18,000 Attend Obama Rally in Virginia Beach

From the Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH – A throng of thousands cheered Sen. Barack Obama at a boisterous rally Sunday night, two days before Virginia’s pivotal Democratic presidential primary.

Locked in a close race for the party nomination, Obama called on Virginians to help him complete what he called his “unlikely journey to change America.”

“This is our moment. This is our time,” he told a crowd in the Virginia Beach Convention Center, estimated at 18,000 people by event organizers.

Obama partisans hailed the turnout as a sign that their candidate will carry the state Tuesday.

“This has got to be the biggest political rally in Virginia Beach history, said U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, who spoke to the crowd before Obama arrived.

Obama responded to Clinton’s argument that the first-term Illinois senator needs more experience.

“Some have asked, 'Why so soon? You can afford to wait,’ ” Obama said. But, he added, “There’s such a thing as being too late. People don’t want the same old cast of characters in Washington. They want somebody new.”

Taking note of his primary and caucus victories in four states over the weekend, Obama told the crowd: “My bet has paid off. My faith in the American people has been vindicated. We are ready to write a new chapter in American history.”

The diverse crowd at Obama’s Virginia Beach rally included senior citizens with walkers and teenagers.

“America has never seen anything like this since the ’60s,” said the Rev. Marcellus Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church Morrison in Newport News. “Dr. King would be smiling now.”

“I’m old enough to remember John F. Kennedy,” said Bob Sterling, 64, of Norfolk. “I get the same feeling about Barack Obama.”

“He’s a miracle,” said Ayana Berridge, 21, of Cerritos, Calif., a student at Hampton University. “He’s able to inspire, to make you believe change is possible.