This post was supposed to go up Monday…just realized it didn’t get published…

On Saturday, Tim, Cristina and I rolled up to the One Nation Working Together rally in Washington D.C.  Our friend Paul had hosted a raucous party the night before, so we were  a little weary.  Apparently a long-haired Indian who plays with Thievery Corporation had been skulking around the party before we got there, which led a number of guests to infer that I played with Thievery Corporation.

People have asked me what the rally was against.  In truth, it was really a rally FOR progressive values.   Sure, there were some angry socialists (there are always angry socialists) who slammed President Obama, but the theme of the rally was to encourage President Obama and Congress to stand strong behind the change we voted for in 2008.   We were there to remind politicians, the media, and most importantly, each other, that there are still many in the country who care passionately about ending foreign wars, protecting American workers, and treating all citizens, including immigrants, with dignity.

The original impetus for the march was responding to Glenn Beck’s tasteless (though ultimately muted) rally on the anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” speech.    The speech was reenacted at one point in the rally by a multi-racial team of speakers.   There was generally a strong spirit of inclusiveness across racial, age and class lines that has eluded many such major events in the past, including progressive ones.

Cristina was part of the strong Code Pink presence at the rally, and took a number of awesome shots with her slick new camera, which is capable of highlighting a single color and leaving the rest black and white.  I am constantly amazed at the emergence of phone and camera technology.

Gauging crowd sizes at such events is usually fruitless.  There’s always the police number, which is too low, the rally organizer number, which is too high, and various other numbers tossed around based on the political motives of the reporter.  I would estimate 100,000 were present at the peak of the rally, though we left before some of the final speakers.  There was a steady flow of people in and out of the Lincoln Memorial area, so the organizer claim of 150,000 could accurately reflect the total number of people in attendance over the course of the day.

The mood was positive and the vibes were good.  The speakers weren’t the most compelling lot- MLK redux this was not. But with progressives feeling increasingly battered and sold out over the last year, the affirmation that our numbers our still strong, and our unity are as tight as ever made the event worth it.

At one point, Tim and I took in some shade on the edge of the mall and realized how beautiful and spectacular the park is.  We’ve been inspired to return on Halloween weekend for the Stewart/Colbert rally, which promises to be as cool an event as the uptight folks in D.C have witnessed for some time.   Let’s get ready to roll…