Obama takes state by storm

By:Jason Miller / Chronicle
TelegramHIGHLAND HILLS

— Ba-Rock the Vote. Obamania. Call it what you will, but on Monday night, it was enough to bring 4,000 people out on a cold Northeast Ohio night to attend a campaign rally for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.Supporters lined up around the gymnasium at the eastern campus of Cuyahoga Community College hours before Obama took the stage, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who could become the nation’s first black president.“I just had to come and see what he had to say,” said Lorain resident Clifford Banter. “I want to vote for him, but I need to know that he is for real before I can vote for him.”Three weeks after he announced his candidacy for president, Obama hit the campaign trail — stopping off in Iowa and Ohio to stake out territory in the politically important states.Since his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Obama has become a political celebrity, and Northeast Ohio got its first taste of his presidential aspirations Monday.Officials from the college crammed 1,600 people into the gymnasium, pushing it to its limit, and then began opening up auditoriums, classrooms and any other space they could find to take in the crowds of people who showed up to cheer on the senator.Tickets had been sold beforehand for the event — with some claims that 3,500 had been purchased. But the need to have a ticket to get in diminished as the extra rooms opened up.“We filled up the gymnasium, but we are setting up rooms with live feeds so they can see it right along with everyone else,” Assistant Dean Sabuur Abdul-Kareem said. “There are probably 4,000 people here, which is more than we expected, but we will make sure everyone gets to see this event.”Back in the gymnasium, the marching band from Shaw High School in Cleveland warmed up the crowd and set the tone of a rock concert as Obama made his way to the stage.“I’m all fired up now!” Obama proclaimed as he took the microphone. “In November of 2008, we expect to take Ohio.”Obama, a first-term senator, has some tough competition on the Democratic side, including New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards.Speaking for just over 30 minutes, Obama slammed the administration for its poor handling of the Iraq war and told the audience that under an Obama administration, all combat troops would be removed from Iraq by March 31, 2008.Obama also proclaimed that if elected, he would provide standard health care for all Americans by the end of his first term.“The reason we haven’t done it yet isn’t because we don’t know how to provide a better health care system. It’s because the lobbyists are the ones writing the bills,” Obama said. “That is going to change.”After he finished speaking, Obama jumped down from the stage and began shaking hands with the crowd, reaching back to meet with screaming young girls and older men in suits and ties.“I can’t believe I got to shake his hand!” Sarah Wilderman from Cleveland said. “It’s like meeting The Beatles!”More than 20 minutes after finishing his address, Obama was in the midst of the surging crowd while Banter watched in the back with a smile on his face.“We still don’t know if he is as good as we hope he is, but nights like this sure give you hope,” Banter said. “Let’s see if he can keep it up