LIVEBLOG — Obama Campaign in Michigan featuring Edwards’ endorsement speech

[Ed. note: Here are periodic reports from the field as we follow the Obama Campaign event in Grand Rapids this evening. Be sure to catch Todd Heywood's photoblog post for more coverage before, during and after the event, and Minehaha Forman's coverage from Macomb Community College.]

FOLLOWING POSTED LIVE — NOT EDITED –

7:01 pm –

BARACK OBAMA: (Joining in progress, Todd broke to take a photo of Edwards and Obama; mention of George Bush brings a boo from the crowd.)
I haven't being seeing John much, I forgot just how good he is
I want to thank John for coming to Grand Rapids Mich.
…I want to thank John for everything he's done to make us One America.
I want to thank your wife Elizabeth for her passion and commitment…

(photo break)

"John Edwards and I believe in a different America.
Hillary Clinton believes in a different America.
That is why we are going to take Washington by storm in November.
We believe no matter where you come from opportunity should be yours if you are willing to Reach for it and work for it.
If you live in the U.S. of A., you should never be hungry or homeless."

You should never have to want. That is what we are fighting for.

Continued -

Poverty is not the issue that is always talked about in the media
and it doesn't poll well.
John Edwards talked about it because it was right,
and it is still right.
it is worth debating.
The fight I waged then, the fight John is waging now is a fight I will bring into the White House
It has not even begun under this White House.
I want to make sure he will have a partner in that effort (reducing poverty by half in ten years) because it will be a goal I will set.
We can do this.
If you want to work, you can find work,
and if you do work you will never want.
We can start by ending the tax breaks we give to companies that ship jobs overseas,
and invest them in companies that create jobs here.

We can refuse to give more tax breaks to the wealthy few who don’t need it and aren’t even asking for it.
The next tax break will put money in the pockets of working families who need it most.

(Obama stops speech here; some one has fainted in the audience and calls for an EMT)

We can make sure that every child no matter where they come from gets a world class education.
I wont just talk about how great teachers are, we will reward them with better salaries and more support.
Invest in after school programs for children who don’t have anywhere to go. \When they graduate from high school we will make sure they can afford to go to college.
We can do that.

(Todd interjects: “The speech and response have the pace of an old tent revival.” Certainly makes it easier to type a live transcript!)

This campaign is about you, about your struggles, your hopes, your dreams.
[It's] about the guy I met in Marion, Indiana who had worked in the same factory, [who] described the feeling as he was packing up the machines.
He was losing a sense of who he was; that is something people all across Michigan have been feeling.
It’s about all the Americans watch their incomes decline even though they are working 2 or 3 jobs.
You are the corrective to our politics.
You are going to hold us accountable.
Make a declaration that we are going to come together as a country.
This election is also about how we apply those values overseas,
because since this war in Iraq has started we have lost our bearing and our focus;  we have been distracted.
It has not made us more safe and that is why I opposed this war in 2002.
I oppose Guantanamo.
That is why we will reach out and END the genocide in Darfur.

(The audience is on its feet applauding and chanting, “Yes We Can!”)

This is the country that gave my grandfather the chance to go to college on the G.I. Bill,
that gave him a chance to buy a home with a loan.
No more homeless veterans,
no more begging for assistance,
no more waiting for hours in the VA.
John Edwards hasn’t forgotten what this country has done for him, for Elizabeth, for Michelle, for me.
This is the America we can build for tomorrow
for the auto worker in Detroit.
This is our time to answer the call that so many generations have answered before the American dream will endure.

We are going to have a choice in this election
because John McCain — as much as I honor his service — is offering 8 more years of the same.
8 more years of your on your own politics;
8 more years of can’t-won’t-even-try, gotta go.
That is the politics of the past.
We are tired of the politics of fear;
we are offering the politics of hope.
I know how difficult change is.
The status quo resists because sometimes citizenship wins out.
I am convinced the American people are looking for something different.
They are saying this time is going to be different.
If you are willing to put down the cynicism and join Barack Obama and John Edwards and Hillary Clinton, I promise you we will not just win this election, we will change this country and the world.

7:00 pm –

[Ed. note: I'm auditing this from home, and damn if MSNBC doesn't cut away to Chris "Tweety" Matthews and Andrea Mitchell just as Obama begins to speak. This is egregious and crappy coverage. Screw you, I'm going to C-SPAN even if it is delayed by a minute.]

6:44 pm –

JOHN EDWARDS: "During the course of this presidential campaign I have gotten to know the candidates very well
we have all been out speaking about the issues near and dear to our hearts
I want to take a minute to say something about your friend and mine Hillary Clinton
in the past few weeks I have gotten to know sen. Clinton very well
we have talked about the things we care about and you all care about
she believes America can be a better place and we need change
I wanna tell you I know this hard to understand sometimes
it is very hard to get up every day and do what she has done,
when the odds turn against you
what she has shown is strength and character
what drives her is what each and everyone of us should care about
A woman made of steel
she is a leader not because of her husband but what she has done
for standing up and speaking up
when this nomination battle is over and it will be over soon
brothers and sisters we must come together as democrats and stand up together
and we are a stronger party because Hillary Clinton is a Democrat
we are going to have a stronger presidential nominee in the fall because of her work
now what brought us here?”

(Crowd breaks into chanting “O-Ba-Ma.”)

