5,600 brave cold for Obama

Charismatic senator talks Iraq, economy ahead of Super Tuesday showdown

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

2/1/2008 - 2/2/08

The parking lots were full and cars were parked up and down South Richards Avenue on Friday night as an estimated 5,600 people descended on Santa Fe Community College for a speech by Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama.

And by the reaction of the crowd to the candidate's rousing talk, few, if any, listeners seemed to mind the traffic, the long walks to the Witter Fitness Center gymnasium or — for the lucky 3,600 or so who made it inside — waiting in a slow-moving line for up to two hours to get through the security check at the door.

Authorities estimated that in addition to the big crowd inside, another 2,000 people were outside in the cold night, listening to Obama via outdoor speakers. Early in his speech, Obama acknowledged them. "It's a little chilly," he said. "But they seem like a hardy bunch."

Obama, who spoke to a similar-sized crowd in Albuquerque earlier Friday, is competing with Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in Tuesday's Democratic presidential caucus. Clinton is scheduled to speak at Albuquerque's Highland High School at 8 p.m. today.

New Mexico is one of 22 states holding a primary or caucus this Feb. 5.

Many candidates fill their speeches with obvious applause lines, taking positions they know will be popular with their party's voters. Obama does this as well. But he is known to go beyond that, trying to inspire his listeners and challenge them to personally work for the changes they want.

"I see the judgment of this country clouded by fear," the charismatic senator from Illinois told the crowd. But he urged people to fight for their ideals, evoking images of those who fought overwhelming odds throughout the nation's history. He talked about the American Revolution, the fight against slavery, fighting fascism in World War II and standing up to the forces of segregation in the civil-rights struggle of the 1960s.

"Hope is fighting for and working for what did not seem possible before," Obama said toward the end of his speech. He urged his supporters to "shed ourselves of fear and doubt and cynicism. ... We don't settle for the world as it is but imagine what it might be."

One Santa Fe Democrat said she was undecided about whom to support when she came to Obama's speech. But Cathy Todd, a chiropractor and music teacher, said she was swayed by Obama on Friday.

Todd said the part of his speech that most convinced her was Obama's statement that, "I don't just want to end the (Iraq) war, I want to end the mindset that got us into this war to start with."

Others also said they were persuaded by Obama's speech. James Aranda waited several hours outside the gym to see him but said it was worth it.

"It was one of the best speeches I've seen since the first time (Bill) Clinton ran," he said. Hearing Obama in person and some recent studying up on the candidate just might have put Aranda in Obama's camp, he said.

"I've been such a fan of the Clintons for a long time, but I got a feeling I'll be voting for Obama on Tuesday," said Aranda, a 38-year-old adult caregiver.

Sixty-year-old psychotherapist Deborah Wimberly said the speech was everything she had hoped for. "It reminded me of my youthful days in the '60s," she said. "It brought it all back for me."

But some people might take more convincing before they actually vote for Obama on Tuesday.

Daniel Marquez, a 30-year-old painter, said he's seen Obama speak on television several times. "I kind of knew what was coming, but I wanted to take a look at it," he said after the speech.

While he enjoyed the event, Marquez said, he's still undecided. "I'm getting closer to (Obama)," he said. "But I like to be very deliberative in my decisions."

If it seemed as if there were more police than might be expected at the event, there's a reason for that.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano said afterward the Secret Service received information earlier in the day that a local man had talked to people about going to the speech and "causing harm to Obama."

The original contingent of city police officers and county sheriff's deputies was doubled, Solano said, and the state police bomb squad and Secret Service both were on hand.

Detectives from the city and county were dispatched to find the man who had reportedly threatened harm. "We did find him," Solano said, "but there was no evidence that he actually had made the threats or had any intent (to harm Obama). We kept a tail on him, though." The man didn't attend the speech, the sheriff said.

He said he's glad there were extra police on duty. "It was a very large event," Solano said. "We were able to help out more with traffic." After the speech, traffic moved slowly from the college parking lots onto two-lane Richards Avenue. Some motorists were stuck in the lot for nearly an hour.

Two men were arrested at the college for disorderly conduct, one of them because he refused to go through a security checkpoint, Solano said.

Some political dignitaries supporting Obama had a hard time getting into the gymnasium. State Reps. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, and Joni Gutierrez, D-Las Cruces — who were delayed at the Roundhouse and arrived shortly before the speech began — had to enter through the media entrance on the other side of the building from the public entrance.

Obama picked up the support of one well-known New Mexico politician Friday: former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid, who has been a longtime supporter of former Sen. John Edwards. Madrid was thanked by Obama during his speech.

Edwards dropped out of the race early this week after a disappointing showing in South Carolina.

Reporter Kate Nash contributed to this report.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.