Today Curmudgeon, Shego and I waited in a long line in Grand Rapids to see and hear John Kerry give his political stump speech. This was the first time any of us had attended a rally for a Presidential candidate.

The temperature was in the 80's as the sun beat down. Fortunately, there were trees under which we stood from time to time while waiting in line. We stood in line for two hours. There was a handful of people who collapsed from the heat (This is Michigan; we don't stand in line much on really hot days), and the paramedics were attending them as the line moved along.

The problem was that the planners had no idea that the rally would be attended by 20,000 or so people. (Last week Gee Dubya got only around 7,200* for his rally.) But we packed in and were regaled with speeches by Michigan's two Senators, Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and some other party dignitaries on the platform.

Teresa Heinz Kerry gave a speech that was feminist but mildly so, also emphasizing her husband's plans for free four year, undergraduate tuition for those who first commit to and perform two years of service.

When the time finally came and John Kerry's wife introduced him, of course there was great cheering. Even though Kerry has been criticized for having less charisma than Bill Clinton, he definitely has presence. It was a stirring address.

It was some time after we attended the rally that I realized that Kerry hadn't addressed the erosion of personal freedoms for Americans brought on by the Patriot Act. I should have thought about it sooner, but I was caught up in the moment with the crowd cheering Kerry's assurances that he will do and be what the current President isn't. I was disappointed with myself, and I felt Kerry should have addressed the issue.

So now I am wondering, do other people on this board have recollections of rallies such as this one, and did your critical thinking get placed on hold while your emotions rode the tide of the crowd? Please feel free to share any experiences you have had that are similar.

*Edit: Curmudgeon informs me that it was 4,200, not 7,200.

I never attended a political rally for a simple reason that we don't have any here in Connecticut. Our state is reliably Democratic (even though we did elect a Republican governor for the past two terms), so neither party bothers with any campaigning here. Just another reason why I feel the electoral college system is so unfair: I don't feel that my vote (or my political activism) really means much.

The first time I really got swept up during a political rally was at the Iraq War protest in Seattle during 2003. My wife and I originally went there to photograph the protest, but the atmosphere was just so charged that we both got wrapped up in the protest and ended up marching with the protestors and chanting with them. This was the same day/week where record breaking protests were held in almost every major city around the world.

We really didn't plan it that way at all, we were going to take some pictures and then head off to do something else -- a few hours tops. We ended up staying for the whole thing and we got back to my corporate apartment about 5 or 6 pm.

At that point I also wasn't very passionate about the Iraq war, but I did believe it was wrong. The protest really turned that around for me and also got me. Shortly after that I found Americas Debate and I've been here ever since.

I went to a campaign rally for Bobby Kennedy in Denver back in 1968 just a month or two before he was killed in Los Angeles. It was really quite something. His press secretary was my father's roommate and one of his best friends in college and so we were invited to a reception following the rally where I had a chance to meet Bobby. That was quite a thrill! The rally itself was incredible, there was more energy in that crowd of people than I've ever seen at anything other than a Denver Broncos football game and Bobby had that crowd in the palm of his hand. He wasn't a terribly forceful speaker, no ranting or raving and waving his arms around, but rather a calm and decisive demeanor, very controlled, very much in charge, very Presidential. The people would scream and cheer and yell at the appropriate times, but when Bobby would start to talk, they'd grow quiet, very quiet and listen. They knew he had something important to say. I have no doubt that for an assassin's bullet in Los Angeles, Bobby Kennedy would have become President of the United States in 1968.

The only other person I've ever seen who could control a crowd like that was Ronald Reagan and he did it much the same way.

I'm naturally an observer, so I don't get caught up in crowd energy nearly as much as most folks. Even rock concerts don't get me going as much as get me watching. Sports games are really boring for me because I'd rather watch them on TV -- better views. And the crowd behavior is extreamly predictable.

Oh gee, another stupid group activity -- a wave! Oh my. Think my disdain of crowd behavior is abnormal.

But if someone does get caught up in the crowd, there's nothing to be ashamed about. Politics is show business for ugly people. It works exactly like show business. When I heard Andre Segovia, the master classical guitarist, play in Minneapolis before his death, I thrilled. Same with hearing Roy Orbison before he passed, even though a particular note wasn't hit.

Talent and presence is what we admire, what thrills us -- even inspires us. I'm at least normal in that regard.

But crowd-think is a whole different ballgame. You can enter a crowd with an IQ of 140 and suddenly drop down to 90 just like that. Maybe that's what I hate: The feeling of cotton being stuffed into my head.

If someone forgets a pressing point at a political rally, which is one-way entertainment and nothing more, so what? You'll remember what it is that's important later on. Rallies are for sloganizing, not thinking -- rock concerts without the music or mosh pit.

I was covering a rally for Senator John McCain during his 2000 presidential run. His gaudily designed bus rolled up an hour late outside the basketball arena of the Ohio State University. I was one of the few blacks in the audience so I was very aware of the vast whiteness of the audience that filled the 18,000 seat arena and they didn't seem the least bit annoyed that the Senator had made them wait.

McCain stood in the center of the arena and though I forget what he said, the crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand. Every joke was funny. Every oft-repeated applause line worked. I asked one man why he was a McCain supporter and he replied that McCain was a straight shooter. The kind of guy who everyone respected, a real war hero and someone who could unite the country.

I've been to rock concerts that were less enthusiastic than McCain's rally was that day. I walked away very impressed with the Arizona Republican. Whatever the elusive trait of "charisma" is, McCain definitely had it.

I remain convinced to this day that the GOP gave the nomination to the wrong guy.

Yes. I was involved in organizing a rally for John Kerry here in Pittsburgh. Our student group, only about 10 of us, was able to get John Bon Jovi and Franco Harris to come. We also were able to pull the whole thing off for about 50 bucks of our money Anbyway, about 15,000 people showed up and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

After that, I have become highly involved in the campaign (as much as a 22 year old can be), and was even invited to go to Boston. It was great, and I felt that same sort of cathartic feeling that one gets at a rally, but 10,000 times so. It was also cool to be aroung thousands of people that actually cared about politics (here I was stuck thinking you guys and myself were the only ones). They also didn't hope I would change conversation to something else...which was cool.