Obama in tune with this crowd : rockymountainnews.com

Some people party like a rock star, and some people apparently campaign like one.

How else to explain Wednesday's loud, emotional, rollicking political rally for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama? You know, the one that turned University of Denver's Magness Arena into a kaleidoscope of hip and hope. The one whose vibe was more rock 'n' roll concert than most real rock 'n' roll concerts, lacking only the traditional forest of Bic lighters held aloft.

When Obama finally mounted the stage an hour later than the scheduled 10 a.m. start (more on the reason why later) to such exuberant, full-tilt adulation, you half expected him to strap on a guitar, stomp on a wah-wah pedal and launch into a litany of his greatest hits - which he sort of did.

Each issue he touched on might have been songs from his CD, songs called "Health Care," "Universal Early Child Education for All," "Global Warming" and "Restoring Habeas Corpus."

And if the crowd didn't know the lyrics by heart, they sure knew how to scream and shout and jump to their feet whenever Obama sang them, often drowning him out in a fresh crescendo of cheering.

But even before the headliner hit the stage, the rally organizers had laid down some rock concert-like licks.

Instead of opening bands, they brought in warmup acts. Forget rock star, for openers they had a jock star - Rod Smith of the Denver Broncos. And after Smith, they brought in a rising pol star - Caroline Kennedy. (Or as Crisanta Duran, president of Colorado Young Democrats, exhorted, "The one, the only - Caroline Kennedy!").

Then, after Kennedy called Obama a man who offered the "same sense of hope and inspiration" as her father, it was time.

No, the house lights didn't go out, but the music was turned way up. In this case U2's uber-rousing City of Blinding Lights erupted (chorus: "Oh, you look so beautiful tonight"). On the rallying chords and lyrics of that song, in came Obama. Only those in wheelchairs - and there were more than a few - didn't fly out of their seats in a standing ovation.

After acknowledging those who were watching a live feed in the gymnasium, Obama exorted the audience to "give a shout out to all the folks who are still out on the lacrosse field." It was these people to whom he stopped to talk, making him later than he usually is for his shows, uh, rallies.

Cell phone cameras splashed light like a galaxy was being born. People in the crowd cheered.

People like Columbine High School students Cory Weber ("I am so stoked!") and his pal C.J. Hopkins, he of the pierced eyebrow.

All around them were people wearing buttons and T-shirts that read "Barack the Vote." Or "Barack Obama is Good!" Or "Obama Mama" - which also defined the woman wearing it, 41-year-old Tiare Flora, who flew in from Durango to attend the event and found the scene "absolutely amazing."

People like Sheila Long, 41, who had driven down from Fort Collins, ignoring her broken ankle because "I'm inspired by hope."

People like Pam Heleen, 50, of Conifer, and Logan Morrow, 23, from Colorado Springs, who were among the first to arrive at 6 a.m.

And a good thing they did. As the light grew stronger, so did the lines - two of them, snaking for blocks and blocks, growing as if by some kind of strange mitosis.

Not all of the people who lined up were among the lucky 9,500 who were shoehorned into Magness Arena, filling its 8,000 seats, then packing the floor around the stage tighter than a sausage. Not all were included in the 2,500 (or so) who made it into a gym to watch a video feed of the rally.

But among the lucky ones was Jessica Morganfeld, 19, a DU student who came because "I heard he's a crafted rhetorician and I wanted to see how effectively he could convey his message." She looked around the arena, breathed in the excitement and said, "This is really amazing."

And that was before the star, the man behind Obamania, hit the stage. Before he insisted,"The future is not what somebody else tells us it is. The future is what we decide it's going to be." Before he sang out, "We don't need small change, we need fundamental change in America!"

And then it was over - only there was no encore.

Not that the crowd minded. They stood. They cheered. They screamed. They roared. Some were close to tears.

"He was awesome," whispered Cleopatra Clausell, 15, eyes shining. Then she turned to the stage and shouted, "I love you, Obama!"

The stage was empty and Obama was gone, but Cleopatra didn't care. As far as she was concerned, she'd seen a supernova rock star and didn't want to release her hold on his afterglow.

meadowj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2606