WILMINGTON, Del. -- Illinois Sen. Barack Obama flew from St. Louis to Delaware for a rally in Wilmington before returning to Chicago to watch the Super Bowl in the comfort of home with his family (and maybe some of his Secret Service agents, whom he said he'd invite in if they wanted to join him).

An estimated 20,000 turned out for the rally at a downtown square in Wilmington, according to the fire department, with thousands who couldn't fit inside the square squeezing up against the perimeter fence and spreading onto the steps of surrounding buildings. It was the largest Wilmington rally city officials could remember.

Obama expanded on his customary stump speech by including a new section arguing that he would make a stronger opponent against Sen. John McCain in the general election because he had opposed the war in Iraq from the start and would thus be less conflicted than Clinton in debating that issue with McCain.

"If John McCain is the nominee, then the Democratic Party has to ask itself, do you want a candidate who has similar policies to John McCain on the war in Iraq, or someone who can offer a stark contrast?" Obama said. "When I'm the nominee McCain won't be able to say, 'You were for this war in Iraq,' because I wasn'’t....I can offer a clear and clean break from the failed policies of George W. Bush....We need clarity in this campaign, and that’s what I offer."

It was just the latest enormous rally for Obama. The past week has seen him draw audiences of 18,000 in Denver, 20,000 in St. Louis, and more than 13,000 in Boise, Idaho. The size of the crowds has astonished those attending and persuaded some of them that Obama was on the way to winning their states, even if polls showed him closing the gap but still trailing.

"It's a snowball running down a steep hill. It's picking up all along," said Kevin Worden, the director of Habitat for Humanity in Rochester, Minn., and one of the 18,000 who turned out to see Obama in Minneapolis on Saturday.

"Look at these numbers!" said Helen Douglas-Taylor, a St. Louis teacher, as she looked out at the full floor of the St. Louis Rams football stadium on Saturday night. "We're going to change this nation. We're just ready as a nation for something fresh. And he is fresh."

To be sure, plenty of those attending Obama rallies are still undecided, coming to see him to help make up their mind, or simply to catch a glimpse of a public sensation. In Wilmington, Debbie Demeter, a teacher, said she was still trying to decide between Obama and Clinton. "He's a very elegant speaker, and a sign of hope and change for the future. He's young, and he can bring forth some new ideas," she said. But, she added, "I would love to see the first woman president."

But there is an unmistakable sense on the trail that, heading into Super Tuesday, Obama has succeeded in reclaiming his momentum. Voters turning out for the rallies say the reason for his resurgence is quite simple: he embodies change in a way that Clinton simply cannot and is offering a sort of communal inspiration and excitement that is hard to resist.

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If you get a chance to view a replay of this St Louis Feb 2 event, don't miss it. It is a spectacular event, and a very real speech at the same time.


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