Barack Conquers Brooklyn

It wasn’t the best morning for Barack Obama yesterday. News that the Illinois senator’s foreign policy [speech] at a Chicago university called for ridding the world of nuclear weapons was trumped by headlines that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton—his most formidable democratic opponent in the 2008 presidential race—had [outpaced him](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/clinton-raises-27m-in-3rd-quarter/) by a total of $7 million in the latest fund raising quarter.

But campaign funds were not at issue during last night’s Barack Obama rally in Brooklyn, where many of the few hundred Obama supporters who congregated near the steps of Borough Hall under billowing gray clouds seemed to share at least one thing in common: a belief that their candidate is going to change the world.

“Let’s conquer the world together with Senator Barack Obama, who will be our next president of the United States of America!” shouted Brooklyn Assemblyman Karim Camara, waving his fist to loud cheers and applause from the audience. He then prompted a chant of Obama’s catch phrase for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq: “Turn the page! Turn the page! Turn the page!”

The Brooklyn rally was one of 18 held in cities throughout the country yesterday to mark [Obama’s 2002 speech] opposing the war in Iraq at a time when it was unpopular to do so.

“I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war,” Obama, then an Illinois State Senator, told a crowd of downtown Chicago antiwar protesters five years ago on Oct. 2, right around start of his U.S. Senate campaign. He also warned that war with Iraq could lead to “a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.” The Senate authorized an invasion of Iraq less than 10 days later with the assenting vote of each major democratic candidate currently running against Obama in the 2008 primary.

Obama’s rivals have criticized him for supporting federal war funding requests despite his vehement antiwar stance, claiming that as a senator, he has not always acted aggressively to put an end to U.S. military involvement in Iraq. But his supporters maintain that his dissent in 2002 showed good judgment in the face of overwhelming congressional support for the war.

Naturally, talk of Iraq dominated much of yesterday’s rally, with speakers ranging from state legislators, to an Iraq war veteran, to a local high school student. Even before the rally started, antiwar rhetoric was noticeably abuzz as campaign volunteers handed fliers to passersby, many who made their way over to Borough Hall after wrapping up their workday in the bustling downtown business district.

“Who wants to see an end to the war tonight? Raise your hand if you want to see an end to the war!” one enthusiastic volunteer shouted while directing people to the rally from a nearby street corner. “Barack Obama needs you Brooklyn!”

But the Iraq war isn’t the only issue that’s galvanizing Obama’s supporters. More simply, they see him as a fresh voice and a catalyst for change, which helps explain the first-term senator’s appeal given his relative inexperience in national politics. Then of course there’s Obama’s popularity among the highly coveted 18- to 24-year-old demographic. From his Facebook profile to his casual campaign attire, Obama, 46, has been cast as a hip, young candidate; a refreshing alternative to an administration that is widely perceived as being out of touch with its constituents. This youthful image, coupled with the [Hollywood cred] Obama has garnered over the past year, makes it difficult to argue that there is a “cooler” candidate vying for the democratic ticket.

So when last night’s rally began with the unmistakable theme song to a [hit MTV reality series] blasting through the loud speakers, the inevitable question that sprung to mind was: Does Barack Obama actually watch "The Hills"?

A spokeswoman from Obama’s press office confirmed that he did not in fact select the evening’s play list, which also included well-known hip-hop and soul tracks, but it seems safe to assume his supporters probably wouldn’t have cared either way.

Take Manhattan resident Betsy Boulart, a fairly recent, yet devout Obama convert who works for a Washington D.C.-based legislative advocacy organization, but has given much of her time over the past six weeks to Obama’s fundraising campaign.

While Boulart said she feels the so-called “rock star” image that has been attributed to Obama sometimes overshadows his ideas and values as a candidate, she was nevertheless thrilled to shake the senator’s hand last Thursday after seeing him speak to an estimated [24,000 people ]in Washington Square Park. Obama looked tired and drained of energy as he exited the stage, she said, but still made an effort to personally acknowledge some of his fans.

“He did shake my hand and he did force that smile, and that impressed me,” said Boulart. “I don’t think we’ve seen someone like him since Kennedy.”

Photo by Joe Pompeo