There are service men and women in Iraq who can come home now
today
that we can have good jobs that fill our empty factories
when we finally make two Americas one America
this is why you are here
here because of the hope you carry in your heart to make this country better
American people are on the outside of that wall
inside that wall are the corporations and lobbyists and the system that works to protect them

when their CEO gets a golden parachute and their job gets shipped overseas and you know all about that here in Michigan
Our job come January of next year is to tear that wall down
there is another wall that divides us
a moral shame of the 37 million who wake up in poverty
there are mothers out there working two jobs everyday to try to keep their kids from going to bed hungry
this is not OK
and for 8 long long long years this wall has gotten taller
We have a wall in our education
their education is our education
we are going to fix that
how about health care right
big drug companies… they are getting their way
they love that wall
well its gonna be gone as soon as we create real and meaningful universal health care
a wall that has divided our image in th world
all the world sees now is a bullet
a beacon of hope is behind the wall
that wall have to come down for the sake of our ideals
we can change it
yes we can

(Crowd chants, “Yes we can!”)

The reason I am here tonight is because the Democratic voters in America have made their choice and so have I
there is one man who knows and understands this is a time for bold leadership
knows how to make the lasting change from the ground up
that it is time to create one America
and that man is Barack Obama

(Standing ovation, crowd chants, “O-ba-ma!”)

This is not gonna be easy
.
it’s gonna be the fight of our lives.

We know it is about something different than the terrible politics of th past that divide us.
This campaign is about you. Not us Edwards.
One America where mainstream is strong.
One America where the men and women who work the late shift they will be honored for that work.
One America where no child goes to bed hungry when we finally end the shame of 37 million in poverty.
One America with one public education system
One America that rebuilds our moral authority in the world with our souls
We will take care of veterans
and we are gong to get this part of the war right.
we will never stand by
(while men and women who served have to wait for health insurance.

Not in our America.

We’ve been in this kind of place before
times of war
deep depression;
We came together
and we went to work to make sure we made a better future for our children
this is our moment
this is our time.
if you want that
join me in helping me send Barack Obama to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
when all of us believe is in this America that we love so much
no matter who you are.
that one America is not only possible it will be achieved under President Barack Obama.

6:42 pm –

JOHN EDWARDS: “The question is what am I doing here?” (laughter)
“I was promised a jet ski. i haven’t gotten it yet. I am proud to be here with all of you and in Michigan.”

6:40 pm –

BARACK NOW ON STAGE SPEAKING: "I am fired up to be in Michigan. I am fired up to be in Grand Rapids.
I felt bad about not being in Michigan. I felt guilty about not campaigning. So as a consequence I decide I would give you something special. On my first full day of campaigning in MI, I would not be fooling around. I decided I would bring one the greatest leaders we have in the Democratic Party. Please give it up for my friend John Edwards.”

6:37 pm –

Robin from the Lear Corporation is talking to the crowd now: "We cannot afford four more years of George Bush economic policies which puts Washington special interests ahead of us." (Crowd goes wild here.) A mention of $4 gas prices resulted in a loud boo from the audience.

6:34 pm –

A leaking air cannister just caused police, stage hands and others to scramble; the air cannister was stored backstage of the arena area. Barack won't take the stage for at least 5 minutes, according to conversations with staffers just overheard.  The crowd is clearly amped up; every time some one walks on the stage the audience goes nuts.

6:31 pm –

Todd had a chat with the campaign logistics coordinator (read: heated exchange). He says, "They won't let me out of the press gaggle to take pictures…I told her I could easily get on my blog and tell readers the campaign is preventing local media from having access to the crowds and the Senators." Oops, too late, eh?

6:20 pm –

Todd's trying to get to union members he can see in the audience to get a reaction; unfortunately he says he's being "handled" and can't get to them.  More on this later.

6:13 pm –

We'll be flipping back and forth between editor and author here tonight, just to let you know you're not crazy if you notice a change in first-third person perspectives.  Todd just shared that they are now waiting for Edwards to arrive in the Arena, that he has seen Obama in back hallways.  Are they planning to emerge at the same time, the two candidates who weren't on the Michigan primary ballot and didn't campaign here?

5:53 pm —

We have just finished reciting the pledge of allegiance, and a field organizer for Senator Obama has just finished getting everyone to text the Obama campaign to sign up. The national press corps are ramping up for the Edwards announcement, which the capacity crowd of the Arena at this point knows nothing about.

5:44 pm —

John Edwards will endorse Senator Barack Obama tonight here in Grand Rapids we have just been informed. In addition, Edwards will land at 6 pm here in GR and take the stage at about 6:20, presumably to make national nightly news deadlines. [Ed. Note: Obama Campaign has confirmed the endorsement.]

4:45 pm — Inside Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich. –

Doors have opened and people have begun to fill the empty Arena floor as well as the first level of seating. Also, the promised protest by Grand Valley State University College Republicans has arrived; students are currently standing out front of the Arena holding a variety of signs. Some of their signs read, "My pastor is not a racist" and "Terrorists don't negotiate."

3:55 pm — Inside Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich. –

Another check-in by Todd, who is taking a photo of the now-empty arena for a comparison against the expected crowd shot later.  Local media is already in attendance; national press is expected to arrive by bus within the hours.  Secret Service agents from around the country are highly conspicuous and active.

3:16 pm — Outside Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich. –

Todd Heywood has arrived at the event venue and reports that there are several hundred people lined up outside the arena already, as well as the usual purveyors of campaign buttons and other sundry memorabilia.  Traffic appears to be well-managed at this time. 

2:37 pm — I-96 near Ionia, Mich. –

Todd Heywood reported from the westbound highway en route to Grand Rapids; he says traffic is very heavy and Obama '08 bumper stickers are quite frequent. There is an extremely obvious police presence as well. Traffic is moving slowly at times due to intermittent heavy rain. 

1:46 pm — Macomb Community College –

Minehaha Forman called in and reported an enthusiastic crowd. She said it took some work to find someone who was not already a solid supporter of Obama. She'll be filing a report as soon as she can get to a computer; the parking lot at the event was quite busy with buses and cars afterwards.

[UPDATE: Read Minehaha's report here.]