Sen. Barack Obama returned to the University Friday with a rally on the Memorial Quad during his presidential campaign’s third swing through Oregon.
Obama made stops in Beaverton and Albany before addressing an estimated 8,000 people from an temporary stage between the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, where a banner reading “Folklorists 4 Change” hung from a window.
Men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent introduced Obama, whom Kent said he considered challenging to a game of one-on-one before he thought better of it.
The Illinois senator drew few contrasts with his Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, instead spending much of his time talking about presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. Obama did not wear a tie and joked with audience members.
Earlier in the day, national news organizations reported Obama had surpassed Clinton in support from superdelegates, Democratic party leaders with an automatic vote at the national convention, for the first time since the race began. Six superdelegates announced their support for Obama Friday, some of whom previously supported Clinton.
“We are going to bring this election to a close right here in Oregon,” he said.
Congressman David Wu, a superdelegate who recently endorsed Obama, introduced him and said his support came “because I think he is the person who is best suited to turn the page on this sorry episode in American history.”
Wu said that, like himself and Congressman Peter DeFazio, Obama opposed the invasion of Iraq from the beginning.
DeFazio has also endorsed Obama and introduced him. “We have not yet unified as Democrats behind a single candidate,” DeFazio said, “but we are unified in purpose.” He said that purpose was to “restore America as a beacon of hope in the world” and end war in Iraq.
DeFazio also looked past Clinton toward a general election contest against McCain. He said McCain’s Straight Talk Express was actually a “Trojan Horse Express.”
“Inside that shiny exterior are four more years of the failed policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney,” DeFazio said.

Obama expressed a similar idea: “Now just listen. I want everybody to be clear. Whatever differences I might have with Senator Clinton, they pale in comparison to the other side.” He said McCain “has decided to run for George Bush’s third term.”
Sophomore Grace Moen said Obama made her “feel proud to be an American again. It was kind of hard to feel proud of your country with Bush in office.”
For the most part, Obama stuck to his usual stump speech, with pledges to end the war in Iraq, invest in alternative energy sources and lower the cost of higher education.
“I love his idea about having students do community work so college will be more affordable,” Junior Misa Belcher said.
Some students said they were undecided about whom to vote for in Oregon’s May 20 primary. Others, such as freshman Neil Browning, registered as Democrats just for the chance to cast a primary ballot.
“I think that he’s a uniter,” Browning said. “He’s really charismatic and he brings people together and that’s what our country needs right now.”
The group Students for Barack Obama estimated 7,000 people in Lane County registered as Democrats to vote in the primary.
Sophomore Micah Carelli was already a Democrat. She said she supports Obama because he is not a Washington insider.
“I feel like our country needs to listen to the people instead of big corporations and I feel like he would do that better than the other candidates,” she said.
Others were not eligible to vote but came anyway, like Dorsaf Naoui an international student pursuing a master’s in linguistics. She said electing Obama would boost the United States’ standing in the world.
“It’s not just the presidency for me. It’s like changing the whole world. I’m really and truly excited. I trust him. He’s the one,” she said.
“The only thing I cannot do is register to vote. But everything else I can do, I will do.”
[email protected]