From the Front Lines

As I made my way from the office to the train this evening, I had to weave my way around many, many Obamaniacs on their way to Chicago's Grant Park for tonight's Obama-rama. They were young and old, of a multitude of races, and seemed cheerful and excited. Most wore some type of Obama/Biden apparel, and many carried signs. Some were hand-lettered, others were more professional placards. There were a lot of kids trouping along with their parents. I saw a couple sets of new parents, their children tucked into strollers or snug in a sling. I don't mean to impugn anyone's parental talents, but I wonder if they think those kids are going to sleep at all? Operating a stroller through the crowds during The Taste of Chicago is hard enough, and I think a lot more people will show up tonight than estimated.

A good indicator of how many are expected could be seen as I entered Union Station, where the setup for your typical evening rush hour is to redirect all of the escalators to go down. Instead, they left one going up. Extra security was also positioned on the train platforms, eyeballing train passengers for concealed weapons and concealed alcohol. Bicycle rickshaws were also getting in on the act, impatiently dinging their bells at customers outside the station, obviously planning on extra fares tonight. On a typical work evening I've never seen them there.

Even if by some slim chance the Annointed One does not celebrate victory tonight, it is a fantastic evening to be on the lakefront.