Tonight I went to an Obama rally in Boston. Or, more accurately, I tried to go to an Obama rally in Boston.
We took the T in, and noticed a couple people carrying big Obama signs. A group of people got on at the next stop, and chatted with the sign-holders. Pretty soon I realized that almost everyone on the T was going to see Obama. As we got closer, this become clearer and clearer, until truly everyone on the Silver Line with us was going to the Obama event.
Per the advice of the people carrying the signs (who we all assumed to be leaders of some sort, but, in actuality, were not–an interesting psychological exploration for another day), we got off two stations early. And were greeted by the longest line I’ve ever seen. We must have walked by literally thousands of people before we got to our line. It was essentially folded on itself three times, and each one must have stretched for close to half a mile.
What’s more, I’m only counting the people I could see. Where the people “ended” was around the bend from the T stop. It turns out that we weren’t even halfway there; where Obama was speaking was several blocks down the road.
We got there before 7:30, initially confident that getting there that early would guarantee us a spot when the doors opened at 8. 8 o’clock came and went, and we had hardly moved. 8:45 and we’d moved up to the second line. Around 9:30, we were even with the T station, freezing cold, and only newly aware of the fact that we still had a long way to go. Rumors were circulating that the building was near its capacity, so we decided that it was pretty unlikely that we’d make it in, so we decided to cut our losses and leave.
Inside the T station, we found a steady stream of people making the same decision. The train we got on (actually a long bus that drives around in a tunnel… I don’t get it either) was jam-packed, and I ended up standing right next to the driver. “Why did you leave so early?” she asked. Early? It was 90 minutes after the doors opened. “The Transit Police said that he wasn’t going to take the stage until 11.”
Eleven? Sure enough, on our way back we stopped in a restaurant to eat. The news cut to a live feed shortly after 10:30, when John Kerry was on stage talking about Obama. I’m sad I didn’t get to see him, and yet thrilled at the turnout. I’ll try to get some pictures up tomorrow, but pictures really don’t do the crowd justice. It was enormous.