It was a time for politics and music for more than 40,000 people on the campus of Ohio State last night.
After an hour-long delay because of a lack of power to the stage, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry took to the stage on the South Oval to cheers of “Five more days” and flanked by rocker Bruce Springsteen.
“The people (Springsteen) writes and sings about are the people I’m fighting for,” Kerry said.
Kerry began his speech by stressing his ties to the Buckeye state – and its 20 electoral votes. Before lauding OSU for its research efforts, he began by saying that on his first stop in Ohio he was given a lucky Buckeye that he keeps in his pocket every day. He then pulled it out and held it aloft to the cheering crowd.
“I want this buckeye to sit on my desk in the Oval Office,” he said.
The evening found Kerry in a joking mood. He rotated between making fun of and attacking the current Bush administration.
“When George Bush heard I was here with ‘the Boss,’ he thought I meant Dick Cheney,” he said to the crowd.
Before Kerry, Columbus mayor Michael Coleman took the stage and gave way to Ohio Democratic Sen. John Glenn once power was returned to the stage.
“Columbus is the epicenter of the election,” Coleman said to the crowd. “We are standing on hallowed ground at the Ohio State University.”
One common theme expressed by each speaker throughout the night was the necessity for every person to vote.
“Despite the efforts to surpress our vote, we will turn out in record numbers,” Coleman said.
But the spotlight of the evening was on Springsteen and Kerry. Springsteen took the stage in blue jeans and a suit coat with a cutaway guitar and harmonica around his neck. He performed two songs: “The Promised Land” and “No Repeat, No Surrender” – a song that has been used as a theme song for the Kerry campaign.
Kerry hammered the Bush administration on what seemed like every point available. At times funny and at times forceful, the candidate focused on job outsourcing as particulary important.
As the crowd chanted “Outsource Bush,” Kerry responded with a smirk.
“We could do that, but I don’t know what they would do with him,” he said.
Kerry also hammered the Bush administration on its handling of the war on terror and the lack of strong alliances between America and other countries.
“Even the United States of America needs friends and allies to get the job done,” Kerry said.
Much of his speech led directly into one-liners against President Bush.
“If we really wanted to bring Iraq to its knees, we should’ve sent the Bush economic team over there,” he said.
Not all of the crowd was in favor of the Democrat, however. Protestors could be heard chanting “Kerry go home” throughout much of his speech, and protestors were visible around the perimeter.
“When we have our rallies, we don’t ask anybody to sign a loyalty oath,” Kerry said.
The Massachusetts senator ended by asking the crowd to “have his back.”
“President Bush, I am ready, willing and impatient to relieve you of that hard work,” he said. “Help is on the way.”
