The Kennedys have hit the trail for Barack Obama, who is now heavily courting Democrats who were supporting campaign dropout John Edwards.
More than 13,000 people swarmed the University of Denver on Wednesday, hoping to hear Obama speak at one of the largest rallies of his campaign.
On her first official campaign stop, Caroline Kennedy introduced the candidate by reiterating her praise of Obama earlier in the week when she announced her coveted endorsement at American University.
“It’s rare to find a leader who can inspire us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals, and to imagine that together we can do great things,” Kennedy said.
Even Obama seemed impressed by the number of supporters jammed into Magness Arena chanting “President Obama.”
“It looks like a Democratic convention crowd, except you guys don’t have the funny hats yet,” Obama said.
An estimated 8,000 made it into the arena, and thousands more watched in overflow areas or stood in the open air outside.
Obama devoted the early part of his speech to Edwards, who dropped his bid for the Democratic nomination after finishing a distant third in Florida’s “beauty contest” primary Tuesday. Edwards has not endorsed Obama or Hillary Clinton, and political analysts speculated he won’t until one of them emerges as the clear front-runner.
“John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling,” Obama said.
Obama aides said that in coming days he will highlight issues that were the core of Edwards’ campaign, such as health care and poverty.
Obama positioned himself as the candidate best equipped to defeat the eventual Republican nominee.
“It’s time for new leadership that understands that the way to win a debate with John McCain is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq,” he said, taking a swipe at Clinton.
Kennedy campaigned alongside Obama on Wednesday in Denver and in Phoenix. Her uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, will stump for him this weekend in New Mexico, Arizona and California, where he will try to chip away at Clinton’s strength among Latino voters.
The Denver event attracted legions of students, as well as people from all over Colorado. Among them were Donna and Bill Wolfe, retirees from Longmont, Colo., who began their drive to the university before sunrise, only to find thousands already waiting in
line.
“This will be my first caucus and Obama is the reason,” Donna Wolfe said. “He’s a fresh entry into uniting this country and making it great again. He’s just totally impressive.”
