The voice on the public address system told the crowd of more than 500 fans at LoDo’s Tattered Cover bookstore that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the 45-year- old rising star of Democratic politics, could sign autographs for perhaps 350 buyers of his latest work, “The Audacity of Hope.”
Clutching ticket No. 351, Mike Fleming hedged his bets.
Rather than bank on finding his way to the table where the charismatic Illinois senator satisfied admirers with a flurry of left-handed script, a handshake and a few words of friendly banter, Fleming did what many unfortunate late-comers did.
He found a stranger ahead of him in line willing to carry his copies. Then Fleming waited expectantly for the books to be delivered.
“I think he’s got the charisma to bring everybody together,” said the 49-year-old computer administrator, who listened to Obama’s brief remarks piped through speakers. “You can feel it, just in his intonation. You can tell he feels it, too. And with him feeling it, everybody knows he’s for real.”
But just how much is Obama feeling it?
In recent interviews, he has allowed that he will weigh a run for the presidency in 2008 – a baby step in political rhetoric but one at least aimed in the direction many Democrats have been anticipating since he burst on the national scene with a stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
And so his day-long stop Tuesday in Denver revealed glimpses of what many have called his “rock-star status,” built with a magnetic and accessible style – an “it factor” that’s still waiting for accomplishment to catch up after only two years in the Senate.
“Barack Obama campaign buttons!” shouted Royce Vaughn, waving his portable display board to the line of book-buying hopefuls outside the store. “Show your support before you go in!”
Vaughn, who flew from St. Louis to peddle the buttons and T-shirts emblazoned with phrases such as “Superbama” and “Coming Soon,” did a brisk business among those who see Obama as having presidential potential.
Though his supporters remain split on his readiness to go for the White House, some embraced even his inexperience.
“He’s unjaded, like that freshwater pearl that hasn’t been spoiled by the political system,” said Fonda Burnett of Denver. “You always hope the guy next door can grow up to be president.”
Obama, born to a Kenyan father and white American mother, drew a diverse crowd that reflected his ability to reach out to many different groups.
Muthoni Gachire, a Kenyan currently living and teaching in the United State, felt drawn to the bookstore in hopes of thanking Obama for a speech he gave on African political corruption when he visited Kenya.
“I’m truly impressed to see America warming up to him,” Gachire said. “That says something about what Americans really care for – it has nothing to do with race.”
In his short address at the bookstore, Obama did a rhetorical riff on his book’s title.
“It’s easy to feel cynical,” he said. “The premise of the book is that, as I travel, I see in individual lives that people are hopeful. They’re looking for practical solutions. People have more in common than our politics would admit.”
Then he took off his suit coat, rolled up his sleeves and spent nearly two hours greeting and, in some instances, dazzling folks who had lined up as early as 5 a.m. for a chance to stand in his presence.
“He does have rock-star status,” said Jennifer Dixon, a 41-year-old graduate student in political science. “But I like his grit. I see a lot of potential for him to do a lot of good for the country – and not just in a Democratic way. We need healing, and this man can bring it about.”
Seizing the opportunity, she slid her résumé across the table as he signed her books.
Promptly at 2 p.m., Obama rose and made his way toward the exit, stopping to autograph a copy of Time magazine that featured him on the cover and a Polaroid snapshot.
He was then whisked off to a campaign rally in Aurora where, with his still-rolled-up white shirt sleeves illuminating him on a stage full of dark suits, he stumped for a list of Democratic hopefuls led by congressional candidate Ed Perlmutter and gubernatorial hopeful Bill Ritter.
Before a few hundred campaign workers and curious onlookers, Obama delivered a brief but passionate talk, describing the nation’s somber mood about topics from the economy to Iraq – and the need for change.
“Are you gonna run for president?” shouted one voice in the crowd. “We wanna know!”
But Obama only urged the onlookers to elect the candidates who crowded close to him on the stage.
“It’s not good enough to come to a rally,” he said. “You’ve got to knock off the bedroom slippers and put on your marching boots.”
Republicans were not as enamored with Obama.
“It’s no surprise Ed Perlmutter would have Barack Obama to stump for him, and his Illinois liberalism won’t line up with the people of Colorado’s Western sensibility,” said Bryant Adams, a spokesman for Republicans of Colorado, during a phone interview. “His message does not resonate here.”
Staff writer Kevin Simpson can be reached at 303-954-1739 or ksimpson@denverpost.com.
