WHERE: Taco Bell Arena, BSU campus.
WHEN:8:30 a.m. Saturday; doors open at 7 a.m.
COST: Free
FOR MORE INFO: Call 345-6210.
Parking will be free at all university lots, and university parking staff will be out in force to help the public find parking.
No parking in residence hall lots or in parking spaces identified as RH1, 2 or 3 except for students who have paid for parking.
There will be public parking on the east side of Bronco Stadium; the west side will be used for disability access.
There's a large parking structure on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and University Drive, across from the Student Union Building.
There is also a parking lot behind the recreation center.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will speak at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Boise State University's Taco Bell Arena. Doors will open at 7 a.m.
Metal detectors will be used.
No bags, including purses and camera bags, or signs or banners will be allowed inside. Signs will be distributed inside the arena.
The public will enter the arena through Entrance 3.
Endorsing Obama
Former Democratic Gov. Cecil Andrus: "He has demonstrated his ability to inspire people to join together to search for and bring about change, not only in America but in the world. ... During this campaign, we've heard a lot about experience, and experience is important. But let me tell you what's more important than experience, and that's judgment."
1st Congressional District candidate Larry Grant joined his primary opponents Walt Minnick and Rand Lewis in backing Obama, who "embodies the new political ethic that we need in this country," Grant said.
Nineteen of 26 Idaho Democratic legislators have already endorsed him.
Endorsing Clinton
Longtime Democratic icon Bethine Church: "I am so proud to announce my support for Hillary Clinton today because the people of Idaho need a president like her now. Hillary Clinton has the passion, experience and plans to deliver real change in this country starting on day one."
John and Katie Allen are making what any kid would tell you is a sacrifice of extreme proportions. They've given up their cell phones for Sen. Barack Obama.
It wasn't exactly their idea; their father, Gary, admits he "basically confiscated" the phones for Obama volunteers. But the contributions of John, 14, and Katie, 12, are one aspect of a movement built since last February when the first Obama in Idaho meeting drew about a dozen people.
On Saturday, they get their payback.
"Think what this means to Idaho," said former four-term Gov. Cecil Andrus, who will introduce Obama at Boise State University. He said presidential candidates during the campaign almost never come into Idaho.
"Usually, they fly over between Denver and Seattle and wave as they go by," he said.
Idaho wouldn't be on Obama's itinerary without an organization that prepared the ground for Saturday's rally at the 12,000-seat Taco Bell Arena just three days before the Idaho Democratic caucus on Super Tuesday.
Obama's Idaho organization unites youth, disaffected voters turned off by partisan gridlock, and party regulars weary of the Clintons.
"Here's someone who's going to get beyond the partisan divide," said Allen, a 46-year-old Boise lawyer, who was active in Ross Perot's independent campaigns in 1992 and 1996. "That's what I've been waiting for my whole political life."
After the February meeting at JB's Restaurant in Meridian, organizers held a kickoff for 150 people on March 31. Young and tech-savvy volunteers created an unofficial Web site.
"Young people are just on fire about this man," said Jerry Brady, the 2002 and 2006 Democratic candidate for governor, who toted a life-size Obama cutout until somebody nabbed it last weekend.
Allen became a key figure, helping craft a grassroots team to turn out voters. His kids will see Obama on Saturday and have their phones returned after Tuesday's caucus. The kids' phones have been put to good use by volunteers.
But two former strangers, T.J. Thomson and Kassie Cerami, play the role of Adam and Eve in the Obama machine's Idaho genesis story.
Thomson, 33, is internal auditor at Idaho Power Co. He's been a Democratic activist since he passed out homemade Michael Dukakis brochures as a 13-year-old in Idaho Falls.
Cerami, 43, works in marketing and was never involved in politics until now. After seeing Obama's famous speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, she vowed to quit her job and work for Obama should he ever run for president.
Thomson and Cerami were among seven Idahoans who traveled to Elko, Nev., on Aug. 5 to see Obama. Seated in the front row because they'd come so far, they met the candidate.
"I want you to know you're my Bobby Kennedy," Cerami said she told Obama.
"C'mere, you," he said, hugging Cerami. He added: "Thanks, I know what that means."
Thomson buttonholed Obama and urged him to come to Boise. "I heard about you guys," replied Obama. "I want to, and I'm going to try."
Cerami said she interpreted Obama to be saying, "If you build it, I will come," and immediately decided to open an office in Boise. Until then, the campaign operated in volunteers' homes, assisted chiefly by Internet campaign tools.
Thomson, the political sophisticate, was skeptical. He holds degrees in political science and public affairs. He was a delegate to the 1996 national convention and later became student body president at BSU. He now is chairman of the Democrats' District 20 committee.
"Kassie likes to say I patted her on the head and said, 'Go get 'em, Tiger.' It wasn't quite like that, but I did say I thought this was a campaign we were going to run from our homes."
Returning from Elko, Cerami put an ad on Craigslist seeking a cheap rental. She found a landlord who liked Obama and offered discounted space on Rose Hill Street. The office opened in September, but the first weeks were slow.
"I sat alone for a long time. I'd jump up when the postman came, thinking, 'Oh, here's a supporter!' " she said.
But the national campaign took notice. After the Elko trip, national staffer Buffy Wicks held a two-day training in Nampa. "She didn't say, 'Send all your troops to Nevada,' like all the other campaigns were doing," said Thomson.
In November, Obama dispatched a field organizer and took over the Boise office. Four other offices have opened since, and Obama has won the endorsement of Andrus and most of Idaho's top Democrats.
"It was T.J .and Kassie," said John Foster, executive director of the state party. "Their grass roots phone-banking and door-knocking is phenomenal."
Foster has urged organizers of caucuses in the 44 counties to prepare for a three-fold boost in turnout from 2004. "A lot of credit has to go to the Obama campaign."
Andrus compares the Obama phenomenon to the impact meeting John F. Kennedy had on him. Andrus was a 28-year-old lumberjack running for the Idaho Senate when JFK came to Lewiston on a campaign swing in May 1960.
"I left that meeting inspired to become totally involved in public service and to run for high public office," Andrus said. "Sen. Obama has that same ability to energize people."
Dan Popkey: 377-6438
