Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Tuesday Evening 1/22 Ushering in the Crowd

Who could resist seeing Chris Tucker (Rush Hour 1/2/3), Kerry Washington (Fantastic Four) and Usher. We couldn't, so we loaded up the satellite truck and headed 3 hours west to Orangeburg SC. Home of the South Carolina State Bulldogs. The line started forming at 4:30pm for an 8pm event. Little did they know it wouldn't kick off til almost 9. Everyone was excited to see Obama, but underneath we all knew Usher was the big draw. The crowd's reaction was much like the old films you've seen when Elvis or the Beatles took the stage. If Obama is smart, he'd name Usher is VP nominee. The stars were on stage for no more than 5 minutes then they were gone. Obama would speak for about 30 minutes. He's clearly exhausted. He attempted to recite parts of MLK's dream speak, got lost but quickly recovered. The unknown question of the night is will this star packed performance translate into votes. As students filed in, organizers asked the kids to fill out commitment sheets to show up on election day and to make sure their friends did as well. They were less than enthusiastic to do so. Usher can sell tickets, I'm not sure he can sell votes.

mb

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