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Excitement Runs Deep And Wide At Obama's Forum Event

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By NICOLA M. WHITE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 22, 2008

TAMPA - Kids skipped school. Their moms took off from work. Thousands of people lined up in front of the St. Pete Times Forum on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of the man they thought would make history by becoming the nation's first black president.

"You don't see that every day," said Nakia Willis, 15, a freshman at Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa, who pleaded with her mother to go to the Barack Obama rally, one of two public campaign stops in Florida for the Illinois senator on Wednesday.

"You can see from everybody, even their T-shirts, he's everybody's dream and hope," said Willis, who lined up with her mother, Karen, and her brothers, Quinton, 9, and Aaron, 11.

Although Obama has secured more delegates than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, he has not clinched the Democratic nomination. But if he ends up on the ballot in November, experts predict a record number of black voters would come out to the polls.

Many of the people who came to the rally Wednesday were excited and wowed by the prospect that, for the first time, black Americans would have a serious contender who represents their community.

"Just to see an African-American in this position, I am overwhelmed," said Rushon Gillette, 41, of Clearwater, who took a half day off work with her friend, Debra Murry, 52, of St. Petersburg.

The women know that the Rev. Al Sharpton has made stabs at the White House and the Rev. Jesse Jackson was a contender, too, but Obama's run is different. Neither Sharpton nor Jackson made it this far, Gillette said.

"It is history," she said. "We are just so excited."

Whites Share The Excitement

His newness and his potential to make history appealed to white voters at the Forum, too.

"He has a refreshing way of thinking," said Barbara Killam, 57, a former registered Republican who voted for George W. Bush in 2004. She and her daughter, Allison, 21, trekked from Venice to see Obama.

Obama's visit was his first Florida trip since November, and his first stop in Tampa since September.

Officials anticipated 20,000 people showing up, with an overflow crowd watching the rally outside. Instead, an estimated 15,000 supporters packed the sports arena, and more than half of the nosebleed seats in the upper reaches of the Forum were empty.

That was good news for supporters like Veronica Saraiva and her son, Fabio DeSousa, 13, who showed up without tickets, expecting that at best, they'd watch the rally on the big-screen TV outside. A stranger gave them two passes while they were waiting in line.

Fabio, 13, had read Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope," and said his eighth-grade teachers at Martinez Middle School in Lutz gave him the OK to take the day off.

"We've been watching since the beginning - all the primaries and the debates. He's the best," he said of Obama. "He just brings people together. People are just energized; it's fun."

One supporter, Edmond Farquharson, 33, arrived at the Forum at 1 a.m. to get the first spot in line.

This was the first time a candidate has caught his attention; it was his first political rally and his first time to donate to a candidate.

"I just wanted to show my support. This is a different kind of politics. It's about time we had a humble president," Farquharson said.

Inside, Obama took the stage to thunderous applause, with supporters jumping to their feet and pumping their fists. Obama's lofty promises to provide health insurance to the uninsured, to get out of the war in Iraq and to give a $4,000 tuition subsidy to college students who do public service while in school got big cheers.

He spoke of his own upbringing, his funny name, and that he was born to a teenage mother.

"My story's only possible here in America," he told the crowd.

Rally Is An Emotional Experience

Jami Waddell, 46, wiped away tears as she listened.

She is an elementary school teacher and former Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter who debated politics with her colleagues in the teacher break room, she said after the rally. She and her friend and fellow teacher, Twanna Moore, 35, both now support Obama and took the day off school with their children to see him in person.

"It was very emotional. When he came out, we were like, 'This is it,'" said Waddell, who teaches at High Point Elementary.

The diversity of the crowd - young, old, black and white - inspired the teachers, who said it reflected their own friendship.

"We're very different. She's Greek and I'm African-American, but we're like sisters. We have the same values and morals and so does he," Moore said of Obama.

When Obama got off the stage, the pair hugged.

Reporter Neil Johnson contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at nwhite1@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7616.

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