Philly for Kerry

I drove over to Philadelphia yesterday for a John Kerry rally. These are the only shots I managed to grab, due to the fact that I didn't have a blue ticket (why do they offer online tickets if they're worthless?), and due to my inexperience with this new camera. Maybe someday I'll figure out how it works.

From the article, in case you don't want to register;

...In Philadelphia, the Kerry crowd was drawn in part by former President Bill Clinton, who made his first appearance on the campaign trail since quadruple bypass surgery seven weeks ago.

A Bruce Springsteen recording, "No Surrender," played and confetti shot into the air as Clinton and Kerry walked down a runway side-by-side, shaking hands with supporters. On stage, the two men joined hands and lifted their arms high into the air.

"I am very proud of John Kerry and the campaign he has run," Clinton told the crowd. "He never gives up"...

...Kerry used the rally to criticize the Bush administration's handling of Iraq on a day when the International Atomic Energy Agency disclosed that more than 350 tons of powerful conventional explosives are missing from the former Al-Qaqaa military installation, about 30 miles south of Baghdad.

"George W. Bush talks tough and brags about making America safer, but once again he has failed," Kerry said. "His incompetence, step after step, has put our troops at greater risk."

The crowd answered Kerry's criticisms with a chant of "Bush must go! Bush must go!"...

...Joining Kerry and Clinton on stage in Philadelphia were the top Democrats in the city and state, including Gov. Rendell and Mayor Street.

Singer Patti LaBelle, a Philadelphia native, sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Clinton and Kerry arrived and a long line of local politicians and candidates spoke to the crowd.

"Nobody was better to the city of Philadelphia than Bill Clinton," Rendell told the crowd, which the Fire Department estimated at 80,000 to 100,000. "As the 44th president of the United States, John Kerry has the ability to top him."

Kerry, who has criticized Bush's economic policies, praised Clinton for leading America "to the strongest economy we ever had."

Energetic but looking thin and pale, Clinton said over the cheering crowd, "If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is."

A flag hoisted by a crane flew high in the air behind the two men. The statue of William Penn atop City Hall loomed in the distance against a steel-gray sky...

Carol Moseley Braun and Governor Rendell are to the right of President Clinton in that shot. The Big Dog looked no worse for wear and tear. Good to see him back in the action.

J.