Hundreds of supporters filled the streets at the grand opening of the Arizona headquarters for the Barack Obama Campaign on Sept. 11, 2008, in Phoenix, Ariz.
 | | | | | | ©2008 D. McLane | | Many in the crowd had brought homemade signs, brandishing them as way of applauding, waving them in time to Obama's signature campaign slogan, "Yes, We can!" which broke out spontaneously from time to time, and using them as shields against the blistering sun.
 | | | | | | ©2008 D. McLane | | Communications director Dave Cieslak said, "This is the grand opening of our Arizona headquarters. We're right in the heart of downtown Phoenix, we have paid staff working out of here, we're on the ground, we have an army of volunteers, who are taking on Arizona and bringing it home for Barack Obama.
"We've got people going door to door, we've got people doing phone banking, it's amazing the number of people sending e-mails, cards, letters, every day, saying, we want change. We don't want four more years of the same. It's a tremendous community outcry of support for Barack Obama coming into the White House."
While the crowd continued to gather, staff members such as Daniel Graver, briefed volunteers on signing up people to volunteer or register to vote.
 | | | | | | ©2008 D. McLane | | Singer Nayo Jones, the official Pit Bull Energy Drink spokeswoman, entertained the crowd while her supporters handed out demos of her CD, "My Name is Nayo Jones." For more information see www.hiphopbev.com.
 | | | | | | ©2008 D. McLane | | The less-than-teenagers were among those dancing to Nayo's music.
 | | | | | | ©2008 D. McLane | | Nayo ended with a soulful, Jimi-Hendrix-style version of "The Star Bangled Banner." At first everybody settled down as it is usual to just stand and listen as some professional singer sings the National Anthem of the United States as the music is hard (read impossible) due to its range of highs and lows … yet, slowly, slowly singing started, until, toward the end, almost everybody was singing, "Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave; O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"
After some time, prominent Arizona Democrats, including Attorney General Terry Goddard and Gov. Janet Napolitano, spoke optimistically about the Illinois senator's chances of winning on McCain's home turf in November's presidential election.
 | | | | | | ©2008 D. McLane | | Napolitano was in fire-up mode and said, "I'm looking out here and I'm saying to myself, 'John McCain, get ready. You've got a surprise coming.'"
The crowd was already pretty well fired up so the applause, the sign waving, the shouting and laughter began to border on hysterical.
Napolitano finished by saying, "Let me tell you this, the next two months are so critical, every single one of you has a role to play, are you all really ready? [Applause.]
"We've going to be walking, we're going to be talking, we going to be persuading, we won't take no for an answer. [More applause.]
"As we do that, what people are going to recognize is how fast Arizona is changing, how many new voters are out there. How many of you are new voters? [Applause, many hands go up.]
"We all recognize that we have not had a partner in Washington, D.C., to help us grow in the right direction. We need a partner, we need Barack Obama!" [Absolutely wild-crazy applause.]
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