Mobilized Online, Thousands Gather to Hear Obama

[cal04]

At his first rally since announcing his presidential exploratory committee, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), appealed yesterday for support from the young people who had mobilized for the event online.

The gathering of several thousand students at George Mason University in Fairfax underscored the potential power of online communities in the 2008 campaign. Its genesis was a group created last summer on Facebook.com, a Web site frequented by college students who post profiles and assemble virtually.

Barack Obama for President in 2008 now has more than 50,000 members, and its founders have created an offline presidential draft committee, Students for Barack Obama.

"This is a remarkable achievement, a remarkable event that speaks to what young people can do when they put their minds together," said Obama, who is scheduled to officially announce his candidacy next Saturday in Springfield, Ill.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/02/AR2007020201233.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. I'm going to that announcement Saturday.. It is now up to 200,000

I saw it on a live blog of the event diary tonight.

[Colobo]

2. Great!!!

Obama is the future!