Rallies: Michelle Obama vs. Sen. Hillary Clinton
"She is an American girl."
Well, actually, they both are. At the Sen. Hillary Clinton rally, I noticed a lot of feel good, girl-rock music playing as the the crowd anticipated Clinton's arrival at Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Museum and Memorial on March 15, 2008. In addition, some country inspired/folksy songs (such as KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See") helped energize the crowd before Clinton took the stage (from the time I took my seat to the time I left, I listened to "Suddenly I See" and the rest of the mix three times. If Clinton and her staff are using CDs for these mixes, they are under-utilizing the 80 minute capacity). After Clinton concluded her speech and said her thank yous, a very recognizable tune came over the speakers, "American girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Interestingly enough, this is the song that played after Michelle Obama's rally at Carnegie Mellon University on April 2, 2008 (after Stevie Wonder's "Signed Sealed Delivered" of course). I chuckled at the thought of Mrs. Obama and Sen. Obama getting their mixed CDs crossed. Minus "American girl," the tracks on both their playlists are very similar. Sen. Obama is known for playing "Signed Sealed Delivered."
However, on the campaign trail, it seems like U2 is the artist du jour. As Mrs. Obama took the stage at CMU, "City of Blinding Lights" by U2 played. Clinton is also known to play "City of Blinding Lights" as well as "Beautiful Day."
I also made some other observations at the rallies. Neither Clinton nor Mrs. Obama tested the buildings' capacities at which they spoke. Any indication that Clinton filled the auditorium is false. However, she did come to the University of Pittsburgh during spring break, when many students were home or on vacation. Mrs. Obama filled the bleachers of CMU's Skibo Gymnasium, but there was plenty of standing room.
The Clinton rally was my first real political rally. I noticed that people brought their own homemade signs (The press release for Mrs. Obama's rally urged people not to bring signs for security reasons. I am not sure if Clinton asked this of her supporters). However, Clinton staffers handed about 10 handmade signs to the crowd of approximately 100 people sitting behind Clinton. I even noticed a friend of mine whom I know is unable to vote in the primary and general election holding a Hillary 2008 sign.
At Mrs. Obama's rally, Teresa Heinz Kerry introduced Mrs. Obama. She said that over the last few months they became friends, mostly over their BlackBerries because they're so busy. Also at that rally, there was a man dressed like President Abraham Lincoln. He could possibly be a descendant of the former president according to an interesting video short by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
A group of senior citizens sat in a section right of the stage where Mrs. Obama delivered her speech. A woman conveyed Mrs. Obama's words in sign language to the group, but they were not all deaf. The group was led to sit in that section that happened to reside in front of a booming loudspeaker. While music played before the rally, I noticed a woman covering her ears and a man stuffed tissues in his ears.
Here are the stories:
Michelle Obama article
Sen. Hillary Clinton article
Well, actually, they both are. At the Sen. Hillary Clinton rally, I noticed a lot of feel good, girl-rock music playing as the the crowd anticipated Clinton's arrival at Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Museum and Memorial on March 15, 2008. In addition, some country inspired/folksy songs (such as KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See") helped energize the crowd before Clinton took the stage (from the time I took my seat to the time I left, I listened to "Suddenly I See" and the rest of the mix three times. If Clinton and her staff are using CDs for these mixes, they are under-utilizing the 80 minute capacity). After Clinton concluded her speech and said her thank yous, a very recognizable tune came over the speakers, "American girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Interestingly enough, this is the song that played after Michelle Obama's rally at Carnegie Mellon University on April 2, 2008 (after Stevie Wonder's "Signed Sealed Delivered" of course). I chuckled at the thought of Mrs. Obama and Sen. Obama getting their mixed CDs crossed. Minus "American girl," the tracks on both their playlists are very similar. Sen. Obama is known for playing "Signed Sealed Delivered."
However, on the campaign trail, it seems like U2 is the artist du jour. As Mrs. Obama took the stage at CMU, "City of Blinding Lights" by U2 played. Clinton is also known to play "City of Blinding Lights" as well as "Beautiful Day."
I also made some other observations at the rallies. Neither Clinton nor Mrs. Obama tested the buildings' capacities at which they spoke. Any indication that Clinton filled the auditorium is false. However, she did come to the University of Pittsburgh during spring break, when many students were home or on vacation. Mrs. Obama filled the bleachers of CMU's Skibo Gymnasium, but there was plenty of standing room.
The Clinton rally was my first real political rally. I noticed that people brought their own homemade signs (The press release for Mrs. Obama's rally urged people not to bring signs for security reasons. I am not sure if Clinton asked this of her supporters). However, Clinton staffers handed about 10 handmade signs to the crowd of approximately 100 people sitting behind Clinton. I even noticed a friend of mine whom I know is unable to vote in the primary and general election holding a Hillary 2008 sign.
At Mrs. Obama's rally, Teresa Heinz Kerry introduced Mrs. Obama. She said that over the last few months they became friends, mostly over their BlackBerries because they're so busy. Also at that rally, there was a man dressed like President Abraham Lincoln. He could possibly be a descendant of the former president according to an interesting video short by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
A group of senior citizens sat in a section right of the stage where Mrs. Obama delivered her speech. A woman conveyed Mrs. Obama's words in sign language to the group, but they were not all deaf. The group was led to sit in that section that happened to reside in front of a booming loudspeaker. While music played before the rally, I noticed a woman covering her ears and a man stuffed tissues in his ears.
Here are the stories:
Michelle Obama article
Sen. Hillary Clinton article
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