoming frightened that we were returning to 1968, when they assassinated Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Those were bad times.

One of the most dramatic moments for me was when I was watching McCain on television, and I thought I saw in McCain’s eyes himself, when someone yelled something out, a recognition of, ‘Oh, God, what have I done?’ This is not McCain; he doesn’t cater to this. But for the first time in his political life, I think he realized that there are some strange people in the Republican tent. My father used to say, ‘Larry beware of the left because they will bankrupt you; beware of the right because they will kill you.’

And (my emphasis)

FP: How much progress can the next president make in restoring America’s reputation in the world, and how should he do so?

LW: That’s an easy question to answer, but hard to do. On Inauguration Day in my inauguration speech, I would do two things: I would ban torture and I would direct the closure of Guantánamo. And then I would do other things in the first 100 days: I would take a look at negotiations with Iran and at the six-party talks with [North] Korea. I would take a look at U.S.-Cuba relations. Those are actions that would indicate that America is back.


Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Undefined variable: todo_styles in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/bwp-minify/includes/class-bwp-minify.php on line 3120