Obama ...and DeNiro
by John McCormick

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. With the team's home stadium nearby, Sen. Barack Obama today compared himself to the New York Giants in last night's Super Bowl.

"Sometimes the underdog pulls it out. You can't always believe the pundits and prognosticators," Obama told those inside the IZOD Center at the Meadowlands during what was one of his flatter recent appearances.

It was a line Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, had already tried out on a few reporters early this morning before the campaign plane took off from Chicago's Midway Airport.

In the audience here were former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, who has endorsed Obama, and movie star Robert De Niro, a new endorser and someone the candidate said was of special interest to his Secret Service entourage.

"Those guys never smile. They're always cool," Obama told a crowd his campaign said totaled about 4,500. "But I noticed when De Niro walks in, they're all like elbowing each other…They were excited."

Speaking to the audience before Obama entered the room, De Niro said he is not used to giving political speeches.

"I've never made a speech like this at a political event before," he said, interrupted by applause. "So, what am I doing here? I'm here because finally one person has inspired me. One person has given me hope. One person has made me believe that we can make a change."