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The time passed quickly. Everywhere I turned there was something to look at or someone to talk to. Behind me stood a middle aged, outspoken, black woman that engaged Elizabeth and me in conversation immediately. I learned a lot from her, actually. Upon learning we were from Plano her demeanor changed, and she suspiciously asked us if our parents were okay with us coming down to the "bad part of town." After I dispelled her preconceptions we actually had a great conversation. I'm sure she was glad to talk to some sane kids from Plano just like I was intrigued by everything she said. She told me about how she has screws in her foot, how her daughter wants to adopt a Chinese baby, how she has to take six pills a day, how five families own all of Dallas, and how the State Fair originated. She was...a unique experience.

Around us young parents had brought their children; some even played duck duck goose between lines of people. Elderly people sat in scooters smiling and watching. Everyone was enjoying himself or herself.

But as I looked around, what really surprised me was the number of high school students in line around me. I saw Letterman jackets from Coppell, Mesquite, and Allen, and that was just in our section of the line. Students were clustered in groups, laughing, taking pictures, and actually engaging in political discussion. And before you call me crazy I want to add that these weren't your typical nerds or pseudo-political activist punks...there were Latino gangsters, white kids, black kids, Asian schoolgirls, you name it! There was no demographic left unrepresented by the student crowd.

I don't know how to fully explain the experience of seeing this diverse group of people in one place. It's almost overwhelming at first because the number of people is so vast, but then you start to really watch people interact with each other. To know that there exists a candidate that has united so many independent thinkers from every background imaginable is somewhat breathtaking. I'm usually not one to play the emotion card when talking about politics, but damn, guys. I really don't know how else to put it. It's phenomenal.

When we finally got inside of Reunion Arena there were barely any seats left. 19,000 chairs were filled within minutes, and about a thousand or more were taken on the floor in front of the podium. I've never seen such a crowd so fired up!

Former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk spoke and introduced Emmit Smith, who tried his hand at oration, which finally led to Obama stepping up to the podium. The eruption from the crowd was unbelievable; I literally feared for the stability of the structure of the old arena.

Obama got his usual chants of "Yes we can!" and "O-ba-ma!" but he soon quieted the audience down and began thanking his long list of event coordinators, sponsors, and lastly, his contributors. His speech itself focused on education reform, health care, and foreign policy, but he also took a few jabs at Clinton and McCain towards the end. Here are the sparknotes of his speech:

On the topic of education he proposed pay raises for teachers and more government funding of schools. He suggested a $4,000 credit to any university for students who were willing to volunteer in their community. This way the community gets back something while an education becomes that much more affordable to students.

His stances on health care were nothing new from his other speeches. He promises by the end of his first term to lower premiums by $2500 and to implement a program that insures children from the time they are born to the time they graduate college. Pharmaceutical companies shouldn't be able to barter with each other for cheapest medicines, and insurance companies shouldn't be allowed to squirm out of paying for those with a terminal illness, cancer, etc.

Foreign policy was tricky. He fully supports a strong, well funded military, yet he suggests that the country needs a Commander in Chief that can use it wisely. He describes the Iraq war was an "unwise" decision that distracted from the real battle that needed to be won in Afghanistan. He wants to redefine the American image and tell the global community that the real America is back. He mentioned his statement he made from an early debate on his readiness to meet with hostile foreign leaders. He said that Washington screamed "Oh, you can't do that!"

"Watch me," he said.

The man has style. Did I mention he spoke today with a full head cold? The man felt awful yet still he was brilliant. At one point he paused in the middle of a thought and said to the audience "Hold on, I'm going to blow my nose." The audience tittered as he produced a handkerchief from his pocket, unleashing the most powerful nose-blow I have ever witnessed. Seriously, I felt bad for the tissue. He did this in front of 20,000 supporters and countless live feeds on national broadcasting networks. The crowd went nuts. That, my friends, is style.

He had one gem that I just can't do justice to, so here is the direct quote:

"Today, Senator Clinton told us there is a choice in this race, and I couldn't agree with her more," Obama said. "But contrary to what she was saying, it's not a choice between speeches and solutions. It's a choice between the politics of divisions and distractions that did not work in South Carolina, that did not work in Wisconsin and that will not work in Texas or a new politics of common sense, of common purpose, shared sacrifices, shared prosperity.

It's a choice between having a debate between John McCain about who has the most experience in Washington or having a debate about who's going to change Washington. It's about going into the general election campaign with Republicans and independents united against us or going in with a campaign that has already united all Americans around an agenda for change."

The man's a brilliant orator, guys, but more than that he is well founded on all of his beliefs. He has the charisma of John F. Kennedy mixed with the morality of Martin Luther King Jr., and when he gets the democratic nomination and makes his way back to Dallas I urge everyone to go and hear him speak.

As cliche as it sounds, it was a life changing experience.

Chris