Whispers of a possible April 5 visit by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama are growing louder, leaving Missoulians who managed to nab tickets to the Montana Democratic Party's annual dinner in Butte worried they may have to choose between two events on the same day.
“My hope is that they'll do it (an Obama event) early enough in the day that we could do both,” said Scott Martin, president of the University of Montana College Democrats.
However, as of Tuesday evening, the Obama campaign had not confirmed an appearance in the Garden City.
That hasn't stopped local Obama supporters from planning and campaigning - and wondering how they'd catch back-to-back rallies 100 miles apart.
“It's an easy choice,” said Martin, a political science major from Billings. “Butte is better. Both candidates will be there. I would never give up my tickets to Mansfield-Metcalf (dinner) to save my life.”
Both Obama and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton are confirmed in Butte that Saturday evening for the annual Democratic Party dinner, which sold out in a matter of minutes.
The following day, April 6, Clinton will attend a fundraiser in Missoula at the Hilton Garden Inn and may hold a free public event later the same day - again possibly at the Adams Center.
Now Obama supporters want to know his plans.
“I've been getting phone calls from people I barely know,” said Monica Paoli, a local Obama supporter. “I think everyone is asking as many people as they can find, and that indicates people are excited about the possibility.”
Paoli, a former UM fundraiser with deep-rooted political interests, has urged the Obama campaign to stop in Missoula. Though she doesn't normally get involved in many fundraising efforts anymore because of her small children, Paoli has taken it upon herself to call volunteers and ask people to donate to the campaign on the chance that he may come.
“I can't describe why I'm so excited about the Obama campaign,” she said. “I'm not normally excited about a candidate this early in a race. I want to rally for this cause. He seems to really be able to bring people together.”
Paoli admits sheepishly that she sometimes checks the official Obama campaign Web site as many as three times a day. It's where local supporters network and post events.
Chatter Tuesday by local bloggers on the site talked about changing the “M” on Mount Sentinel to “ObaMa” as a welcoming gesture the weekend of April 5.
On Tuesday, about a dozen local Obama supporters gathered at Romeo's Italian Kitchen on Southwest Higgins Avenue and wrote 150 postcards to women in Pennsylvania, urging them to vote for Obama. The next primary election in the country is in Pennsylvania on April 22.
On Saturday, Craig Clevidence, a 49-year-old real estate appraiser from Kalispell, will be handing out 1,000 free Obama bumper stickers at the new soccer fields in Whitefish.
“I bought them as a way to get the enthusiasm started,” he said.
It seems as though the enthusiasm, especially in Missoula, has already arrived.
University students are eager to know whether both candidates vying for the Democratic nomination may speak on campus.
“Our campus is absolutely buzzing about it,” Martin said. “I can't turn around without people talking about it.”
Tickets to the Clinton fundraiser on Sunday are a minimum $250, which is steep for most college students, but Martin couldn't pass up the opportunity. He figures the tax rebate approved by President Bush and Congress earlier this year would cover the cost.
Though Martin is a Clinton supporter, it's undeniable that a large number of UM students are rooting for Obama, he said.
“Everyone is all about him,” he said. “I have close friends who didn't care about politics before and now they are all Obama experts.”
So, should Obama decide to stop in Missoula - perhaps at the Adams Center on the Saturday before the event in Butte - Martin has no doubt that helping get things organized at the last minute would be no problem.
“On UM's campus, if you have two days to work with, that's enough time,” he said. “They'll come, and they'll come en masse.”
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