TINA Turner’s Simply The Best was played to the hilt at the New York Marriott ballroom that evening in Brooklyn, New York City.
The VIP guest was at least an hour late but the hundreds of fans who assembled there remained earnest as they waited for their man. Never mind that it was standing room only, no seats provided.
At 6.36pm, the people roared. Cameras flashed. The rock star of politics, Barack Obama, emerged on stage where a banner was hung, proclaiming “Brooklyn for Barack.”
In that much written about baritone voice of his, the Democratic contender for the White House immediately tried to connect with his audience.
“I’m excited to be back in Brooklyn. I used to live here,” he said as he reminisced about his days at Columbia University and how he used to grab some bagels in the borough.
It was a fund-raising event; the people who turned up had made donations so that they could receive admission tickets to see the politician in action, the man who is on the cover of GQ magazine last month.
“I made a US$25 (RM87) donation,” said lawyer Jeff Williams.
He has been an Obama supporter since 2004 when the Hawaiian-born politician spoke at the Democratic National Convention about the audacity of hope, a speech that got him flashing brightly on the political radar of Americans.
That evening, Obama was talking about hope again.
He said people thought that he was naive for always touching on the subject.
“But that’s all right. I plead guilty as charged. I’m optimistic. It’s not that I don’t see the problems but the reason I am hopeful is that I have seen what can happen when people get together.
“I have seen ordinary people doing extraordinary things when they work together.”
Rhetoric? Yes. Stimulating? You bet. At least to the supporters who cheered and whistled.
He said Americans had grown tired of the “can’t do, won’t do, don’t know how” attitude of the government.
“The reason you are here this evening is that Americans are starving for change. They are tired of the same-old, same-old.” (Clap, clap, clap from the crowd).
It was a speech that touched on a little bit of everything, from gas prices to the Iraq war.
“People are tired of a broken healthcare system. They are tired of the economy. They are tired of the war, a war that should not have been waged, a war that had cost thousands of lives, a war that has diminished our standing in the world.” (More thunderous claps).
He scoffed at critics who labelled him too green. “Let me tell you something,” he said. “Nobody has more experience than (Vice-President) Dick Cheney and (Secretary of Defence) Donald Rumsfeld.” The audience laughed in delight.
“The question is not whether I am ready, but are you ready?” he asked.
For supporters like Williams, the white American lawyer, they are ready.
“People are ready for a candidate who can make things better for America. It doesn’t matter what he or she looks like,” he said.
Williams, who grew up in a small town in upstate New York with a 15,000 population, said it was his first time seeing Obama in person and that the Democrat did not disappoint.
“He’s fantastic. He’s genuine,” Williams gushed.
Press photographers trained their huge cameras on Obama as he spoke. News presenters from local TV stations conducted their stand-upper.
Forty-five minutes later, it was all over. Obama did not work the room. He remained near the stage where people crowded around him, seeking his autograph on their copy of his book The Audacity of Hope. Security details followed him.
Outside the hotel, about a dozen policemen were on duty.
Volunteers handed out “Obama for America” forms, soliciting donations. Under the law, individuals are allowed to give a maximum of US$2,300 (RM8,000) per election.
There was a brisk sale of Obama souvenirs. T-shirts were priced at US$20 (RM70), keychains at US$4 (RM14), and lapel pins at US$10 (RM35).
So, is Obama “simply the best, better than all the rest,” as sung by Tina Turner?
Yes, to his fans. To others, it’s wait and see.