Doug Moe: Madison had its own mega rally
THE INTERNET has been buzzing about the crowds generated by Oprah Winfrey's appearances for Barack Obama over the weekend.
On the New York Times political blog, The Caucus, reporter Katharine Q. Seelye wrote about the duo's rally at the University of South Carolina's football stadium in Columbia:
"It was a staggering sight. Upwards of 29,000 people at a political rally. And the Democratic primary in South Carolina is not until Jan. 26.
"The Double O Express -- Oprah for Obama -- drew what is easily the biggest crowd at a campaign event, for any candidate, so far this season," Seelye continued. "It may have helped that the day was unseasonably warm, above 70 degrees, and gorgeously sunny. But this size crowd is rare even for a general election in the fall."
Seelye recalled that John F. Kennedy once drew 35,000 for a Labor Day rally in 1960. She then asked if anyone knew of another bigger rally than Oprah for Obama in South Carolina: "Get to work, Caucus readers, and tell us if you know of a bigger campaign rally without an incumbent president."
I can tell Seelye that in Madison alone in the past 15 years, we have had two political rallies featuring non-incumbent candidates that outdrew the Double O Express. One of them easily drew more than double the Carolina crowd for Oprah-Obama. It featured Bruce Springsteen and John Kerry, and for anyone who was there, as I was, it remains unforgettable.
I was at the earlier Madison rally, too. That one was Oct. 1, 1992, and it included the Democratic presidential ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. The late, great John Patrick Hunter covered it for The Capital Times and his story appeared under the headline, "Wow, what a crowd!"
Hunter's piece began: "A gem-lit October afternoon and a Democratic presidential team that promises victory -- Bill Clinton and Al Gore -- drew 30,000 enthusiastic fans to the Capitol grounds Thursday -- certainly one of the largest political gatherings in Madison's memory."
I remember taking my 11-month-old son to the rally and holding him up over the crowd so I might be able to one day tell him he had seen a president of the United States.
Still, that one pales in comparison to Springsteen's appearance for Kerry. A Madison alderman, Mark Clear, actually took up the New York Times on its invitation to recall a larger campaign crowd.
On Sunday, Clear posted the following comment on the Times' blog: "John Kerry (and Bruce Springsteen) drew an estimated 80,000 on October 28, 2004. Oprah's good, but she's no Bruce."
Clear's post didn't mention that the rally was here, but it was, with a stage set up at the bottom of West Washington Avenue, facing up toward the Capitol. West Washington was packed and the crowd spilled out into the side streets. For once, the students had the luxury boxes -- their second story front porches -- and when Springsteen showed up and sang "No Surrender," the Kerry campaign's theme song, it was magical. You could have made a lot of money betting on George W. Bush that day, because 80,000 people would have bet against you.
I did a little checking on Tuesday to see if the Kerry-Springsteen appearance in Madison four years ago might have drawn the largest crowd to a political rally, ever.
It's right up there, certainly. I could find only one other political rally that comes close, and it was just a few days before the Madison event.
On Oct. 25, 2004, in Philadelphia's Love Park, Kerry and former President Bill Clinton drew -- by one fire marshal's estimate -- a crowd of 80,000, the same as the estimates in Madison. Clinton was coming off recent heart surgery and received, according to the New York Times report on the rally, "a rock star's welcome."
Madisonians were happy to see the real rock star, and Springsteen, too, knew something special happened that day. The following spring, after Kerry had narrowly lost the election, Springsteen told a Minneapolis reporter that the experience had stayed with him.
"I sat in front of 80,000 people in Madison, Wis.," Springsteen said, "and it was probably one of the most amazing days of my musical life. There was a lot of hope."
Heard something Moe should know? Call 252-6446, write P.O. Box 8060, Madison, WI 53708, or e-mail dmoe@madison.com
AP photo
Bruce Springsteen shakes hands with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. at a 2004 Madison rally.
